Director of Development

ABOUT THE LAST PRISONER PROJECT: 

The Last Prisoner Project (LPP) is a national, nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to freeing those incarcerated due to the War on Drugs, reuniting their families, and helping them rebuild their lives. As laws change, there remains a fundamental injustice for individuals whose conviction is no longer a crime in light of legalization. 

We work to repair these harms through legal intervention, constituent support, direct advocacy, and policy change. Through both our direct service programs as well as our policy and advocacy initiatives, we leverage progressive changes to drug laws and penalties to enact broad reforms to our criminal legal system. You can learn more about us on our website. 

ABOUT THE ROLE: 

Last Prisoner Project is at an exciting moment of growth as we approach our fifth year of operations and look to scale our work nationally. LPP seeks a collaborative, creative, and passionate Director of Development with expertise in foundation fundraising, corporate partnerships, and donor stewardship. The Director will be responsible for all fundraising for LPP, including cultivation of new and existing funding relationships, identifying and developing partnerships, developing and implementing public fundraising campaigns and strategies, and coordination of donor events. The Director will effectively communicate LPP's mission, accomplishments, and financial needs to external audiences in both verbal and written form. 

Reporting to the Executive Director, the Director has significant revenue-generation, relationship building, stewardship responsibilities and has expertise in identifying prospects across multiple industries. The Director will be a strategic thinker with excellent writing, organizational, and relationship management skills. Given our remote work environment the Director must be able to work effectively independently and autonomously as well as be able to manage multiple assignments across workstreams. This is an ideal opportunity for a development leader who values innovation and will work to ensure fundraising goals are met while benefiting from a flexible work environment and culture that prioritizes employee wellbeing. 

JOB SUMMARY

Job Type: Full-time 

Pay: $100,000-135,000 depending on experience.

Location: Remote 

Insurance: LPP offers comprehensive medical, vision, and dental insurance for employees, spouses, domestic partners, and children. 

Paid Time Off: LPP offers unlimited paid time off and paid holidays.

Retirement: LPP offers a 401k program currently offering up to a 4% company match.

The position reports directly to the Executive Director. 

ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• The Director of Development is a strategic thinker with excellent writing, organizational, and relationship management skills
• They will manage a portfolio of donors and prospects for cultivation and stewardship and produce written content for fundraising materials that would strengthen LPP’s overall fundraising capacity
• The Director of Development will work independently within a fully remote, flexible work environment and have a proven ability to prioritize multiple assignments and to meet deadlines
• Drive the mission-critical function of securing six- and seven-figure philanthropic gifts to meet departmental goals through implementation of fundraising strategies and multi-year revenue growth plans
• Develop fundraising proposals and communication materials across multiple channels to support LPP’s philanthropic vision, key funding priorities, and organizational needs in conjunction with national giving resources, trends, and landscape
• Execute collaborative fundraising efforts in support of LPP’s priorities; work closely with LPP staff to ensure alignment and accuracy of information shared with external audience
• Provide support in shaping a cohesive external philanthropic messaging in collaboration with the Executive Director and key leadership from the Communications team
• Manage a defined portfolio of donors; proactively identifying and qualifying new prospects and current donors for LPP’s work 
• Collaborate with Development’s cross-functional team members to steward donor relationships by monitoring project implementation, sharing relevant updates with funder staff, preparing grant reports, tracking financial and performance metrics, and cultivating ongoing support with the goal of renewing or expanding funding relationship
• Serve as main point of contact for donors and funders

QUALIFICATIONS

• A strategic thinker who can see “the big picture” while not losing sight of the details, in addition to having creative energy and an entrepreneurial spirit
• Ability to articulate forward-thinking strategies and impact-driven stories that inspire and motivate diverse stakeholders and constituencies to achieve ambitious fundraising goals
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills appropriate to engage a senior, external audience in persuasive storytelling
• Demonstrated experience in cultivating and working with diverse audiences; ability to forge strong working relationships with all levels of staff to pursue gifts that support the mission and meet funders’ goals
• Outstanding project management, organizational, and time management skills with a focus on improving systems, coordinating efforts, and using data to drive decision-making
• Experience with Salesforce or other CRMs
• Experience with Instrumentl or other grant tracking systems
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in directly related work experience
• Minimum Years of Experience: Minimum of ten (10) years’ professional nonprofit work experience, with a successful track record in closing six- and seven-figure gifts
• Prior experience in the criminal justice field or experience with the criminal legal system preferred

This job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of work expected of this position. The description is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive listing or description of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of incumbents in the position.

LPP is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, impacted status, disability, protected veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Remote and flexible work environment

Insurance: LPP offers comprehensive medical, vision, and dental insurance for employees, spouses, domestic partners, and children. 

Paid Time Off: LPP offers unlimited paid time off and paid holidays.

Retirement: LPP offers a 401k program currently offering up to a 4% company match.

The position reports directly to the Executive Director.