About The Solutions Project

Less than 2% of climate philanthropy supports climate justice organizations doing work on the ground. The Solutions Project (TSP) funds and amplifies Black, Indigenous, Immigrant, and other people of color or women-led organizations across the United States who are creating and scaling climate justice solutions. Through the funding of neighborhood level innovations aimed at solving multiple problems at once, from poor air quality and housing insecurity to exposure to extreme climate disasters, these organizations go well beyond reducing climate emissions to transforming the health, economic, and social outcomes of entire communities. We seek to understand and strengthen pre-existing movement networks and currently grant to over 140 organizations.

The Solutions Project is at the forefront of Solidarity Philanthropy, which builds on the foundation of trust-based Philanthropy with practices defined by grassroots organizers and racially-conscious movement work. This position reports to the Chief Programs and Operating Officer, Clare Winterton, who brings her communications, philanthropy, advocacy, and operations experience in gender equity to support frontline communities innovating climate justice solutions to TSP.

Position Description

The Solutions Project is seeking a Director of Development to help our organization to meet ambitious fundraising goals while helping us to build out our fundraising function as our organization develops and grows for the long term. Our CEO has charted a bold path forward for our organization to raise significant resources to distribute to organizations at the frontlines of the climate justice movement. This requires making big asks of potential and existing donors to meet the needs of the climate justice movement. Our annual operating budget currently ranges from $10mm to $15mm. The majority of the Solution’s Project’s revenue goes to programming to support grantees in the field. The organization also administers ‘eco-system funds’, which are innovative, and often frontline-led, grantmaking funds. We have big ambitions to scale to meet the needs of the climate justice movement and to actualize equity and justice.

In the initial six months, the Director of Development will write multiple donor proposals and focus on robust systems management through Salesforce, collaborate with the executive leadership team to enhance donor interactions, and work cross-functionally with internal teams on various operational tasks. Over the first two years, their goals include establishing expanding the donor engagement strategy and formalizing the overall development operations model. This comprehensive approach will contribute to TSP's growth and equity-driven mission. The ideal candidate for this role is a dynamic written and verbal communicator who possesses a proven track record in Salesforce-driven systems management, is skilled in process improvement and data management, while also possessing a strategic mindset for donor engagement and organizational development.

What We Value

• Be bold. We are aspirational, creative, and always proactive. Those at the frontlines of pollution, extraction, and the shared urgency of climate change deserve nothing less.
• Be inclusive. We shine the light and invite everyone we can onto the path to a regenerative economy. We follow the leadership of those rooted in frontline communities who are showing the way.
• Be movement-accountable. We aim to be accountable to the grassroots organizations that we fund and amplify. We leverage and strengthen the field, connecting dots and resourcing others, as needed, seeking input on what we do well, and how we can improve.
• Advance equity. We center equity-rooted strategies, community benefits, diverse leadership, and just transitions. The transition to a regenerative economy must center and directly benefit those people most impacted by pollution, extraction, and climate change.

What You’ll Help Us Do

Lead and manage fundraising execution:

• Work with the Executive Team to create and implement a comprehensive 3-5 year strategy to identify, cultivate and solicit individual and institutional donors with interests aligned to TSP’s mission, work, and approach to philanthropy, including a focus on diversifying the organization’s revenue streams to include government and corporate support
• Develop and systematize  all fundraising processes
• Develop an annual fundraising calendar of donor touch points, communications, fundraising events, reports etc.
• Write, project manage and track proposals, reporting, sponsorship requests, and donor acknowledgments to secure and sustain funding and support strong funder relationships
• Envision and create donor programs that connect institutional and individual donors with our work in values-aligned ways

Manage internal and external partnerships:

• Conduct research, develop content/ materials and create differentiated strategies for donor cultivation and stewardship
• Create supports to help the CEO become more efficient and effective in building networks of potential donors, including coaching around cultivation and stewardship strategies
• Collaborate with the internal Narrative and Communications team to produce TSP collateral, annual impact reports, impact videos, testimonials, presentations, and other key outputsStrategize and plan a small number of fundraising events
• Identify and hire key external vendors to supplement capacity (e.g. grant writers)

Build development systems:

• Partner with Operations team to back-end build of Salesforce to ensure our system is tight and simple while creating transparent and accurate pictures of income projections, relationship ownership, moves management, proposal tracking, and report tracking
• Create and maintain Salesforce reports to support donor tracking, timely origination of donors reports and regular updating of the development pipeline
• Organize individual, foundation, and corporate funders into clear pipelines in Salesforce
• Partner with executive management team to create and implement a manageable moves management system
• Work with program and finance staff to ensure compliance with all grant restrictions and reporting requirements, and to gather information necessary for grant reports

Key Experience, Qualifications, and Skills

What you’ve accomplished (required):

• 5+ years of professional experience, at least 3 years in Development
• Excellent track record writing and producing inspiring and impactful content including proposals, concepts, PowerPoint decks, reports and individualized correspondence
• Fully supporting work to secure multiple 6- and 7- figure gifts from institutional and/ or individual donors through providing relevant information, data, and prospect records to Executive Team
• Strong communication in clear, concise  writing and speaking

Skills you have developed and knowledge you have acquired:

• Strong capability in complex project management in a fundraising funnel context and  highly effective at collaborating with others through cross-functional relationships
• High relationship-focus with the capacity to build strong, trusting relationships across The Solutions Project and the gravitas to build relationships with existing and potential donors
• Experience working at an early stage organization with the entrepreneurial mindset required for success
• Demonstrated ability  to craft differentiated messages, campaigns, and proposals that will appeal to new and existing individual donors and funding entities
• Experience successfully and independently working in a remote team setting

Compensation and Benefits:

• The salary range for this position is $120,000 - 145,000
• TriNet medical, dental, and vision insurance are fully covered for employees, spouses, and dependents
• Full time employees receive 13 paid holidays, 120 hours of flexible PTO, and 10 days of paid sick leave annually with increasing PTO allowance for tenured employees
• Employees are eligible for 8 weeks of paid parental leave, with up to six months leave total
• Full time employees are eligible for a fully paid, 2-month sabbatical after 5 years of continuous, full time employment
• After nine months of employment, employees have access to a $5,000 annual life-long learning fund that can be used for on-the-job skilling up, career development and leadership activities, and non-work related lifelong learning activities

To Apply:

The Solutions Project is partnering with RCG Talent Solutions to find our next Director of Development. Please follow this link to submit your application and direct all questions to openroles@rcgtalent.com.

The Solutions Project is an Equal Opportunity Employer and strongly encourages leaders of color, women, and those who identify as LGBTQI to apply. We comply with federal, state and/or local laws that prohibit discrimination in employment based on race, religion, color, age, sex, national origin, citizen or intending citizen status, disability, and veteran status. Information provided during the application or employment process will not be used to discriminate against any individual in any manner. The Company complies with ADA regulations as applicable. By submitting this online application form, you consent to be contacted via email with important updates and other information from RCG Talent Solutions.