Farmer Foodshare

Development Director

The priority application deadline has been extended to 4/23/23, but applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and the position will be open until filled, so the earlier the better.

Farmer Foodshare (FF) seeks candidates for the position of Development Director.

Come join our team of highly motivated and caring professionals at Farmer Foodshare, where we envision a vibrant food culture rooted in resilient food ecosystems through which our communities are food secure, all are nourished by locally sourced food, and local farms thrive. Our mission is to reshape the disconnected food system by increasing access to nutritious, locally-grown foods; building farmer capacity, particularly of BIPOC, women, and new farmers; and improving the health and nutrition of our communities.

Compensation and Benefits

The position is an exempt, year-round, “at will” position.

The base salary range for this position is $60,000-$70,000/yr, commensurate with experience.

We provide excellent benefits to all our full-time employees, including employer-paid health insurance, generous vacation, and paid time off.

This position is mostly in-person at our Durham office, but up to 1-day remote work may be negotiated with your supervisor.

About Farmer Foodshare
We are a Durham, NC-based nonprofit that is reshaping the food system by removing barriers to growing and accessing local food. Our Food Hub Program creates markets for North Carolina farmers by buying their products, then selling them to local businesses and institutions, while also delivering fresh, healthy food to food-insecure folks in our community.

We are an organization that works hard each day to fulfill our mission – but we also do our best to value and respect all team members. We provide generous benefits for all employees including fully paid health insurance and paid time off.

Position Summary
Farmer Foodshare’s Development Director is a full-time, exempt position and acts as a key member of the Development and Communications Team – and part of the leadership team. The ideal candidate is friendly and highly organized, with deep development experience and a passion for robust and equitable local food systems. We’re looking for someone who is proactive about pulling things onto their plate and taking responsibility for a body of work, but who is also skilled at managing up, down, and across teams to get the job done. The person who will thrive in this job is someone who enjoys working on a diverse set of fundraising tasks and likes both leading and doing – with support from their teammates.

The primary responsibilities for this position are to oversee the execution and growth of Farmer Foodshare’s fundraising plan and activities. This begins with working with the Executive Director and Board to develop strategic goals and objectives for fundraising each year. The Development Director then executes and/or coordinates the execution of the plan’s activities. Staff, board members, and volunteers all support these activities in different ways.

Our organization has an annual budget of $1.5-$2M and a small staff of 8. Our development portfolio is currently around $500K / yr and includes individual supporters, corporate sponsors, and grants from corporations, foundations, and government entities. Our annual fundraising calendar/portfolio consists of a Spring and an EOY (including Giving Tuesday) individual giving campaign; ongoing grant applications; ongoing sponsorship solicitations; one Fall “Friends of the Foodshare” gratitude event; and other activities as needed. Our annual fund is solid and well-established, but there is lots of room for growth, particularly in cultivating major donors – and the same can be said for our sponsorship portfolio. Our grants game is strong and well-supported. Although this portfolio is diverse, it is right-sized for a single person to manage, particularly given the staff support available. Our mission is powerful, clearly defined, and resonates with a wide variety of audiences.

Although no staff members currently report directly to this position, there is a great deal of support for this work built into the staffing structure. For example, the Office and Operations Manager does much of the database entry and gift acknowledgment, and can support mailings, etc. The Programs Coordinator will track, manage, and report on many of the large grants – and can provide data and verbiage for smaller grant reports and new grant applications. The Project and Communications Coordinator has 50% of their time dedicated to communications work and can help develop print materials and make website updates, and help with eblasts and social media posts. The Executive Director has a development background, and typically writes our larger grants herself – and is always available for thought partnership, donor meetings, reviewing materials, or speaking engagements. Our board has a newer but quite active Development Committee and has long been engaged in everything from thank you notes to peer-to-peer fundraising outreach. We have a dedicated volunteer corps who come in to stuff envelopes and help with appeals. Although we have a small team, the Board and staff all recognize that development is everyone’s job, and you can be sure you’ll feel supported.

The technology we use to enact our development activities currently is FLUXX for grant tracking, DonorPerfect for individual giving, Quickbooks for bookkeeping, and spreadsheets for sponsorship outreach and campaign planning/tracking. We use Microsoft Teams internally, and a combination of Teams and Zoom for meetings. We track many things on spreadsheets and comfort with Excel is paramount. We use Canva for creating images and infographics, although that is not a key competency
in this position and can be easily learned.

This position requires reliable transportation, and the ability to work in person.

Daily tasks will vary from day to day and season to season, but here’s what a typical full-time day might look like for this position:

In the morning you check your email first thing and make a plan for your day. You have your weekly check-in with the ED later that morning, so you drop a few updates into your shared meeting document. You’re tracking all grant-related deadlines in Fluxx, and you note that a grant report is coming due soon, so you pop your head into the Program Manager’s office and check in with her on where she is on that, and if she needs support. During your meeting with the ED, you two discuss an upcoming federal grant application. She is working on the narrative but requests you to work on a couple of attachments. You agree on an internal deadline for those. There are 2 smaller grant applications that month, up to $5,000 each. You agree to take the lead on those, and will just pull from existing grant language.

For lunch, you head to the local Rotary meeting, where you’ve been invited to speak about Farmer Foodshare’s work. You made this connection through some folks you met at the recent Durham Chamber meeting. At the Rotary meeting, you meet some folks who are interested in volunteering. You snag their contact info and immediately follow up with them when you’re back at your desk, connecting them with the volunteer coordinator. You also met a restaurant owner, and drop his business card off with our Food Hub Director so they can connect.

That afternoon, you spend some time drafting a fresh acknowledgment letter for this quarter and upload the template to DonorPerfect. This is something you agreed to do every quarter, and you put a reminder on your calendar as a recurring event so no one has to remind you to remember it. The Spring Campaign is coming up soon as well, so you reach out to a potential matching donor to set up a call where you’ll confirm their commitment. You also send some new verbiage to the communications coordinator to use to update our fundraising page on the appropriate date, when our campaign goes live.

Before you leave that day, you check your calendar and note that a corporate sponsor is bringing a group in tomorrow morning to pack boxes. You know that they already received directions, instructions, etc., in advance, because you coordinated with the volunteer coordinator on this weeks ago and saw that email go out. You shoot your contact there a quick email saying you’re looking forward to seeing them tomorrow and make a plan to get to the office in time to give them the “song and dance” about Farmer Foodshare before they get started with their volunteer activities.

Essential Experience, Technical Skills, and Competencies

• 3-5 years of professional experience working in Development is required. Note: We strongly desire an individual who has tangible experience in the field of nonprofit fundraising. If this does not describe you, this is likely not a fit. We value both parties’ time and encourage you to subscribe for potential other opportunities if this position does not align with your prior experience.
• Bachelor’s degree is the preferred education minimum
• Demonstrated familiarity with food system work strongly preferred
• You have a really good handle on the ways that development funding intersects with overall organizational budgets and the key uses and importance of restricted vs unrestricted funds
• Experience with a diverse set of fundraising activities preferred – and the desire to work on a broad, but manageable portfolio!
• Excellent time management and punctuality
• High level of proficiency with Excel and comfort with donor database management systems
• Easily learns new systems and utilizes technology comfortably
• Experience managing up, down, and across departments to pull together successful fundraising campaigns or grant applications
• Organized and detail-oriented, with the ability to operate or create systems that keep a fundraising calendar on track
• Experience with any of the following software and/or technology would be a plus: QuickBooks Online, Microsoft Teams, WordPress, Google Workspace, Squarespace, and Mailchimp.
• Reliable transportation and a valid, NC driver’s license required
• Comfort networking and representing an organization in meetings with funders and stakeholders

Attributes

• You have a passion for our mission to bring fresh, local food to community members of ALL income levels
• You are a “people person” – friendly and welcoming
• You love having a clear role, but are excited to work on a diverse portfolio
• You’re energized by a combination of detailed internal work (appeal drafting, project management) and external work (networking, speaking, and generally “repping” Farmer Foodshare)
• You have the ability to communicate clearly and respectfully with people from all walks of life
• You have an innate ability to “wrangle” others when needed, and thrive off of collaborative work
• You know how to make work-back schedules and set internal deadlines for the projects and campaigns you’re managing
• People describe you as “the most organized person they know” and/or someone who “gets things done”
• You’re an upbeat, positive team player who will go the extra mile – but you also know how to set boundaries and maintain a healthy work/life balance
• You’re the kind of person who stays on top of everything, and you make sure nothing slips through the cracks.
• You’re experienced and confident in your skills – but also eager to learn new things and acquire new skills
• There will be some aspects of this job where you will need to take charge – but other aspects where you will need to take direction. You are comfortable in both roles!
• You pride yourself on knowing when you need to ask for help or guidance – and also when it is appropriate for you to act and make decisions on your own. You know what questions to ask to get a sense of this in new roles.
• You are eager to take on a new challenge with a growing organization that has internal career growth opportunities.

*We recognize that stellar employees come from many backgrounds and types of experience, and we don’t want to discourage non-traditional applicants. If at least 80% of this position description sounds like it fits you, please consider applying. We commit to considering candidates on a case-by-case basis.

Development Director Position Description – Full Time
Planning and Strategy – 10%

• Work with the ED and Board to develop an annual fundraising calendar each year
• Support the board-led Development Committee and work to involve board members in all aspects of planning and operating
• Provide monthly fundraising updates to ED in advance of Board Meetings
• Act as a key member of the leadership team, along with the ED & Food Hub Director
• Work with ED to develop the Annual Dev Comms Dept budget, and provide updates as needed for budget revision requests to the board

Coordination & Oversight – 10%

• Conversations, meetings, and communications with staff and board to ensure all fundraising-related activities are being done and deadlines are being met

Annual Fund Management – 25%

• Manage all aspects of the Annual Fund (ie individual donors), with support from the board, staff, and volunteers – including appeals,
• By 2024, develop and launch a tiered, “Friends of the Foodshare” membership program for donors
• Identify, cultivate, and solicit major donors
• Plan and execute at least one fundraising-related event each year, with the support of staff – currently an annual Fall thank-you event for donors and volunteers
• Monthly gift reconciliation
• Donor Database management, in cooperation with Office and Operations Manager, ensuring that it is up to date at all times
• Lead 2x annual fundraising campaigns, with mailed appeal letters and digital campaigns (with support from staff)
• Leadership in reviewing and possibly selecting new, lower-cost donor management software options for adoption
• Organizing fall “Friends of the Foodshare” donor/volunteer thank you event in advance of the EOY giving campaign

Sponsorship – 25%

• Maintain and/or develop relationships with corporate partners to secure sponsorship commitments
• Keep sponsorship spreadsheet up to date at all times
• Track outreach, lead solicitation efforts, and coordinate all fulfillment activities (for example: ensuring that the communication staff gives that sponsor a social media shoutout and logs it in our tracking spreadsheet), and make fulfillment reports back to funders
• Welcome corporate teams who are volunteering and caretake their experiences
• Maintain an ongoing relationship with sponsors that connects them in a heart-forward way to our mission

Grants – 20%

• Help identify upcoming grant opportunities and bring them to the team for discussion
• Tracking all upcoming grant deadlines and ensuring that everyone who needs to contribute is looped in in a timely manner
• Writing some smaller grant applications (<$30,000), with input from program staff and ED
• Supporting ED and Program staff in putting together and submitting larger grant applications
• Ensuring that Fluxx grant database is up to date at all times
• Being where the “rubber hits the road” in ensuring all grant applications and reporting happen on time

Other – 5%

• Collaborate with other board and staff members to create impactful marketing/fundraising materials such as annual stewardship report and sponsorship packet
  ● We know things come up. The Development Director will be expected to pitch in and help with any emerging aspects of growing our fundraising impact

Priority application deadline has been extended to 4/23/23, but applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and the position will be open until filled, so the earlier the better.

If this is still posted on our website, you can assume the position is still open.

No phone calls, please.

To apply: Please fill out this short online form. There will be an opportunity to upload a resume if desired, but not required.

Farmer Foodshare is an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourages applications from people of color, persons with disabilities, women, and LGBTQ applicants.

Farmer Foodshare’s commitment to diversity extends to all levels of our organization and is endorsed, implemented, and monitored by our officers, board of directors, and staff. Farmer Foodshare prohibits any discrimination in carrying out its mission on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national or ethnic origin, disability, sexual orientation, or marital status. This includes all programs, projects, events, and any other related activity sponsored by Farmer Foodshare.