Director of Development

Just Roots

Job Description

 
Just Roots: Director of Development
 
Job Type: Full-time, Exempt
Location: Mix of in-person (at our office in Greenfield, MA) and remote work. 
Compensation and Benefits: $65,000-70,000/year depending on experience; benefits include health and vision insurance, paid PTO, holidays, and sick time, 401(k) matched at 3%, and a free CSA share. 
To apply: Please send an email with a resume and cover letter to cathy@justroots.org. Please be prepared to provide three references.
Priority Deadline: April 30, 2023

About Just Roots:
The mission of Just Roots is to create equitable access to healthy, local food in Western Massachusetts and to work toward sustainable farming and food systems everywhere. Just Roots operates a community farm on town land in Greenfield, MA that serves as both a local food production and distribution hub, and as a site for community-based education. Our Franklin County Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program is one of the largest low-income CSAs in Massachusetts. In 2020, we launched the Farm to Family program, partnering with healthcare organizations and other MA farms to provide our CSA model to low-income, food insecure patients statewide. In addition to our CSA programs, Just Roots participates weekly in the Greenfield Farmers’ Market, manages 60+ community garden plots, and offers a range of community workshops and events on our community farm. Just Roots was founded in 2011 and has a staff of twenty, including a mix of full-time, part-time, and seasonal employees. 

Just Roots is an equal opportunity employer. Candidates of all races, colors, religions, sexual orientations, gender identities, national origins, and ability are encouraged to apply. We embrace diversity and equity and are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. 

Position Description: 
The Director of Development is an integral position at Just Roots, leading the organization's fundraising strategies, with a focus on federal, state, and foundation grants, contracts, and individual and corporate donors. The Director of Development is responsible for creating and implementing Just Roots’ Annual Development Plan to ensure that the organization reaches its fundraising goals year over year. The Director of Development will work closely with the Executive Director and other staff to develop, write, and submit grants, manage organizational contracts, and solicit contributions from individual and corporate donors, including spring and fall fundraising drives. They will also be responsible for managing and supporting all tracking, administrative, and reporting elements of secured awards and donations.  


Responsibilities:
Grants:
  • Develop, manage, and execute the Just Roots grants strategy each year, including maintaining an ongoing grant pipeline, ensuring deadlines are set, timelines are clear, and there is a robust plan for reaching annual fundraising goals.
  • Work with the Executive Director and program team to craft and design proposals for federal, state, and foundation funders.
  • Document relationships with grant funders in Salesforce.
  • Manage funder relationships including site visits, reporting, and acknowledgements.
  • Stay abreast of federal, state, and foundation grant opportunities in the food access and sustainable agriculture sectors and connect Just Roots with new opportunities and funders. 

Contract Management:
  • Support Executive Director with management of contracts with healthcare partners for our Farm to Family program.
  • Help develop budgets for Farm to Family contracts and support invoicing and reconciliation.
  • Support the Executive Director in maintaining ongoing relationships with healthcare partners and providing requested financial and program deliverables.

Individual and Corporate Donors: 
  • Develop and lead strategies to solicit contributions from individual and corporate donors, setting and meeting annual donation goals.
  • Successfully solicit gifts of $1,000 to $100,000+.
  • Maintain relationships with donors and cultivate new donors and corporate sponsors.
  • Track donations, pledges, and sustaining gifts through Salesforce.
  • Manage spring and fall fundraising campaigns for individual donors and an annual corporate sponsorship campaign.
  • Support the Executive Director in individual donor cultivation, stewardship and appreciation.
  • Foster a culture of philanthropy throughout the organization that nurtures loyalty through strong relationship-building, including donor education and appreciation.
  • Lead the strategy and implementation of fundraising event planning, with support from the Executive Director, Head of Office operations and other staff. 
  • Collaborate with the program team on fundraising activities that happen in conjunction with internal and  external events, and volunteer appreciation and stewardship efforts.  

Overall:
  • Collaborate with appropriate staff to facilitate and ensure proper crediting of funders and donors throughout the organization for inclusion in published and marketing. materials (i.e. website, print materials, press releases and other PR and communications)
  • Stay abreast of all organizational activities for the purpose of grant/contract writing and communication with funders/donors.

Qualifications:
The Director of Development position is a critical role at Just Roots. We are looking for a strategic, systems thinker, detail-oriented, analytical problem solver who can play a big role supporting our organization’s fundraising goals. We are seeking candidates who have:

Required: 
  • A genuine resonance with and commitment to our mission. 
  • 5+ years of nonprofit fundraising/development experience, preferably with significant major gift and foundation fundraising experience.
  • Proven track record of achieving revenue targets of over $1 million annually.
  • Demonstrated ability to cultivate and steward new and existing donors and funders, as well as a proven commitment to relationship-focused fundraising principles.
  • Strong partnership-building and event planning skills.
  • Proven project management and leadership experience.
  • Strong verbal communications skills and demonstrated ability to write clearly and persuasively.
  • Ability to work with a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail.
  • Remote/online meeting experience.
  • Comfort with GSuite and Microsoft Office, and prior experience with a donor database. Salesforce experience is a plus.
  • Ability to meet physical requirements of the position, from sitting or standing at a desk for long periods to safely lifting 30 pounds.
  • Commitment to embody the core Just Roots organizational values of joy, accountability, and community.
Preferred: 

  • Familiarity with the Massachusetts Food System funding community and beyond.
  • Knowledge of the Western Massachusetts community and Massachusetts-based foundations and funders.
  • Familiarity with corporate and government funding experience.
  • Experience with Salesforce.

Systems We Currently Use:
  • CRM: Salesforce 
  • Productivity: Google Suite, Slack, Zoom
  • Communications: MailChimp, WordPress