Title: Director of Institutional Writing and Strategy – Democracy
**Department: **Development
**Status: **Exempt
Reports to: Vice President of Institutional Partnerships
**Positions Reporting to this Position: **None
**Location: **Flexible (the employee may decide whether to work remotely and/or from an LCVEF office)
**Travel Requirements: **Up to 5%
Union Position: Yes
**Job Classification Level: **E
Salary Range (depending on experience): $90,236 – $110,236
LCV Education Fund (LCVEF), in partnership with its sister organization, LCV, is one of the only major environmental groups and the biggest issue-area organization that has made significant strides and investments in democracy. The communities most affected by climate change, pollution, and environmental injustice are the same communities that our country has systematically excluded from the democratic process and who continue to face targeted efforts to limit civic participation. Beyond the threats to climate action that attacks on our democracy pose, voting rights rollbacks are fundamentally unjust and have consequences that reach far beyond the environment. A concerted effort to protect both is critical. To meet this challenge and support the ongoing growth of our democracy programs, LCVEF is seeking an exceptional writer and fundraiser to join our team.
Building on our highly regarded national nonpartisan civic engagement program that has registered and turned out millions of underrepresented voters since 2012, we are actively growing a coordinated state democracy program across our 30+ state affiliates, collectively known as the Conservation Voters Movement (CVM). In 2023 alone, this emerging program supported 140 state policy victories for voting rights and democracy and is now poised to expand with new support from funding identified through the work of this position.
The newly created role of Director of Institutional Writing and Strategy – Democracy will significantly increase funding for our democracy work at the state, regional, and federal levels and support the launch of a new Unified Fundraising pilot program. The goal of the Unified program is to combine fundraising between LCVEF and participating state affiliates, resulting in more money from more donors to power the Conservation Voters Movement.
The Director of Institutional Writing and Strategy – Democracy will join a core team charged primarily with raising $60+ million annually from foundations and other institutions to support the charitable and public education programs of LCVEF and its sister organization, LCV. Responsibilities include the creation of all written content for institutional fundraising such as grant proposals, reports, and customized impact updates for existing and prospective funders. They will be responsible for cultivating and stewarding a portfolio of current funders and prospective funders as well as guiding the overall strategy for expanding funding for our democracy policy, advocacy, and civic engagement work. This work will be achieved through close collaboration with our national program staff and our network of state affiliates. This is an excellent opportunity for an outstanding writer, and strategic relationship-builder who wants to make a significant impact on the intersection of democracy and the environment, through a strong racial justice and equity lens.
Writing and Communication
Develop and manage the production of high-impact, tailored grant proposals and all related materials that compellingly convey the breadth and depth of our programs, including our mission, direction, and commitment to racial justice and equity.
Lead a collaborative process with program staff to frame LCVEF programs and initiatives, including state and regional perspectives. Work with national and state program staff to develop, write, and present new and pilot proposals to funders.
Ensure that proposals elevate our work with historically disenfranchised groups who have been pushed or left out of the democratic process, particularly communities of color, including sharing our successes and impact as well as recognizing areas for improvement and growth.
Oversee the proposal development and submission process to ensure all proposals and applications are complete and submitted on time. Coordinate with the Institutional Giving, program, finance, and legal teams to gather necessary content and materials.
Maintain records in Salesforce and other systems for all democracy funders to ensure we have a complete record of communications and relationship history.
Lead on funder correspondence for invites to meetings, events, and other cultivation and stewardship opportunities.
Lead on scheduling, developing agendas, and preparing for meetings with funders.
Create and maintain profiles on funders in Salesforce and in our research files to ensure they are current and accurately reflect funder priorities and alignment with LCVEF and LCV programs.
Fundraising Strategy
Ensure we have a clear and effective strategy to build an institutional funder prospect pipeline and cultivate strong funder relationships over time, in partnership with the State Capacity Building and Community and Civic Engagement program teams, and state affiliate staff.
Directly manage a portfolio of existing democracy funders and prospects to ensure they are cultivated, stewarded, and solicited in ways that maximize our long-term relationships and support.
Ensure the Executive Team and relevant national and state affiliate staff are fully prepared and supported for meetings and follow-up with funders.
Ensure that funder strategies are coordinated with other members of the Institutional Giving team, especially for current funders of other programs that may also be interested in funding democracy work.
Regularly evaluate progress toward our institutional fundraising goals for democracy programs at LCVEF and LCV, flagging any places where we are off track, and identifying and implementing strong strategies to adjust the work to reach our goals.
Travel up to 5% of the time for staff retreats, conferences, and professional development opportunities, as needed.
Work Experience: Required – Minimum of 4 years of experience in professional fundraising, including at least 2 years of grant writing. Thorough understanding of institutional funding and fundraising, and successful track record of securing significant commitments from institutional funders are essential. Demonstrated ability to quickly develop a nuanced understanding of and relationships within the democracy funding landscape. Preferred – In-depth understanding of how 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) entities intersect and the differences in writing for each entity’s programs. Existing in-depth knowledge of and strong relationships with democracy funders.
**Skills: **Exceptional writer, with the ability to write and edit compelling funding proposals and other materials that convey the full scope of our work, including our commitment to, impacts in, and growth areas in racial justice and equity. Understanding of and ability to tell a compelling story about how environmental issues intersect with democracy, voting rights, and civic engagement. Excellent strategic relationship builder, with demonstrated success cultivating strong relationships over time with funders and other external allies. Excellent project manager with the ability to manage the full grant life-cycle from start to finish, including juggling multiple competing deadlines and managing the relevant work of colleagues from across several departments. Flexible and able to adapt to the needs of the role and to shifting priorities and changes in the funding landscape. Ability to build on and add to our team’s culture of strong collaboration. Fluency in Salesforce or other CRM, or ability to learn quickly.
**Racial Justice and Equity Competencies: **Demonstrated awareness of personal attitudes, biases and assumptions with an ability to successfully deliver culturally responsive services.. Commitment to equity and inclusion as organizational practice and culture. Understands how environmental and democracy issues intersect with racism, economic and social inequality in the U.S. and is driven to work to dismantle these systems. Able to build strong and trusting relationships across a range of identities and teams. Motivated and able to meaningfully contribute to discussions and plans to improve and deliver on our development team-wide commitment to anti-racist fundraising, including curiosity about and dedication to improving our approach within our reality and current context.
**Working Conditions: **This position is largely sedentary, often standing or sitting for prolonged periods. The person in this position frequently communicates with partners and major donors and must be able to exchange accurate information. Able to work hours in excess of stated office hours, as needed. Applicants need to be located in and legally authorized to work in the United States.
LCVEF offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package that includes vacation, sick and parental leave, personal days, paid holidays, health insurance (two plan options for staff to choose from), dental and vision insurance, life and disability insurance (short- and long-term), Flexible Spending Account, 401(k) retirement plan with company matching contribution, commuter benefits program, sabbatical, and student loan assistance.
To Apply: Send cover letter and resume to hr@lcvef.org with “Director of Institutional Writing and Strategy – Democracy” in the subject line by May 20, 2024. No phone calls please.
LCVEF is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to a racially just, equitable and inclusive workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, or genetic information, or any other protected status. LCVEF is committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities. If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please contact hr@lcvef.org.