ABOUT A MORE PERFECT UNION

A More Perfect Union: The Jewish Partnership for Democracy is an early-growth-stage nonprofit working to mobilize the American Jewish community to protect and strengthen American democracy by building and supporting a transpartisan network of Jewish civil-society organizations. In 2022 – our inaugural year – we activated and supported Jewish institutions to help ensure a free, fair, safe, and accessible elections by, for example, recruiting poll workers; opening their buildings to serve as polling sites; recruiting lawyers for the Election Official Legal Defense Network, which provides pro bono legal support for election officials targeted by harassment and intimidation; and recruiting nonpartisan poll monitors. In 2023, we’ve widened our aperture to include other strategic priorities, including expanding opportunities for civic learning, cultivating the practice of democracy, and promoting ideological pluralism.

In addition to catalyzing and supporting our partners to pursue meaningful pro-democracy activities in their contexts and communities, we are working to build a trust-based network among our partners that will transcend geography, sector, denomination, and ideology. For both principled and pragmatic reasons, we are committed to doing our work in a spirit of transpartisanship, working with pro-democracy leaders and institutions across the political and ideological spectrum.

A More Perfect Union is fiscally sponsored by Tides Center and guided by our Strategic Advisors.

ABOUT THE POSITION

A More Perfect Union seeks a full-time, visionary Senior Director of Development to design and implement a comprehensive revenue strategy that advances A More Perfect Union’s mission, impact, and growth and ensures our sustainability over the long-term. A More Perfect Union’s fundraising to date has primarily been driven by a small number of institutional funders and major donors, and the Senior Director of Development will work closely with our Executive Director to build on that core to meet our short-term fundraising goals while ensuring the long-term financial sustainability of the organization. In support of our mission and strategy, the Senior Director of Development will also diversify our revenue stream to include funding from pro-democracy funders from across the political spectrum and beyond the Jewish community.

The ideal candidate is an experienced fundraiser, savvy communicator, and authentic relationship- builder who has a passion for our mission and is able to craft and articulate compelling cases for support – grounded in a deep understanding of our organizational strategy – to diverse stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

Design and evolve core fundraising strategy

• Work with the Executive Director to develop a comprehensive strategy to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward individual and institutional funders aligned with A More Perfect Union’s mission, strategy, and approach.
• Set the big picture for evolving our fundraising, building a prospect pipeline, maximizing engagement of funders with the organization, and investing all staff in building a culture of philanthropy.
• Building on our successful 2022 pilot, refine and implement our Aligned Funding Program to channel philanthropic resources directly to our partners to incentivize and support their pro-democracy activities.

Implement core fundraising strategy

• Oversee all fundraising efforts to ensure we are raising our annual revenue budget (our revenue goal for 2024 will be between $1.5-2M) and making substantive progress toward growth through a diversified fundraising plan, including envisioning and creating a major gifts program.
• Own a portfolio of potential and existing individual funders through the entire cycle from identification to solicitation and stewardship, and provide support for the Executive Director’s relationships with institutional funders.
• Develop a sophisticated understanding of trends and key players in A More Perfect Union’s operating environment and serve as an expert on – and ambassador for – our mission and impact to be able to represent the organization effectively with a broad range of stakeholders.
• Work with the VP for Strategy and Communication to raise A More Perfect Union’s profile and strengthen its reputation with donors, constituents, partners, and the general public, which may include pitch decks, newsletters, press releases, impact reports, presentations, and other written communications.
• Work with the Senior Director of Operations to refine and maintain our development operations systems – including prospect pipeline management, proposal development, moves management/stewardship, donor acknowledgements, and reporting – to ensure our team’s capacity to meet deadlines with quality and accuracy.
• In partnership with the Senior Director of Operations, liaise with our fiscal sponsor to ensure accurate reporting and tracking of revenue and cash flow.
• Work with the VP for Network and Impact to ensure timely sharing of data, information, and stories for communications with funders.
• Identify, hire, and supervise external vendors to supplement capacity as needed.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCES, AND SKILLS

• 7+ years of demonstrated fundraising success and frontline experience securing 5- and 6- figure gifts from institutional and/or individual donors, including roles that required communicating with a variety of stakeholders. Prior grant-writing experience is preferred.
• Demonstrated success developing and overseeing effective institutional and individual fundraising strategies for organizations in the $1-5M annual budget range.
• Outstanding communication skills, including creating powerful fundraising materials and sharing complex ideas through simple presentations. You are skilled at analyzing, breaking down, and communicating ideas in ways that inspire others to action. You leverage data and stories to articulate the “why” behind an organization’s mission and impact.
• Passion for A More Perfect Union’s vision and approach, and ability to represent it powerfully. You are an enthusiastic advocate for A More Perfect Union’s value and excited to make the case that a collaborative effort to ensure free and fair elections and to protect and strengthen democratic culture is essential.
• Gravitas, credibility, and an authentic, warm personality that translates to building strong, trust-based relationships with existing and potential donors. You are a natural networker and have the ability to develop rapport easily and foster long-term connections with a range of personalities. You excel in identifying, cultivating, and soliciting gifts from new donors.
• Proficient in impact assessment and synthesizing insights from qualitative and quantitative data into verbal communication and/or written materials.
• Skilled at building internal relationships on a small, nimble team and capable of operating at a high level both collaboratively and independently.
• Adept with complex project management in a fundraising context and effectiveness at collaborating with others.
• Experience working at an early- or mezzanine-stage, entrepreneurial nonprofit.
• Tech-savvy, particularly with Google Workplace, CRMs (we use Zoho), Zoom, Slack, and Asana.

• Commitment to A More Perfect Union’s Core Values:
  • ACTION-ORIENTED
    • We prioritize action, both because our work demands urgency and because the best learning comes from experimentation, hypothesis-testing, and adaptation.

• COLLABORATIVE
  • We know that none of us is as smart as all of us, so we are always looking for new people to learn from and dream and build with. And because we know that each of us only sees one part of the elephant, we seek to build a community rich with diverse identities, perspectives, and experiences.

• TRUSTWORTHY
  • We know that organizations and networks move at the speed of trust. We work hard to earn and maintain the trust of our colleagues and our partners by prioritizing respect, empathy, reliability, and accountability.

• CURIOUS
  • We are voracious learners, eager to deepen our understanding of the communities and fields in which we operate and resistant to pat answers to complex problems.

• RESOLUTE
  • We believe that – with commitment and hard work – things can get better, and we resist succumbing to cynicism, complacency, or armchair outrage.

• JOYFUL
  • We believe that our team and our work are more effective when we infuse them with playfulness, celebration, and a sense of humor.

WORK ENVIRONMENT, SALARY, AND BENEFITS

A More Perfect Union currently has team members in New York City; Washington, DC; Long Island, NY; and Dallas, TX. While team members primarily work remotely, we gather in person quarterly and expect to begin convening partners in person in 2024. Team members should expect to travel domestically ~6-8 times per year for 1-3 days at a time for team retreats, funder meetings, conferences, etc. Tides (our fiscal sponsor) offers a generous benefits package including comprehensive medical, dental and vision insurance, paid time off, life insurance, short- and long-term disability insurances, retirement plan, paid parental leave (12 weeks), and employee resources designed to support the passion and commitment that is vital to our team members. The salary range for this position is $120,000-150,000 per year.

Note that we believe that there are multiple potential pathways to achieve our revenue goals. If you are interested in working with us, but have a different vision than the one outlined in this job description, please feel free to reach out. We’d love to talk to you about it.

HOW TO APPLY

Please submit your application via Workable, including a resume and brief short answer questions reflecting on your interest in and qualifications for the position. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis with priority given to those received by October 26.

A More Perfect Union places a high value on creating and fostering an inclusive workplace. We do not make hiring decisions based on race, religion, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, political affiliation, pregnancy, disability, or any other status protected by law. Individuals from across the political spectrum who are passionate about protecting and strengthening American democracy are strongly encouraged to apply.

Not sure you meet 100% of our qualifications? Research shows that men apply for jobs when they meet an average of 60% of the criteria, while women and other people who are systematically marginalized tend to only apply if they meet every requirement. If you believe that you could excel in this role, we encourage you to apply. We are dedicated to considering a broad array of candidates, including those with diverse workplace experiences and backgrounds. Whether you're new to this field, returning to work after a gap in employment, looking to transition, or take the next step in your career path, we will be glad to have you on our radar.