Development Director, North Carolina

We are seeking an experienced, innovative, and relationship-centered fundraising professional to join as our first ever Development Director on the North Carolina team here at Common Cause.

This is an exciting opportunity to build impactful relationships with donors across the state, and to tell our story to millions across the state to grow our team’s ability to lead impactful coalitions and be a leader in strengthening democracy in North Carolina.  

This is a full-time role reporting to the Executive Director, North Carolina; this role is based in the Triangle, North Carolina, with an expectation to travel around the state up to 3 days per week. We hope our new Development Director will start in April.

Responsibilities

Develop and implement our fundraising strategy

- Develop and execute our fundraising strategy for the North Carolina team, including how we will identify, cultivate, grow and diversify our support across major donors, planned giving, and foundations in North Carolina  

 - Cultivate and maintain relationships with major donors and foundations, and sustain a portfolio of at least 50 major donors who are contributing $1,000 or more per year

- Collaborate with our External Affairs team to create and execute a strategy to engage our donors, and manage fundraising communications via email, website, social media, and other channels

- Lead the strategy and implementation of fundraising events and campaigns

- In collaboration with members of the team, manage foundation and corporate fundraising, meeting deadlines for proposal and reporting, and ensuring all grant deliverables are met 

- Ensure administration of pass-through grants and payments to community partners and grantees

- Monitor and analyze fundraising data to evaluate performance and adjust strategies as needed 

- Share reports with our advisory board, and support with creating agendas for and facilitating board meetings

- Provide guidance to staff, advisory board members, and volunteers on how they can support our fundraising efforts

Manage the Development Coordinator and oversee development operations for North Carolina

- Manage the Development Coordinator: collaboratively set goals, coach and develop them towards these goals and support their career progression and retention at Common Cause

- Collaborate with the Finance team to share data about individual donations and foundation grants, and details needed for our annual audit

- Ensure our donor database is maintained accurately

- Manage the budget and expenses for development for the North Carolina team

Other duties as assigned

• A strong commitment to Common Cause’s nonpartisan mission and to advancing racial equity through our national agenda
• A commitment to equity in the goals of your work and in how you work with others 
• Ability to quickly build rapport, trust, and credibility with multiple stakeholders with diverse interests; a track record of working collaboratively with others, navigating organizational and power dynamics to meet common goals, and respectfully navigating conflict while maintaining your values 
• Innovative and strategic thinking skills, with the ability to navigate through ambiguity to achieve goals, and a resourceful approach to solve problems
• Ability to manage and meet deadlines for multiple short- and long-term priorities at once, with high attention to detail; strong organization skills, and an ability to manage your time independently 
• An ability to compel and persuade others through both written and verbal communication, and specifically to translate complex topics and programs into inspiring pitches; and an ability to maintain discretion with sensitive and confidential donor information  
• Openness to feedback and awareness of your own strengths and areas for growth    
• Familiarity with office productivity tools including Microsoft Office, Slack, and Zoom; ideally you have experience using a CRM to manage your work with donors

• Demonstrated success at closing gifts at $1,000 and above
• Experience fundraising through major donors, foundations, and grants; ideally you have done this work for both 501c3 and 501c4 organizations
• Demonstrated familiarity with the donor landscape in North Carolina (either knowledge of or existing relationships with major donors and foundations)
• Experience coaching others to develop skills, ideally as the manager of a full-time staff member  
• Ability to travel up to three days per week in-state and 1-2 times per year across the US for meetings with donors as well as team and all staff retreats
• Per our nonpartisan policy, Common Cause staff members may not currently be in elected office (or running for office); on the Steering Committee or Finance Committee for any political candidate; or affiliated with the leadership of a political party

• This position is classified as supervisory and therefore not included in the union-represented collective bargaining unit.
• Common Cause is unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa at this time; please note that if hired, you will be asked to produce documentation for authorization to work in the US. 

Common Cause is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applicants of any race, creed, color, religion, ethnicity, national origin, income class, political affiliation, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, veteran status, or marital status, as well as applicants who have been previously incarcerated.

Common Cause (501(c)(4)) and Common Cause Education Fund (501(c)(3)) are nonpartisan, nonprofit grassroots affiliate organizations dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy. We work to create an open, honest, and accountable government that serves the public interest; promote equal rights, opportunity, and representation for all; and empower all people to make their voices heard in the political process.  

Founded in 1970 and headquartered in Washington, DC, Common Cause has more than 1.5 million members and supporters living in every congressional district in the United States, and offices in 23 states around the country.