Development Director

The Position

Job Title: Development Director

Job Location: Open to multiple options within Kentucky

Reporting Relationship: Supervised by the Executive Director

Employment Type: Full Time Exempt

Kentuckians For The Commonwealth (KFTC) seeks a highly organized, motivated, and experienced leader to support and expand the organization’s financial resources. The Development Director manages the fundraising program for our 501c3 and 501c4 organizations, builds and sustains funder and donor relationships, and develops and supports organization-wide grassroots fundraising efforts. The Development Director is supervised by the Executive Director, is a member of the staff Leadership Team, and engages the full staff in fundraising efforts.

Who We Are

KFTC is a community of people inspired by a vision of a thriving society where people are free from oppression and where racial, economic and environmental justice exists for all. Guided by Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and others directly impacted by oppression, KFTC organizes Kentuckians to dismantle racism, strengthen democracy, and transform the future of our Commonwealth.

We are a grassroots organization with thousands of members and a dozen chapters across Kentucky. We believe in the power of community organizing – people working together to achieve common goals. KFTC members and staff use a range of organizing strategies to build grassroots power and make change, including base building, leadership development, strategic communications, art and culture, integrated voter engagement, grassroots fundraising and alliance building.

KFTC’s leadership adopted the following vision and goal to guide our work through 2031:

Vivid Description: Kentuckians For The Commonwealth is a collective light, leading the way to a thriving, joyful, intergenerational, multi-cultural society where people are free from oppression and where equity, health care, and racial, economic, and social justice exist for everyone. We are a beloved community, where all people are connected and affirmed through healthy relationships, and dedicated to achieving mutual liberation.

Audacious Goal: Guided by Black, Indigenous, People of Color and impacted communities, we will recruit, equip, and activate a network of 100,000 members and partners across all 120 counties to dismantle racism and all systems of oppression, to develop a robust democracy and transform the future of Kentucky.

KFTC’s fundraising strategies include grassroots fundraising (i.e. memberships, sustaining givers, events, house parties, etc), major donors, and foundation fundraising. While the Development Director will manage the fundraising program, all staff are expected to play a role in fundraising. Our Steering Committee and grassroots members also assist with these efforts.

What You’ll Do

• Build and nurture a fundraising culture: Engage, inspire, and support staff and members in their role in fundraising. Grow and leverage skills among the staff team and members. Coordinate development activities that are rooted in our Vivid Description and Audacious Goal and aligned with KFTC’s organizing and communications efforts.
• Develop and deploy a robust development workplan: Work with the Executive Director, leaders, and staff to create an ambitious but attainable development workplan. Lead and coordinate the strategies necessary to reach our fundraising goals.
• Scale up grassroots fundraising: Work with staff and members to grow KFTC’s grassroots fundraising efforts with a focus on membership recruitment and renewals. Grow other efforts including sustaining members, chapter fundraising, peer-to–peer fundraising, events, direct mail, online giving, and more.
• Sustain strong relationships with new and existing major donors: Assess KFTC’s current major donor program and develop a plan to solidify and grow this base of support. With the Executive Director, identify and cultivate relationships with new major donors aligned with our Vivid Description and Audacious Goal.
• Maintain a strong foundation fundraising program: With the Executive Director and Deputy Director, develop grant proposals and reports. Maintain and execute a foundation calendar. Support the Executive Director in building and strengthening funder relationships. Prospect new grant opportunities.
• Provide fundraising training & support: Develop trainings for staff and members. Work with Organizers to develop strong chapter fundraising strategies.
• Ensure effective systems to support fundraising efforts: Oversee the evaluation of systems used to support development work and effectively utilize data in planning. Ensure excellent tracking and communication with members and donors.
• Communicate effectively: Work closely with the Communications team to craft compelling messages and materials. Oversee design production and distribution of development materials. Ensure all donations are properly acknowledged.
• Organizational leadership: Serve as a member of the Leadership Team with shared responsibility for achieving the organization’s goals. Potentially supervise one or more development team staff. Model the development and use of workplans to guide your work and that of your team.
• Other roles: Other roles and responsibilities as assigned by the Executive Director.

Who You Are

We are looking for someone with grassroots and foundation fundraising experience who understands the importance of KFTC’s commitment to being a grassroots, member-led organization. You must be passionate about social justice, committed to dismantling racism and other forms of oppressions, have a fundamental belief in abundance and be focused on raising the funds necessary to move toward our Vivid Description and Audacious Goal.

We’re looking for:

• A minimum of 5 years of experience in nonprofit fundraising, preferably with experience in leading fundraising efforts
• Understands the specific experiences of historically marginalized groups in the U.S., particularly Black and Indigenous groups
• Employs anti-racist & anti-colonial values, practices, and principles
• Understands the importance and potential of building authentic solidarity between BIPOC folks and low income white folks
• Understanding of grassroots community organizing and social justice issues in Kentucky
• Demonstrated knowledge of best practices in nonprofit fundraising with emphasis on grassroots, social justice fundraising
• Demonstrated experience in developing and implementing plans and managing goals
• Proven track record for developing strategies to expand a member/donor base and increase revenue
• Proven track record of soliciting private foundation grants and crafting compelling proposals and donor/funder correspondence
• Ability to cultivate authentic relationships with donors, funders, staff, and volunteers
• Ability to effectively engage others in raising funds including staff, the Steering Committee and volunteers
• Welcomes collaboration and mutual accountability; also able to work independently
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and strong listening skills
• Brings creativity and curiosity to the work of fundraising
• Organized and reliable; attention to detail and strong personal organization skills; able to meet overlapping deadlines
• Highly motivated and self-directed
• Experience and familiarity with VAN/EveryAction preferred, but not required
• Experience and familiarity with Mobilize preferred, but not required
• Experience and familiarity with GetThru preferred, but not required
• Understanding of the legal differences between a 501c3 and 501c4 is preferred
• Committed to being a lifelong learner who is open to flow and change, and capable of being open to giving, receiving, & applying loving critique.
• Prioritizes self-care for the purpose of collective care

What Else You Should Know

1. This position will be open until filled with an ideal start date in late April or early May.
2. This position requires a full-time, flexible, 40-hour/week schedule with some in-state travel, some overnight travel, and some work on nights and weekends. A valid driver’s license and a vehicle that can be used for work are also required.
3. KFTC has offices in Louisville, Lexington, Covington, Bowling Green, Prestonsburg, and London, KY. KFTC staff work either mostly from home or some hybrid between home and office depending on their schedule and responsibilities.
4. All employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and comply with safety policies and procedures, like masking and social distancing. Employees in need of an exemption from this policy due to a medical reason or because of a sincerely held religious belief must submit a completed Request for Accommodation.
5. Salary is based on prior relevant experience. An employee with no experience would start at $47,601. A candidate for Development Director with 15 years of experience would start at $77,232 (given the bump provided to Leadership Team members). A successful candidate who brings additional experience will have a higher starting salary.
6. Generally, KFTC’s staff receive an annual cost of living pay adjustment plus an additional across the board yearly pay raise.
7. KFTC currently provides full family health, dental, and vision coverage. We have a compensation time policy, 15 paid vacation days, 9 paid sick days, 3 paid personal days, and 11 paid holidays as well as 5 days of closure time at year’s end. We offer 40 days of paid parental leave for the birth or adoption of a child, and 20 days of paid family care leave. All staff are eligible for a month paid sabbatical after 5 years. KFTC contributes to a Simplified Employee Pension plan after 3 years of employment.
8. This position is not eligible for the bargaining unit of the staff union, which is represented by Chicago-Midwest Regional Joint Board, Workers United, an affiliate of SEIU.
9. KFTC is an equal opportunity employer, and does not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, religion, color, marital status, veteran status, national origin, age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical size or weight, status as parent or caregiver, pregnancy status, ancestry, or physical or mental disability that can be reasonably accommodated without undue hardship. Our equal employment opportunity philosophy applies to all aspects of employment, including recruitment, training, promotion, transfer, job benefits, pay, and dismissal. KFTC aims to be guided by people most-impacted by the issues at the center of our work. People of color, people from working class backgrounds, women and LGBTQIA2S+ people are encouraged to apply.