Sr. Development Director

The Company
Resolve Philly is an unconventional journalism organization that challenges our industry to be more equitable, collaborative, and based in community voices and solutions. The organization was founded in 2018, by Jean Friedman-Rudovsky and Cassie Haynes, having grown out of a 2017 collaborative reporting project around reentry from prison, a critical issue facing Philadelphia. Thirteen local newsrooms came together to do solutions  reporting on this central topic, producing more than 200 stories and spurring policy change. Resolve now has three programmatic initiatives—which all work in tandem with one another.  We are rooted in Philadelphia, but the scope of our work is national and our sphere of influence is global. 

The Role
The successful candidate is an experienced fundraiser and a highly effective relationship-builder. You are digitally savvy and an excellent communicator, and you’re excited to use these skills to build financial leadership around Resolve Philly’s initiatives, culture, vision, and mission. You will directly support/manage Resolve’s small development team and are eager to lend your experience to this role as they manage workflows and fundraising projects. The primary emphasis of this role is growing major donor giving, and also you are eager to participate as a leader in the organization’s fundraising strategy as it continues to grow its institutional and foundation relationships. You are psyched to use your creativity and expertise to support the development strategy of a one-of-a-kind journalism catalyst organization that is locally rooted and nationally relevant. 

What You’ll Do

  • Lead the work and growth of Resolve’s major donor portfolio and program
  • Work with the Executive and Development Teams, set annual fundraising  budget according to short- and long-term strategy
  • With the Executive Team, establish fundraising objectives for the organization across multiple time domains (quarterly/annually as well as longer-term objectives)
  • Build and maintain an intimate relationship with the organization’s budget and capacity needs
  • With the development team, sustain and build on Resolve’s current major donor stewardship strategy
  • Engage with CRM system and maintain relationships with the organization’s  individual and institutional donors
  • With the development team, research and apply for potential sources of public and grant funding
  • Responsibility for regular assessment and iterations on Resolve’s fundraising and stewardship process and workflow
  • Ensure funding records, receipts, and disbursements are accurate and maintained
  • Thought-partnership and executive leadership in planning and executing fundraising and stewardship events that authentically and effectively communicate and represent the mission, vision, and values of the organization 
  • Provide organizational leadership that supports and guides Resolve’s direction and mission

Who You Are

  • You are an experienced fundraiser with demonstrated capacity to prospect and secure 5-6 figure gifts from individual donors
  • You are deeply committed to racial, social, and economic justice; you approach your work with grace, humility, openness, and curiosity
  • You have an established background in planning and coordinating nonprofit fundraising strategies and cultivating long-term relationships with funders
  • You understand that fundraising is not about asking for charity or hand-outs, but rather about the necessary movement of resources for important and impactful work to be done in the world
  • You understand and actively practice a relationship-based approach to fundraising rather than a transactional one
  • You manage your time effectively and can adapt quickly to new/different ways of using digital platforms including project and donor management software
  • You are a superb written and verbal communicator with strong interpersonal skills and a high degree of emotional intelligence 
  • You are an organized and inspiring leader
  • You are a lover of connections, you understand the importance of relationship-building, and you are a true strategic thinker
  • You are excited to build leadership and investment in a mission-driven organization with a budget of approximately $4M. 
  • You are a highly collaborative self-starter; you love being a part of a team and you manage your own work and time well 
  • You’re excited to support the growth of a fast-growing organization that functions more like a social enterprise and less as a standard non-profit organization

This position is full-time and the successful candidate resides in metro Philadelphia. The salary for this position is $110,000. Resolve offers full medical, dental, vision, and short-term disability benefits, in addition to employer-sponsored life-insurance, a 401K, wellness and technology benefits, and unlimited paid time off. The ideal candidate is available to start by early/mid April 2023. Interested applicants, please submit a letter explaining why you believe this is the right role for you, along with your resume, via our application form, by 11:59 PM ET on March 10, 2023.

At Resolve Philly we are looking for people who are passionate about the work that we are doing and who are excited to bring their unique set of skills and experiences to the table. If you feel like you’d be a good fit but you’re worried that your experience might not be exactly aligned with what we’ve posted in this job description, please consider applying anyway. We strongly encourage women, BIPOC individuals, returning citizens, LGBTQ+ folks, immigrants, and people with disabilities to apply. Research shows people with experiences and identities that are underrepresented in leadership roles often discount their own qualifications. We won’t.