INN is a rapidly growing network of more than 475 nonprofit news organizations across the U.S dedicated to serving the public’s need to stay informed and engaged. As the only journalism support organization designed to support the broad nonprofit news field, INN provides members with important infrastructure and capacity building resources, training, leadership development, convenings, research and coaching that helps members grow their business operations, revenue and audience.
One of the programs that has helped spur the growth of the field is NewsMatch, an unparalleled matching campaign and capacity building program that is transforming community support for nonprofit news. Since its inception in 2016, NewsMatch has generated over $400 million to the field from national funders, local matches, and individual donors who are essential partners in this work.
Under the supervision of the Chief Development Officer (CDO), INN’s Development Director, NewsMatch will primarily focus on cultivating and securing annual funding for NewsMatch. This position will help design and execute strategies to expand and secure more philanthropic support for NewsMatch from major national and regional foundations, as well as family foundations and local funders. The Development Director will be a key member of a three-person Development team and will work closely with INN’s NewsMatch team, our NewsMatch program partners at The Miami Foundation, INN’s CEO, communications team, and finance team.
Key to success in this role will be developing and implementing both strategies and moves management plans to build strong relationships with new institutional prospects outside of the usual journalism philanthropic circles, as well as strengthening relationships with existing funders, philanthropy serving organizations and other stakeholders.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
NewsMatch Fundraising (65%)
Prospecting & Cultivation
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
NewsMatch Fundraising (65%)
Prospecting & Cultivation
- Collaborate with Institutional Giving Manager and CDO to identify and qualify new foundation prospects to create a robust pipeline of support for NewsMatch.
With input from the CDO, develop a portfolio of ~20-25 NewsMatch funders that can contribute at least $2MM annually to NewsMatch in the first year, with a focus on building multi-year commitments to the program.
- Develop and implement moves management plan to achieve fundraising goals, deploying and leveraging INN’s executive leadership, the NewsMatch team, INN’s board, and other friends as needed.
- Forge strong relationships among funders, philanthropy serving organizations, Press Forward and their local chapters to activate their support for NewsMatch
Work with the NewsMatch team to draft and edit annual templated NewsMatch requests for support, reports and other cultivation and stewardship communications.
- Travel to offsite funder cultivation and stewardship meetings, conferences, and other INN and NewsMatch events. Expect ~6-8 trips per year.
Solicitation and Stewardship
- Develop compelling concept papers, LOIs, proposals and reports for prospects and existing funders, with a focus on multi-year commitments.
- Develop NewsMatch proposals and reports for funders
- Create a high-quality stewardship experience in conjunction with INN’s CDO and the NewsMatch team through regular personalized correspondence and updates, and timely acknowledgements
Event Design and Management (20%)
- Develop, plan, and participate in year-round strategic fundraising and “friend-raising” for both NewsMatch and INN engagement events – both in person and online – with the goal of deepening relationships and unlocking support. This involves smaller targeted events in person and online for select prospects in the portfolio and larger cultivation and stewardship events.
- Collaborate with CDO, INN communications and NewsMatch team on event collateral, program, and attendee lists
Development and Information Management (15%)
- Maintain an organized and detailed funder and donor pipeline and moves management plan via CRM (Salesforce); develop and present fundraising progress reports to share with external partners and NewsMatch team
- Use project management software (Asana) to delegate and assign tasks and milestones to the NewsMatch team and INN staff.
QUALIFICATIONS
We’re seeking a director who is comfortable with and has demonstrated at least 7 years experience in building strong, authentic relationships with major institutional funders as well as family foundations, local funders, and donors. The director needs to be an outstanding verbal and written communicator with strong active listening skills, who can synthesize information and tailor communication to specific interests of varied audiences. This role also a track record in forging strong relationships with program colleagues and external stakeholders
Because this is a remote position, whoever takes on this role needs to balance working proactively and independently, with clear, consistent, and proactive communication with remote colleagues. And because this is a frontline fundraising role, the director will be expected to travel 6-8 times annually.
You’ll be a good fit with
- Strong development background with a minimum of 7 years of institutional and major gift fundraising, with demonstrated success securing six or seven- figure grants.
- Proven track record of cultivating and securing new revenue from a variety of funders, with an emphasis on private foundation giving from a mix of national, regional, and local funders
- Experience in developing and implementing successful/impactful moves management plans that move prospects from potential funders to ongoing supporters.
- Strategic and creative thinker with the ability to develop and implement effective fundraising strategies
- Proven ability to plan and execute fundraising events
- Outstanding oral, written, communication and presentation skills
- Strong interpersonal skills: attentive listening and observation, transparency, collaboration, and clear communication.
- High level of organizational skills, attention to detail, and adaptability to quickly changing priorities
- Experience working with fundraising CRMs (Salesforce preferred), and prospect research tools like
- DonorSearch, Candid and other funder/donor research tools
- Fluency in office productivity software (preference for Google Workspace) and proficient in project management software
- Proven ability to take initiative, while exercising diplomacy and sound judgment in a fast-paced and dynamic work environment
Preferred Experience:
- Passionate about journalism, media and democracy
- Experience working in a nonprofit newsroom, public media, or other media centered nonprofit
- Familiarity with media, journalism and/or democracy fundraising, including securing support from issue- and locally-focused funders and donors
- Experience in partnering with executive teams to meet fundraising objectives
We expect the successful candidate to be stronger in some qualifications listed above than others; we are committed to helping our future colleague expand their skills and hope to learn from their areas of strength.
About INN
As the core organization supporting a network of 475+ independent member newsrooms, the Institute for Nonprofit News is identifying and accelerating changes that will transform the media sector into a true public service. INN’s vision is to build a nonprofit news network that ensures all people in every community have access to trusted news. To that end, we pursue our mission of providing education and business support services to our nonprofit member organizations and promoting the value and benefit of public-service and investigative journalism. INN programs help these news organizations develop revenue and business models to support strong reporting, collaborate on editorial and business innovation, share services and advance the diverse leaders who are forging a new future for news.
About the team
This role reports to the Chief Development Officer and sits within the Development team, which also includes a Institutional Giving Manager. This role will work most closely internally with our NewsMatch and Communications teams and our CEO. The Development team also connects regularly with journalism funder community, Press Forward, and The Miami Foundation, which is a strategic partner of and fiscal sponsor for NewsMatch, and our board.
Compensation and conditions
INN provides employer-sponsored benefits including medical, dental, vision, and retirement plans, short term disability insurance, vacation and sick time, and a generous parental leave policy. This role will be expected to travel at least once a year for a staff retreat and at least another five times annually. The salary range for this position is $110,000-125,000 depending on relevant experience. We encourage applications from communities traditionally underrepresented in news and the nonprofit sector.
We value diversity, work in the open and do everything we can to give back to the journalism and nonprofit communities (read more about our team values). INN is an equal opportunity employer and we’re actively seeking to increase diversity in our own operation and across the field of journalism. We encourage applications from communities traditionally underrepresented in news media, nonprofits, or philanthropy.
The position is remote. Preference given to candidates located in Central Time or Eastern Time Zones and easy proximity to a major metro airport.
TO APPLY: Please submit a resume and cover letter using this form. All applications must be submitted using the form; emailed applications will not be considered. Applications will be evaluated on a rolling basis until the position is filled, but we encourage applicants to apply as early as possible.