Senior Donor Organizer

Position Title: Senior Donor Organizer

Tier / Category: Tier 4 / Organizer IV

Reports to: Deputy Director of Development

Employment Status: Full Time

FLSA: Exempt

Location: Remote

NLRA: Bargaining Unit Member

Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) is a national organization that brings white people into

fights for racial and economic justice. We work to undermine the power of the Far Right and

build the white flank of multiracial majorities fighting for the things all communities need. We

organize white people by engaging their shared interest-- what they stand to gain by joining

alongside people of color. We do this through 150+ local chapters across the US and Canada, a

National Membership base, and local base building projects in the South.

Summary of Position:

SURJ is proud that the majority of our funding comes from individual donors. The Senior Donor

Organizer will work closely with the Director of Impact, the Deputy Development Director, the

SURJ Board, the Impact Team, and SURJ organizers to build out a donor community and

increase the number and size of major gift contributions ranging from $10,000 to $50,000,

including holding some relationships who contribute more. This role will also work with the

Deputy Development Director, the Impact Team, and organizers to build systems that effectively

steward donor relationships at all levels.

SURJ is aiming to build a distributed culture of fundraising, which means that this position will

be focused not just on raising money directly, but will also work with a broad group of individuals

to build fundraising skills and make asks. SURJ Development encompasses a holistic approach

to cultivating engagement, participation and financial support for the work and mission of SURJ.

We combine political education, organizing, and leadership development to grow contributors'

investment in the essential work of SURJ and the broader movement for racial justice and

dismantling white supremacy. The ideal candidate for this position will be a highly skilled

fundraiser, grounded in shared political analysis, who is clear about the need to raise money to

organize white people into movements for justice.

This position will report to the Deputy Director of Development. This position is included in a

union-represented collective bargaining unit, and specific terms and conditions of employment

are subject to negotiations for a Collective Bargaining Agreement.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES — Essential duties and responsibilities may include, but are not

limited to the following:

Priority 1: Direct Donor Organizing (80%)

• Refine and grow our individual giving and donor relations strategy for donors who contribute over $10,000, in collaboration with the Director of Impact
• Create opportunities to organize people with wealth, including political education, and invitations that create belonging in our movements
• Establish timelines and adhere to deadlines for solicitation efforts
• Create and implement individual giving strategies, timelines, and communications
• Develop appropriate list segments for each fundraising campaign and cultivation piece
• Craft messaging appropriate for renewals, appeals, and reinstatement efforts, given organizational priorities and focus
• Make direct asks for funding throughout the year
• Identify donors with major or planned giving capacity and greatest likelihood to increase their financial support
• Support donors in making solidarity contributions to SURJ’s movement partners
• Build and maintain authentic and meaningful relationships with donors, bringing a relational approach to fundraising
• Bring a self-directed approach to managing a donor list, including seeking new donors, leveraging personal relationships, and mapping new ways to bring supporters closer to SURJ’s work

Priority 2: Culture, Community, and Belonging (10%)

• Coordinate, plan and co-host events for donors with SURJ leaders and staff
• Meet donors in person when possible to build personal relationships with our funder community
• Work closely with our organizers and membership staff to create and implement models for deepening donor engagement situated in SURJ strategy and organizing projects
• Support SURJ staff, chapter leaders and member leaders to understand the importance of making asks and working with them to feel comfortable to do so in consideration of barriers related to class, gender and race
• Ensure donors are effectively thanked, recognized, and connected to SURJ
• Develop ways for donors at all giving levels to engage and feel informed and excited about SURJ’s work

Priority 3: Systems and Strategy (10%)

• Contribute to development planning, including close partnership with the Director of Impact, Deputy Development Director, Executive Director, and Impact Team
• Develop ways to bring more SURJ staff, volunteers, and board members more deeply into SURJ’s fundraising
• Communicate to the larger SURJ staff and board about fundraising efforts

QUALIFICATIONS:

• 5+ years of development experience, particularly with individual donors
• Experience coordinating volunteers, a plus
• Experience raising money in a movement context, whether as paid or volunteer work
• Experience supporting people in participating in fundraising work
• Experience making direct asks of donors, with experience making asks of above $25,000
• Experience working as organizer or volunteer in a base-building organization, a plus
• SURJ policy requires all employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, subject to reasonable accommodation under federal, state, and local law. Accommodations may be not possible for positions that require in-person contact with other staff or members of the public.

KNOWLEDGE:

• Experience doing organizing on issues of racial justice
• Class consciousness and awareness of how your class background shapes how you show up in groups and in your fundraising work, willingness to engage with class and privilege;
• Commitment to SURJ's work, and grounding in broader social and economic justice movements;
• Knowledge of best practices in social justice development and nonprofit development;
• Belief in a cross-class movement that centers poor and working class leadership, with clarity about the opportunity for people with class privilege to belong to movement work.

SKILLS:

• Excellent relational and verbal communication skills
• Solid time management skills
• Strong written communication skills
• Strong attention to detail
• Communicate clearly and respectfully with members, board and staff from diverse class backgrounds, communities, geographies and cultures;
• Use a CRM database system, including EveryAction and complex spreadsheets, a plus;
• Be highly relational and meet people where they are at in an engaging and authentic way;
• Be highly self directed and organized, with the ability to prioritize competing projects;
• Manage short and long term projects and move project contributors along a timeline;
• Coach people with a variety of skills and backgrounds to feel confident and dignified in their fundraising.

ABILITIES:

• Flexible - open to new ways of doing things and experimentation
• Reliable - follows through on what they said they are going to do
• Demonstrated ability to work both independently and as part of a team