Open Positions
Development Director
Organization Profile
The Gray Matter Experience (TGME) is a non-profit and entrepreneurial experience program for Black high school students. Our mission is to unlock the self-determining power of Black youth and strengthen their ties to the community through real world experience in entrepreneurship. We believe that by allowing students to serve on the front lines of community growth and ownership, it will increase their self-worth and strengthen their ties to the communities in which they live.
This is an opportunity to join the founding team in our efforts to support Black students in their entrepreneurial pursuits. As a leader in our organization, you will assist the CEO in creating programmatic structure, hiring programming team members, and contributing to the growth & development of countless student entrepreneurs.
Position Overview
The Gray Matter Experience seeks an entrepreneurial fundraising professional to join us as our Development Director. The director will spearhead fundraising initiatives so that we can continue to meet the unique academic, social, and emotional needs of our diverse student population through an extraordinary portfolio of educational programs and enrichment activities.
The ideal candidate thrives in an environment rich with opportunity and purpose and is eager to support our mission to uplift students from diverse under-resourced communities and help close the education, knowledge, opportunity and resource gap. This new position with our rapidly growing organization builds on our momentum and provides a rewarding opportunity for a seasoned fundraising professional to establish and pioneer the systems, structure, and relationships that will increase revenue and eventually grow our fundraising team.
RESPONSIBILITIES
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Build a robust revenue stream from current and prospective individual, corporate, and foundation donors to grow our revenue, which has tripled in the past two years, to $2M annually in the next 2 years through a creative, multi-strategy framework
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Drive the cultivation, solicitation and stewardship process to create successful campaigns focusing on major donors, recurring donors, peer-to-peer fundraisers and similar resources
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Lead donor relations by crafting compelling communication pieces that convey our story with a clear call to action, fostering relationships that effectively convey our mission and value with emphasis on affinity, capacity and connection
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Create and manage fundraising budgets
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Leverage our CRM database of donors to manage proposals, outcomes and map relationships that identify promising stakeholder connections and networks
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Collaborate cross-functionally across our organization to develop narrative content for reports, meetings, and annual budget planning
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Partner with our leadership team and contribute as an administrative & strategic thought partner for annual fundraiser events
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Help manage the grant proposal process, including researching and identifying funding opportunities, writing and submitting compelling grant proposals that result in positive award decisions with successful implementation
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Build and maintain a pipeline of prospects with important dates and deadlines; research current and potential funders including foundation and government funding databases, grant opportunities, and archive all grants and reports submitted and received
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Initiate and nurture collaboration with organizational leadership and colleagues to understand and regularly assess funding needs, gaps, and opportunities
QUALIFICATIONS
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A Bachelor’s degree (or higher) in business or similar field of study is preferred; candidates with a record of success in a directly relevant role with strong emphasis on front-line fundraising will be considered
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At least 5 years of success in fundraising and building rewarding relationships with donors, stakeholders and colleagues
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At least 3 years of success creating and managing budgets and using a CRM donor database to organize donor data, identify donor trends, and make constructive recommendations
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Experience in grant writing and managing the grant proposal process from start to finish is preferred but not required
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Committed to supporting and serving the interests of students from diverse under-resourced communities engaged in experiential learning programs focused specifically on entrepreneurship and business development
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Exceptional interpersonal skills, able to effectively present information in a group setting and collaborate with a broad base of stakeholders and constituents including organizational leaders, colleagues, community partners, individual and institutional donors
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Solid strategic thinking, communication, project management and creative problem-solving skills; excellent verbal and written communication skills with exceptional attention to detail
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Eager to thrive as a leader both in a team environment and independently with agility and flexibility under minimal supervision in a fast-paced, startup environment with a positive disposition and focus on continuous improvement
We look forward to adding you to our team! We know your work with us will be both impactful for the organization and for your personal development.
Email the Gray Matter Team with questions about this role.