Development Director / Development Manager (DOE)
WHO WE ARE
California YIMBY's mission is to make California an affordable place to live, work, and raise a family. Right now, millions of Californians live in crowded and substandard housing, with high rent burdens, exposure to health risks, and multi-hour commutes. As a result, many Californians are leaving the state, and fewer would-be Californians are immigrating. For many companies, the astronomical cost of housing is driving them to hire talent in other states. We need to reverse this trend, and we can.
California's housing shortage - and the affordability, environmental, equity, and health crises it has caused - is the result of decades of deliberate policies to limit the supply of housing. Building affordable, dense housing is currently illegal in the majority of urban California, but it doesn't have to be. If we change our housing and land use laws, we could build millions of new homes in existing urban areas without displacing incumbent communities.
California YIMBY's goal is to build a movement and pass legislation to end the housing shortage. Founded in 2017, California YIMBY has led on passing 17 bills, which will enable millions of homes to be built in California. We've built a membership of 80,000 Californians, 20 local YIMBY Teams, and 3 pro-housing coalitions, and we're just getting started.
Come join our high-impact team where we are ending the housing shortage and building a California where tens of millions of people can benefit from expanded economic and social opportunity. Together, we can put California back on a path of broad-based economic prosperity, and create vibrant, inclusive, and livable communities for everyone!
POSITION SUMMARY
The Development Director/Manager is responsible for leading our fundraising program and, in partnership with our CEO and program team, raising the funds necessary for California YIMBY to meet our annual budget and successfully further our goals.
Reporting to the CEO, the Development Director will develop the structure and strategy to expand the portfolio of current donors, particularly among individuals and foundations.
This position will support California YIMBY's 501(c)4, 501(c)3, and PAC organizations. Areas of responsibility will include donor research and acquisition, cultivation and solicitation, mail and email campaigns, special events, major donor prospecting, cultivation and stewardship, grant writing and reports, and supporting leadership in their fundraising efforts.
California YIMBY is a predominantly remote team with staff across California and offices in Sacramento and Oakland. This position can be based anywhere in California, but a Bay Area location is strongly preferred.
DUTIES & ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS
- Work with the CEO, COO and the leadership team to build the structure, strategy, best practices, and donor pipeline require to meet the needs of California YIMBY's advocacy and program efforts now and in the future;
- Actively understand and promote California YIMBY to prospects, donors and the public, effectively communicating the urgency and need for housing reform and build support for California YIMBY's work;
- Create and sustain a structured individual giving and major gifts program, including prospect identification, cultivation and solicitation;
- Develop a personal portfolio of major gift prospects ($5,000 and above); actively identify and cultivate individuals and corporations to advance their engagement and financial support;
- Working across the organization, help establish messaging for communicating outcomes of California YIMBY's work; develop and create content for ongoing donor communications; coordinate with the Communications team on a content calendar and creation of communication collateral and a donor story bank;
- Produce and manage annual major fundraising campaign, including letters/emails/social media integration and other appeals to donors and partners;
- Grow and direct California YIMBY's fundraising event program. Assess event opportunities, partner with host donors, and plan the events from concept to implementation;
- Regularly meet with the CEO to review the prospect pool and devise specific strategies for individual engagement and solicitation; work closely with the CEO, COO, and the Board of Directors to support their major donor & institutional fundraising efforts;
- In partnership with the executive team, develop and justify revenue goals and departmental/campaign budgets; provide revenue analysis and projections; measure the ROI on key strategies and make recommendations to grow and diversify annual revenue; and
- Supervise and support the Development and Data Associate whose scope of work includes gift processing and donor acknowledgment, event logistics, data entry, list development, and campaign reporting, grassroots email fundraising, and routine fundraising administrative support.
EXPERIENCE
The successful candidate will likely have:
- Success in building a major gifts and/or institutional corporate philanthropy program - ideally ones targeting business leadership (especially Silicon Valley leadership);
- Knowledge of and experience with fundraising systems and policies based on current best practices;
- Experience working in organizations focused on policy, advocacy, and/or campaign fundraising;
- 501(c)4, PAC experience and/or knowledge of California housing policy preferred;
- Demonstrated success in personally identifying, cultivating, and soliciting individual major donors;
- Experience measuring fundraising ROI and assessing campaign results;
- Familiarity with Salesforce (or similar CRM tools), Action Network (or similar email marketing tools), ActBlue (or similar donation platforms), Adobe Creative Suite, WordPress, and using social media for fundraising are highly desirable;
- Proven ability to support the effective use of technology, data, and relationship mapping as a means of deepening relationships and opportunities; enthusiasm to learn and adopt new technologies; and
- Knowledge of local, federal, and state legislation and of accounting and tax laws, regulations, and rules affecting various forms of charitable giving.
This position may be hired at the Managerial or Director level. Competitive Director level candidates will likely have a minimum of five years of progressive development experience including departmental budget authority, direct supervision experience, existing relationships with institutional or individual donors, and demonstrated experience managing a major donor or institutional portfolio that generates more than a million dollars annually.
ATTRIBUTES
- Have passion for the mission of California YIMBY, be aligned with our values, and share our determination to end the housing shortage;
- Superior organizational and time management skills, including strong attention to detail, ability to meet deadlines reliably and timely follow-through;
- Entrepreneurial; able to see need and act upon it; self-motivated and self-directed; able to thrive in a fast-paced environment with multiple projects, tight schedules, and short deadlines;
- Exceptional communication skills; articulate, with proven ability to write effectively and speak persuasively; appreciates brevity and can make the case with clarity and passion;
- Intellectually curious and proactive; able to learn quickly, identify and seize opportunities;
- Excellent relationship-building skills and ability to build rapport with internal and external stakeholders around innovative ideas and programs;
- Demonstrates integrity, transparency, honesty, and collaboration;
- Committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Experience working respectfully and successfully with audiences of diverse backgrounds and interests, including leaders of color;
- Possesses a sense of humor and the ability to employ it appropriately;
- Ability to think on your feet, problem solve, and remain calm under pressure;
- Demonstrates sound judgment and fundraising expertise; and
- Exercises a keen sense of organizational diplomacy, able to uphold high standards of confidentiality.
OUR VALUES
Diversity. Equity. Inclusion. These are not just words at California YIMBY. These values are key to furthering our mission to make California an affordable place to live, work, and raise a family. Representation matters, especially in our work to end the housing crisis. A crisis that, by design, continues to disproportionately impact communities of color. To address that historic and ongoing inequity, we are building a YIMBY movement that reflects California's rich diversity and we actively seek diverse candidates with broad professional and lived experience.
Our vision is of a California where neighbors welcome new neighbors of all backgrounds, and current residents are not displaced from their communities.
- We believe in neighborliness, and that communities are enriched and strengthened by openness and diversity. We believe that California holds the promise of opportunity for all: the chance to start a new life, the freedom to be our authentic selves, the promise of prosperity, and the lure of our natural wonders.
- We believe in empowerment, and support those who want to accommodate new neighbors while ensuring that new developments take place without displacement. We believe that existing residents have a right to remain in their neighborhoods. We make an effort to seek out and include people with varied backgrounds, experiences, and identities to inform our agenda and priorities. We do not tolerate intolerance.
- We pursue excellence in every aspect of our work - from the policies we design and support, to the way we interact with our colleagues, allies, partners and elected officials. We believe trustworthiness is a pillar of human progress. We are passionate advocates for more housing and insist on holding ourselves to account. We believe in evidence-based decision-making. When we learn something new, we change our views to accommodate our learnings.
California YIMBY is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer and is committed to providing equal opportunity for all employees and applicants. California YIMBY recruits, hires, trains, promotes, compensates, and administers all personnel actions without regard to age, ancestry, color, disability (mental and physical), exercising the right to family care and medical leave, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religious creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and related medical conditions), and sexual orientation. California YIMBY will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
HOW TO APPLY
QueensBench has been retained exclusively by California YIMBY to conduct this search. For a confidential conversation, please send your resume and a covering email explaining your interest to us at:
Leigh Maurus leigh@queensbench.com | Sarah Blumling sarah@queensbench.com |