Elevate

As nonprofits across the country continue to respond and adapt to COVID-19, Elevate's work supporting the grant programs of our nonprofit clients is more important than ever. We continue to meet virtually with current clients and launch new partnerships. Learn more about joining our team.

Elevate is a small business serving a critical niche in the nonprofit sector. Our unique team model allows us to provide affordable and impactful foundation fundraising strategy and grant writing capacity to our roughly 85 clients – lean and effective nonprofits in need of sustainable funding to carry out their social change missions. 

Director - Institutional Development (referred to internally as Team Directors), lead 5-6 client teams working with nonprofit organizations who work across a wide variety of issue areas and typically have annual budgets anywhere between $1 million and $12 million. For this role, Elevate seeks skilled grant writers with the confidence, flexibility, and persistence to consult this wide variety of nonprofit organizations on institutional fundraising. Strong candidates have at least four years of experience in foundation fundraising, including writing and submitting grants for nonprofits, formally and informally mentoring junior staff, and developing and executing an effective fundraising strategy. If you are an effective institutional fundraiser (grant writer, institutional giving manager, development manager, etc.) looking for more variety, flexibility, and collaboration  in your fundraising career, you may be the right addition to our team!

As a Team Director at Elevate you will:

• Build smart, effective institutional fundraising programs that increase the impact of nonprofits of many different sizes and focuses;
• Work highly independently and make meaningful strategic decisions to advance clients’ fundraising goals;
• Manage and mentor early career development professionals who are eager to learn from you about institutional fundraising;
• Lean on strong project management skills to ensure prospect research, cultivation, solicitation, and grand calendar management deliverables are completed on time and at a consistently high quality for each client;
• Learn constantly from your clients, your teams, your peers, and your supervisors;
• Benefit from a flexible, remote work-friendly work environment with opportunities for advancement as well as chances to leverage your unique strengths and expertise to benefit other aspects of our company’s work, including marketing, business development, internal training, and more.

Responsibilities:

• Develop and implement comprehensive institutional fundraising strategies in close partnership with clients that establish short- and long-term goals, prospecting priorities, and systems for cultivation and stewardship;
• Lead 5-6 client teams in collaboration with junior staff; 
• Maintain strong relationships with clients by consistently delivering high-quality work on a reasonable and professional timeline within Elevate’s contracted scope of work for that client;
• Mentor and support junior staff;
• Draft proposals, reports, LOIs, and concept papers to ensure highly strategic writing on the most complex deliverables.

Ideal candidates will:

• Have 4-5 years of nonprofit development experience, including significant experience in institutional giving and grant writing;
• Have experience managing a team or mentoring other professionals; 
• Be a flexible and solution-oriented team player who is excited by new projects and challenges;
• Demonstrate excellent nonprofit strategy, writing, and argumentation skills;
• Enjoy mentoring junior staff by articulating strategic considerations as well as providing constructive feedback and professional advice; 
• Be an effective and decisive leader; 
• Have patience, poise, humor, and a willingness to roll up their sleeves with our clients; 
• Contribute positively to Elevate’s culture, commitment to equity and inclusion, and company values. 

We welcome applicants who have a strong interest in the position and are able to demonstrate their ability to successfully meet the expectations of the role, yet have a professional background that does not align perfectly to the description of our ideal candidate. Note that we are hiring full time salaried staff based in the metro Washington, D.C. region. The full-time annual salary for this position is in the low- to mid- $60,000s. 

Your resume and cover letter should detail the following:

• Relevant skills and experience;
• Your interest in the position, including your interest in advancing in your career at Elevate, specifically;
• Your professional strengths;
• Examples of your experience in developing and implementing an effective institutional fundraising strategy; 
• Evidence of your alignment with our company values. 

We accept applications and hire on a rolling basis that is aligned with our staffing needs for new clients and projects. This process can take anywhere from one to three months from application to start date. 

Elevate provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment, without regard to race, creed, ancestry, citizenship, religion, color, gender, gender identity, gender expression, family responsibilities, age, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, genetic information, status as a victim of domestic violence, marital status, disability, personal appearance or any other protected characteristic or status under applicable federal, state and local laws. If you require reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for any part of the application process, please contact elevatehiring@elevatedeffect.com.

NOTE: We use BambooHR to communicate with our applicants throughout the hiring process. Please take a moment to add emails from @app.bamboohr.com as a safe sender before submitting your application. If you do not, emails may be directed to your spam folder, or may not reach you at all.