Fundraising Director

Background: The mission of the Midwest Environmental Justice Network (MWEJN) is to connect and strengthen frontline and grassroots organizations to achieve environmental justice in the Midwest. Led by, and accountable to, its grassroots partners, the Midwest Environmental Justice Network achieves this mission by: Raising and distributing general operating funding for grassroots and Indigenous communities; Supporting capacity building for frontline organizations through peer-to-peer learning, trainings, and consulting support; and Building trans-local and regional power across campaigns and issues through in-person and virtual gatherings, technical assistance, and communications.

The Network seeks to increase the capacity and impact of environmental justice leaders and organizations based in the tribal nations and following Midwestern states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.  

Position Summary The Midwest EJ Network seeks an experienced Fundraising Director to serve a key leadership role within our organization and movement. The Fundraising Director will be responsible for developing and implementing the network’s overall fundraising strategy, which includes stewarding and deepening relationships with existing funders, and developing new funder relationships. This position will also create and lead a capacity building program for our grassroots partners. Working closely with the Director and other consultants, this position will also provide input on our communications strategy in order to grow resources for movement organizations in the region.

The Midwest Environmental Justice Network is in a strong financial position with several significant multi-year grant commitments from our national and regional foundation partners. Our fiscal year 2023 budget is $2.8 million.  

Key Responsibilities

• Craft and implement a fundraising strategy for MWEJN in order to increase resources for grassroots, frontline environmental justice organizations in the Midwest
• Maintain and deepen our relationships with current funder base; Identify and effectively pursue new fundraising opportunities
• Lead all aspects of grants management, including proposal and report writing, tracking grant and report deadlines, and communicating and scheduling with funders
• Build relationships with our grassroots partners and learn about their resource needs to inform MWEJN strategy and programs; Lead development of program to build fundraising capacity for our partners
• Represent Midwest EJ Network and elevate our partner’s resource needs across funder spaces  

Qualifications:

• Commitment to the mission and goals of the Midwest EJ Network and the Environmental Justice movement
• Understanding of environmental justice and the Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing (or willingness to learn) and ability to speak comfortably about environmental racism
• Demonstrated experience working with/in communities of color, Indigenous communities, and with grassroots organizations – ideally in the Midwest
• At least 5 years of experience in developing and implementing fundraising strategies
• Knowledge of and experience with common computer applications: MS Office, Google docs, Dropbox, Adobe Suite, and Zoom video teleconferencing systems; MWEJN uses Airtable for our CRM and grants management
• Experienced in, and comfortable with, working remotely and managing multiple work tasks and deadlines
• Highly skilled in maintaining detail and accuracy, working remotely and collaboratively, and managing  multiple work streams and deadlines
• Strong written and oral communication skills – comfortable representing the network to funders, at conferences, in large gatherings – both virtually and in-person
• Knowledge of the regional and national landscape of environmental, health, and equity funders
• Priority for candidates based in the Midwest region

Compensation: This is a remote, contract position averaging 16-24 hours per week; the position reports to the Director of the Midwest EJ Network. The anticipated hourly compensation for the position will be $100 per hour, with an estimated annual contract between $104,000 and $124,800.

Some travel within the Midwest region, and occasionally nationally, will be required – approximately 5-6 times per year – for Leadership Team meetings, network gatherings, and conferences.

This position requires long periods of computer use, stable internet access, and frequent virtual meetings.

Process for Applying: Please send your cover letter, resume, and a 1-2 page writing sample (such as a grant proposal or report, press release or article) to MWEJN Director, Eartha Borer-Bell at eborerbell@mwejn.org. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and accepted until December 7, 2023.  Selected candidates will be invited for interviews. The preferred start date for the position is early January, 2024.

Hiring Statement The Midwest Environmental Justice Network is fiscally sponsored by the Minneapolis Foundation. We value our consultant team representing the organizations and communities we partner with. We encourage Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color, LGBT people, transgender and gender non-conforming people, and people with disabilities to apply.