Senior Development Role

About The Action Lab

The Action Lab is a strategy center for social movements that sparks political and personal liberation. We provide rigorous and joyful spaces for organizers, leaders and artists to learn, to create, and to strengthen our capacity to win. We strive to build a powerful culture that lifts us out of the immediate and enables us to envision and realize a just future.

The Action Lab’s programs center three primary objectives:

• Learning: The craft and context of community organizing are ever-evolving and demand interdisciplinary, experiential learning – and a durable scaffolding for that process. The Action Lab works with our partners to identify, pilot, and scale new insights and practices to realize transformational change.
• Creating: While politics is a vehicle to engage and challenge injustice, culture, not politics, is the way we make meaning of the world. The Action Lab is convening and nurturing a new and dynamic community to spark new work, and innovative ways of working, to realize our highest aspirations for justice.
• Strengthening: Our health, rigor, wisdom and community are what enable us to realize our potential. The Action Lab is committed to the foundational importance of the well-being of our people and organizations - to helping to create programs and support for organizers, artists, and organizations to drive discipline, reflection, impact and joy.

About the Position

The Action Lab is seeking an experienced leader in nonprofit development to fill a senior development role, with the precise title and seniority to be determined based on the selected candidate. The person in this role will be a leading member of the organization’s fundraising team and will help secure the long-term sustainability of our vital and growing programming for social justice movement organizations. The person filling the role will join The Action Lab with significant experience and demonstrated success in nonprofit organizational fundraising, and will have a shared commitment to the mission and vision of The Action Lab.

Reporting to a member of The Action Lab’s senior management, the new role will be responsible for managing a portfolio of fundraising and development projects from inception through completion and reporting. This role will also work closely with The Action Lab’s finance, communications, and program teams.

Primary Responsibilities

• Design, contribute to, and execute multiple parts of a fundraising strategy that ensures the organization’s ability to plan for multi-year growth.
• Cultivate and steward relationships with funders and decision makers at philanthropic foundations, government agencies, corporations, and individual donors to secure funding for organizational programs and initiatives.
• Lead the development and production of compelling grant proposals, donor appeals, and other fundraising materials, in close collaboration with programming and communications leads.
• Manage a portfolio of major donors and prospects, including conducting prospect research, scheduling meetings, and maintaining accurate records of ongoing fundraising efforts and past awards in a shared organizational database.
• Register and maintain The Action Lab’s accounts in new funder portals, payment systems, and databases.
• Liaise with program and finance team members to ensure the accurate and timely submission of reporting to fulfill funder requirements.
• Support staff members across the organization in setting and reaching individual fundraising goals.
• Plan, coordinate, and manage fundraising events.
• Coordinate on fundraising and related projects effectively with other staff, Advisory Board Members, Board of Directors, Fellows, allied organizations and Anchor Partners.
• As the development team grows, provide excellent supervision/management of staff, volunteers and consultants.
• Represent The Action Lab at fundraising events, conferences, and other public forums to promote awareness of our mission and attract new supporters.
• Support the Director of Development and Learning and other senior staff in additional duties as assigned to advance the organization's fundraising goals and overall mission.

Job Requirements

The ideal candidate will bring a combination of the following experiences and skills:

• A demonstrated commitment to social justice and a sound analysis of racial and economic justice as imperative for successful organizing and change work.
• Demonstrated success in meeting or exceeding fundraising goals and targets, with experience of helping to lead a team in securing funding in the range of $5 million annually or more.
• At least 5 years as mid- to senior-level staff in nonprofit fundraising and development, with evidence of securing significant contributions from individual donors, foundations, government agencies, and/or corporations.
• Experience applying for, successfully winning, and reporting on grants of substantial value from local, state, and/or US Government agencies and elected officials, ideally including funding for both programming and capital projects.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to articulate The Action Lab’s mission, details of programming, and funding needs persuasively to diverse audiences.
• A set of strong positive relationships with existing funders and/or deep familiarity with the social justice organizing and arts/culture funding landscape.
• Proven ability to manage multiple and increasing numbers of deadlines for application deadlines, reporting requirements, and related fundraising tasks.
• A strong numerical literacy and advanced proficiency with technical tools including AirTable and Google Sheets.

Salary and Benefits

Salary will be in the range of $100,000 to $160,000, determined according to the experience level of the candidate, with a generous benefits package.

Location

Primarily virtual; NYC preferred.

HOW TO APPLY

Please email the following as a single PDF document with the subject line “Application for Senior Development Role” to ben@actionlabny.org:

• a cover letter of not more than 1 page that outlines your relevant experience, background, and interest in helping to lead The Action Lab’s fundraising team;
• a resume not to exceed 2 pages.

Applications will be accepted and considered on a rolling basis. The Action Lab is seeking to fill this position as of June 1, 2024, but will be flexible to accommodate the ideal candidate.

The Action Lab is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and actively recruits people of color, women, individuals with disabilities and members of the LGBTQ community.