Director of Resources & Relationships

“Food, What?!” – Activating Youth Power Through Food and Land

Full-time: 100% FTE, Exempt

Compensation range: $95,000 – $125,000 Annual Salary

Benefits: PTO and Sick Time. Full Medical, Dental, Vision, and Retirement

Budget Size: $1.75M+ (and growing substantially year over year)

About FoodWhat?!

FoodWhat?! is a youth empowerment and food justice organization in Santa Cruz County. We create spaces where young people cultivate resilience, leadership, and belonging through food and farming. Rooted in love, relationships, and community, we use land and food as tools for healing, skill-building, and transformation.

The Opportunity

FoodWhat?! has built an incredible community of donors, funders, and supporters who believe in our mission and invest in our work. Now, we’re looking for a Director of Resources & Relationships to nurture these relationships, expand our reach, and ensure the sustainability of our organization.

Are you a people person who thrives on bringing others together around a shared vision? Does storytelling come naturally to you? Can you take something good and make it great?

This role is about organizing people and resources with love and purpose. More than just fundraising, this is about deeply listening, finding alignment, and inspiring people to invest in a future where young people are not just surviving, but thriving. As part of our Leadership team, you’ll help shape FoodWhat?!’s vision while stewarding the relationships and resources that sustain our work.

Your Role

As Director of Resources & Relationships, you’ll lead our development efforts, supervise our Development Manager, and build a long-term fundraising strategy rooted in abundance and shared purpose. You’ll work closely with our Co-Executive Directors, program teams, and community of philanthropic partners to grow FoodWhat?!’s resources and relationships for long term sustainability.

This role is more than fundraising—it’s about relationship-building, storytelling, and harnessing the power of community. It’s about investing in young people and the future they deserve.

In life, youth are often pitted against one another in competition, taught to prioritize individual success over collective well-being. At FoodWhat?!, we are teaching a different lesson—one rooted in collaboration, mutual support, and shared abundance. Here, teamwork is everything. Everyone gives their best so the crops grow, the food tastes good, and the community thrives. The crew becomes family, and the lesson is simple: we are greater, together.

As Director of Resources & Relationships, you will help us live this vision—not just in words, but in practice. You will model these values in the way you organize resources and build relationships with integrity, trust, and a collective, abundant mindset.

Key Responsibilities

• Nurturing Donor & Funder Relationships
• Nurture and deepen relationships with existing donors, funders, and philanthropic partners in Santa Cruz County and beyond.
• Organize and cultivate our extensive community of donors in an inspiring & creative way.
• Identify and build new relationships with new values-aligned funders to expand our network and ensure our sustainability.
• Collaborate with our Co-Executive Directors and campaign manager on aligning strategy and action around our Homebase Campaign.
• Strategic Fundraising & Visionary Leadership
• Design and implement a multi-year fundraising strategy to sustain and grow our vision.
• Work closely with the Executive Leadership Team to align fundraising priorities with programmatic goals and seasonal timelines to maximize impact and to mitigate burnout.
• Supervise and mentor the Development Manager, ensuring strong execution of grant writing, reporting, and other key development operations.
• Find the right balance of organizing our work into strategic fundraising seasons that also include rest, communication, and reflection.
• Lead fundraising campaigns, appeals, and special events (such as our Annual Benefit) that bring our community together in a celebratory way.

Storytelling & Shaping a Power Narrative

• Tell FoodWhat?!’s story in creative ways that move people to action.
• Shape narratives that inspire investment in our work through compelling donor materials and creative communication strategies.
• Ensure our web and social media presence is authentic and engaging.
• Represent FoodWhat?! at donor gatherings, community events, and philanthropic spaces to expand our reach and share our impact.

Ideal Candidate Qualifications

• An Experienced Organizer & Fundraiser – You have at least 7 years of experience in fundraising, donor organizing, or grassroots campaign work.
• A Powerful Storyteller – You know how to tell a powerful story, inspiring people to invest in something bigger than themselves.
• A Relationship-Builder – You thrive on connecting people around shared values.
• A Big-Picture Thinker Who Gets Stuff Done – You can see the vision and can handle the day to day details.
• A Strategic Doer– You can cultivate, coordinate, and mobilize people and resources.
• If you love people, setting a bold vision, and our mission of supporting youth to connect to the transformational power of the land—we’d love to hear from you!

We encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet every single criterion in the job description, as we value diverse skills and experiences. If you believe you’d be a great fit for the role, please share why in your cover letter. The wide salary range reflects flexibility in experience and qualifications, so we’re open to discussing how your background aligns with the position.

#DirectorofDevelopment #DevelopmentDirector

Process

Please send a cover letter, resume, two relevant writing samples, and two references to hiring@foodwhat.org. Please select at least one reference from previous employment.

FoodWhat is an anti-racist, pro-equity program. Women, Nonbinary, LGBTQ+, BIack, Indigenous and People of Color are strongly encouraged to apply. All applicants are considered for employment without discrimination based on race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.

Applicants only. Recruiters, please don’t contact this job poster.