Director of Community Engagement & Communications

About Pride Foundation

Pride Foundation fuels transformational movements to advance equity and justice for LGBTQ+ people in all communities across the Northwest. We envision a world in which all LGBTQ+ people live safely and openly as our whole selves in the communities we call home.

Founded in 1985, we are the only LGBTQ+ community foundation in the Northwest, and have invested more than $72 million in nonprofit organizations, local leaders, and student scholars through our grants, scholarships, advocacy, and other initiatives. We work in the Northwest states of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. Pride Foundation has an operating budget of more than $5 million with 15 full time employees working from across the region we serve.  Pride Foundation is governed by a Board of Directors with 17 members from across the five-state region with diverse professional and lived experiences.

As an organization and as individuals, we are committed to anti-racism, and strive to center racial equity and justice throughout our organization and all aspects of our programmatic work. Together, we are intentionally and actively building an internal culture that reflects this commitment, and an organization where our team members can thrive. All team members are a part of this work and are active participants in building our culture. Read more about the work culture we are building here and our 4 day work weeks here.

About the Opportunity: 

Pride Foundation strives to engage the breadth of our communities in true justice and liberation for LGBTQ+ and all people. Our fundraising and communications work are key elements of community engagement.

In our next Director of Community Engagement & Communications (DCEC), we are looking for an innovative and experienced fundraising and communications professional to lead our efforts to mobilize resources for LGBTQ+ communities. We are looking for a team member who is:

1) committed to supporting LGBTQ+ philanthropy

2) driven to advocate for equity in our sector

3) passionate about creatively engaging supporters in philanthropy across the Northwest

This person will bring innovative vision and approaches to community engagement at Pride Foundation, a willingness to think big and also outside the box, and will gain a deep understanding of the work, communities, and leaders Pride Foundation supports. This person will bring a strong analysis in centering racial justice within fundraising and community-centric fundraising strategies, a track record of donor engagement, and strategic communication savvy across multiple audiences and partnerships. This person will also bring a deeply collaborative stance, both within the department and across the organization.

The DCEC role is externally facing and serves to elevate Pride Foundation’s work in order to expand community engagement in our work, while also increasing understanding of how Pride Foundation is addressing the challenges LGBTQ+ communities face and supporting the resilience of our community.

Primary Responsibilities

The DCEC will lead the Community Engagement department utilizing community centric fundraising principles across our resource mobilization and communications efforts. The DCEC will be responsible for building and developing new strategies to engage our current network of supporters, as well as significantly growing this network of individual and corporate supporters through opportunities like expanding fundraising events and engaging new supporters by raising Pride Foundation’s organizational profile.

The Director of Community Engagement & Communications brings a creative, innovative, and thoughtful approach to fundraising while prioritizing Pride Foundation’s values, priorities, and commitment to social justice philanthropy.

Resource Mobilization Strategy & Relationship Management (25%):

• Collaboratively strategize and implement the engagement of existing supporters, new donors, and corporate and business partners that result in increased resources for the organization. Set priorities, goals, and plans with support from the Assistant Director of Community Engagement and CEO.
• Personally engage a portfolio of individual donors, corporate partners, and key donor prospects.
• Lead prospect identification and cultivation of new individual and institutional supporters.
• Develop the engagement strategies implemented by other team members with portfolios, including the CEO, Assistant Director of Community Engagement, Community Engagement Manager, and Board members.
• Lead the Community Engagement Committee to engage the Board of Directors and community volunteers in resource mobilization.

Strategic Communications & Marketing (25%)

• Create and manage a comprehensive marketing and communications strategy that elevates, enhances, and further builds on the cohesive brand and voice for Pride Foundation, and drives our engagement strategies.
• Develop and enhance Pride Foundation’s internal and external messaging to drive understanding of, and connection to, the breadth of our work, including content creation for a variety of sources like the e-newsletter, website, social media channels (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter).
• Collaborate with Pride Foundation leadership to develop, prioritize, and implement key communications plans, messages, and organizational storytelling.
• Develop and manage the organization-wide communications calendar to ensure effective and strategic use of publications, email campaigns, social media, and other platforms.
• Collaborate with Director of Programs and Director of Community Advocacy, Research, and Education to build and implement cross-departmental strategies that increase resourcing of programmatic efforts, elevation of key messages and storytelling, and integration of organizational efforts.

Long-term Strategic Fundraising & Communications Initiatives (25%)

• Lead and maximize Pride Foundation’s signature fundraising events as key donor engagement strategies, in collaboration with Community Engagement team and volunteer and Board Community Engagement Committee.
• Collaborate with the CEO to develop philanthropic partnerships that increase support for LGBTQ+ communities (e.g. collaborative initiatives with corporations/brands, philanthropic advocacy with funders).
• Increase programmatic support through building out philanthropic approaches to expanding Donor Advised and Scholarship Fundholders Programs in a more values-aligned way.
• Develop and lead revitalization of the Visionaries Program, our planned giving program, to build long-term support for LGBTQ+ communities.
• Proactively seek new opportunities to amplify Pride Foundation’s work and mission that lead to new partnerships, resources, and/or visibility, including through press releases, speaking opportunities, and other promotional opportunities.

Internal Leadership (15%): 

• Manage and coach Community Engagement Team members to implement Pride Foundation’s programs in a values-aligned way that emphasizes mutual trust, support, autonomy, and commitment to supporting the leadership of team members.
• Serve as a member of Pride Foundation’s Leadership Team, guiding the organization’s broader strategic vision and culture. Actively contribute to a leadership model that is grounded in equity, inclusivity, accessibility, expansiveness, and abundance.
• Collaboratively lead internal work to ensure a deep understanding across the organization and individual team members of our programmatic priorities, approach, and how it connects to the work we do to resource LGBTQ+ communities throughout the organization.
• Manage departmental budget with transparency and clarity.

Organizational Culture and Racial Justice (10%) 

• Understand and integrate racial justice into individual and team workplans, and broader strategic planning efforts.
• Commit to personal growth, learning, and transformation, taking initiative to expand your understanding of racial justice and related principles, issues, and practice and how they apply to your and our work.
• Meaningfully participate in caucus groups, organizational learning sessions, and other opportunities to shape our organizational culture.
• Work to acknowledge, address, and eliminate individual, institutional, and structural racism and its intersections with other forms of oppression in your and our work.
• Actively participate in evolving the organizational culture at Pride Foundation to be mission-focused, inclusive, values-aligned, and community-centered.
• Grow and apply the skills and practices needed to create an inclusive organizational culture including (but not limited to): clear and kind communication, giving and receiving feedback, mutual accountability, and self-care and boundaries.
• Contribute to developing a culture of philanthropy at Pride Foundation by incorporating friend and community-centric fundraising as appropriate throughout work.

Qualifications: Skills and Experience 

The ideal candidate will have a mix of these skills, experiences, and competencies gained through paid and unpaid experiences.

• Commitment to Pride Foundation’s mission and to building a racially just, equitable, and inclusive culture through all levels of the organization.
• Understanding and experience working on issues related to intersectional social justice, including racial, LGBTQ+, gender, disability, economic, and/or reproductive justice.
• A proven track record of fundraising success, including the acquisition and stewardship of all levels of individual and institutional donors.
• Exceptional strategic thinking and creative skills to support the development of innovative fundraising strategies.
• Strong and versatile communication and storytelling skills, including writing, speaking, and synthesizing information to a wide variety of audiences and for fundraising and other purposes.
• Experience in managing and coaching diverse staff and teams toward achieving strategic goals and developing organizational culture.
• Experience working with a donors with a breadth of lived experiences, especially those who have been disproportionately impacted by injustices, including LGBTQ+ and BIPOC folks.
• An analysis of philanthropy and an understanding of the philanthropic climate for individuals and institutions, including trends and tensions.
• An aptitude for teams and organization poised for growth, change, and transformation.
• Strong leadership, facilitation, and collaborative management skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to collaborate, lead a team, and work across departments.
• Experience with bulk email platforms like MailChimp, as well as strong skills across social media platform use and best practices.
• Ability to work effectively in a virtual, remote environment and build strong relationships with colleagues, donors, and partners across geographies.
• Outstanding organizational skills, attention to detail, and the ability to manage multiple deadlines and priorities.
• Passion, a strong work ethic, and self-motivated drive.

While not required, these are additional skills and experiences we are looking for in candidates:  

• Experience working with public foundations, especially social justice funders.
• Experience working with communities in the geographical region of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington, and/or across rural, small town, and urban areas.
• Experience working with LGBTQ+ and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) and communities disproportionately targeted by injustice, including non-binary and Two Spirit communities, indigenous communities and tribal nations, immigrant communities, rural communities, and others.

Location and Position Details

This is a full time, exempt position. This position is remote, and candidates should live in, or be willing to relocate to, one of the five Northwest states Pride Foundation serves. Staff members in the greater Puget Sound region have the option to work out of our headquarters office in Seattle.  Pride Foundation has a 4-day, 32-hour work week. Flexibility to work some evenings, weekends, and occasionally travel are necessary.

Salary and Benefits

Pride Foundation determines its staff salaries using the Washington Nonprofit Wage & Benefit Annual Survey. Each salary is based on the average of similar positions in organizations of comparable size and are competitive for the field. For this position, the salary range is $100,000-$114,000, depending on experience.

Excellent employer-paid benefits: medical (includes coverage of gender-confirming health services and procedures), dental, and vision coverage, plus disability insurance, employer retirement account contribution, and option to invest in an individual retirement account.

Pride Foundation is a proud equal opportunity employer committed to an inclusive work environment and to building a team that reflects the rich diversity of our community. People of color, people with disabilities, and people of diverse sexual orientations, gender expressions and identities who are underrepresented in the field of philanthropy are encouraged to apply.

Send letter of interest and resume to: jobs@pridefoundation.org  

In your letter of interest, please make it a point to address the skills and experiences you bring to this role, as outlined above. We also ask you to specifically address: 

• Your commitment to Pride Foundation’s work and mission
• Why you are interested in this role in particular
• How your lived and professional experience would make you successful in this role

Priority will be given to candidates who submit their applications by May 21, 2023. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled, though applications submitted after the deadline will be considered on a case-by-case basis. The position will be filled as soon as the appropriate candidate is found, as the position is available immediately.