Overview

Founded in 2001, Common Future works to close the racial wealth gap. We are building a future where all people—no matter their race and class—have power, choice, and ownership over the economy. Our current economic system does not work for everyone. Generations of Black and Indigenous communities and other communities of color have been and are currently intentionally locked out of wealth and power. Centuries of policies that systematically favor a select few cause persistent economic inequities that hold us all back.

With a multiracial, women-led co-CEO team we are reimagining leadership, prioritizing sustainability, shared leadership and democratic decision making, and reflecting the communities we serve. We are audacious, expansive, and unapologetic thinkers and doers who bring lived experience to the problems we tackle. Our diverse team of strategists, community organizers, financial activists, and policy enthusiasts provides capital, operational support, and strategic partnership to budding solutions addressing racial and economic injustice.

Our culture values include centering equity, being the communities we serve, embracing experimentation, reimagining what’s broken, collectively solving problems, and modeling a new way of working. We strive to be an innovator that prioritizes the well-being of our employees. Read more about us on our Medium page.

Purpose 

The Director of Philanthropic Partnerships is a fulltime frontline fundraiser responsible for philanthropic fundraising at Common Future.

The Director will work closely with the VP of Revenue and Co-CEOs to oversee the organization’s strategic fundraising efforts. They are responsible for developing and implementing a strategy to identify, cultivate, solicit, close and steward  donors to help meet our annual fundraising goals.

The individual is a strategic thinker that builds trust-based relationships with wealth-holders. He/She/They knows that fundraising is a mix of art and science, and the individual is comfortable navigating process driven approaches as well as creative thinking and building spaces in order to close current and new leads. The individual  will be the primary relationship manager for <$1M institutional partnerships that ensure the general operational revenue  for Common Future.

The Director secures funding towards Common Future’s operating revenue goals $10M. The Director ensures the long-time sustainability of the organization by providing strategic support to the VP of Revenue towards the organization’s growth capital raise of $50M.

Essential Responsibilities

Fundraising and Relationship Management (40%)

• Partner with the VP of Revenue to be the lead frontline fundraisers for the organization.
• Relationship building and management of current funders and prospective funders.
• Ensure continued discovery of prospective new donors – both individuals and foundations –- and adeptly evaluate opportunities to deepen relationships with the existing donors.
• Proactively develop and implement strategies to ensure that fundraising targets are realistically set and met.
• Build relationships and manage key touchpoints with high networth donors.
• Partner with VP of Revenue for fundraising life cycle and  moves management process.

 

Prospect Research Management (25%)

• Direct the work of prospect research management by identifying, qualifying leads and working to build timely cultivation and solicitation opportunities.
• Increase prospect research to ensure the list of institutional donor and HNWI prospects increases by ten-fold by 2025.
• Work with VP of Revenue to derive cultivation and activation strategies based on prospect profile memos.
• In partnership with the team, map out other spaces and places to be seen, heard, and drive funders to our work, and where Co-CEOs should be present.
• Oversee leads conversion waterway; including reporting on progress of securing and converting leads as well as growing the waterway.

 

Funder Communications & Materials (15%)

• Serve as the first point of contact for most institutional funding relationships.
• Oversee Grant Writer (Consultant).
• Manage the workflow of  grant proposals, reports, and pitch decks, as well as storytelling materials to situate Common
• Future’s value-add in the context of philanthropic giving to racial and economic justice organizations.
• Ensure timely deliverable tracking and submission.
• Work with Grantwriter and  Impact teams to secure all programmatic data points and narratives that can inform the materials.
• Continuously keep our fundraising  materials and messaging up to date with current programmatic offerings.

 

Management (10%) 

• Supervise
  • Revenue Associate, who is responsible for the project management systems and operations of the Revenue team.
  • Grant Writer (consultant) to meet and manage deliverables due for institutional partners as appropriate.
• In partnership with the team develop and report out pipeline and projections for org-wide fiscal management, owning the reconciliation and data-cleaning of metrics on a monthly and quarterly basis.
• Oversee the management of the donor pipeline and reporting through the database and other tools.
• Provide regular reports to funders, and the executive team with updates on current status of funding activities.
• Mentor, motivate and coach  team members and ensure they have clarity around their roles and responsibilities; receive consistent feedback, and participate in regular evaluations.
• Support a culture of collaboration and trust within the Revenue team and among departments.

 

Revenue Strategy  (10%)

• Amplify Common Future’s voice at leading spaces, places, and publications in the fundraising/revenue ecosystem.
• Ensure workflows, pitch, and activations for different donor archetypes are progressing as intended and help to enroll more leads and close more contributions for the organization.
• Develop and execute a calendar of cultivation and stewardship activities.
• Ensure the necessary systems, structures, and processes are in place to support the fundraising life cycle and guarantee a positive donor experience.
• Implement strategic campaigns that bolster Common Future’s expertise and leadership.

 

Job Specific Competencies

• Relationship Builder – Strength in coordination and building new relationships and  managing current relationships through all cycles of fundraising. This individual has excellent interpersonal skills along with diplomacy, tact and humor. He/She/They support frontline fundraising efforts.
• Donor Steward – Strong follow through and business development skills, able to work with funders to ensure relationship continuity.
• Proactive Dot Connector – Sees patterns and connects dots between strategy and execution. They are able to triangulate multiple inputs and viewpoints to discern a path forward.
• Strategic Thinker – The individual is able to operationalize and execute in complex and ambiguous environments.
• Project Manager – He/She/They can manage projects, timelines, stakeholders, and various expectations, owning the end to end process for different fundraising work plans.

 

Org Competencies

Desired competencies for all Common Future team members:

• Intellectual curiosity
• Strategic thinking
• Goal oriented
• Growth mindset
• Equity and inclusion lens
• Innovation and experimentation
• Collaboration and teamwork
• Flexibility and responsiveness
• Comfort working in ambiguity
• Relationship building towards mutual support and trust

 

Desired Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in fundraising, philanthropy, business development, or a related field
• Passion for addressing economic injustices, closing the racial wealth gap, and systems change
• Senior leader with proven success in managing an organization, budget creation and oversight,  building capacity, and developing streamlined and agile processes
• Experience or deep interest in navigating organizations through growth and scale, utilizing anti-racist and liberatory practices
• Exceptional capacity for managing and leading people
• Demonstrated experience building and maintaining relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders across different geographies and subject areas
• Excellent interpersonal skills, along with diplomacy, tact, and humor
• Experience leading and managing remote teams, ideally in a geographically dispersed context, with a high standard of excellence and accountability
• Willingness, interest, and capacity to enforce accountability, develop and empower leaders from the bottom up, cultivate a culture of initiative and learning, and understand the strengths and weaknesses of the team so as to position people to succeed
• Exceptional strategic thinking skills around operationalization and execution in complex and ambiguous environments
• Entrepreneurial style, with an enthusiasm for working in a dynamic, fast-paced environment

 

Compensation and Benefits

This is a full-time, exempt position. The salary range is $98,000-$115,000 and commensurate with competence and  experience. Common Future offers a work environment that is committed to the wellbeing and support of our employees. We embrace a human-centered approach to our practices and policies.

We offer a competitive benefits package that includes:

• 20-25 paid time off days
• Paid holidays
• MLK
• Presidents Day
• Spring Break – 2nd week of April
• Memorial Day
• Juneteenth
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Thanksgiving break**
• Christmas to New Years break**
• Ongoing 4 day work week, Monday – Thursday, 32-hour workweek, 80% time at 100% pay
• Remote and flexible work options
• One time $800 home office set up stipend for new employees
• $150 per month coworking, home office, and cell phone stipend
• Paid medical, dental,  vision, and life insurance
• Paid long term disability coverage, including parental leave
• Access to a flexible spending account (FSA) for medical and dependent expenses
• 16 week paid parental leave pilot continuing in 2023
• Caregiver stipend planned for 2023
• 4% 403b retirement plan contribution that is immediately vested
• $500+ professional development, tuition, student loan, and coaching support
• And more

** Employees who cannot take the week between Christmas and New Years off due to workflow can opt to take the week of Thanksgiving off instead.

How to Apply

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, Common Future does not discriminate against applicants or employees due to their race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, age, physical ability, hairstyle, previous incarceration, or length of time spent unemployed. As an organization, we are committed to reflecting the diverse communities we serve. At this time, Common Future does not sponsor visas. Applicants who contribute to this diversity are strongly encouraged to apply.

Studies have shown that women, trans, non-binary folks, and BIPOC are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they meet every single one of the qualifications as described in a job description. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organization, and we are most interested in finding the best candidate for the job. That candidate may be one who comes from a background less traditional to our field of work, and that’s okay. We would strongly encourage you to apply, even if you don’t believe you meet every one of the qualifications described.

To apply, please submit your cover letter, resume, salary expectation, and up to 3 references here.

In your cover letter, please answer the following questions with no more than a paragraph or a few bullet points per question:

Why do you want to work at Common Future?

• How might your experiences, whether lived, worked, or studied, contribute to the mission of Common Future and this role?
• What does philanthropy and fundraising mean to you?
• Imagine its 2123, what does  nonprofit sector and the philanthrosphere look like?
• Anything else you would like us to know?

Our ideal start date for this role is Oct 2nd  with interviews beginning in August. Applications will be evaluated as they arrive and the position will remain open until filled.