Education & Youth Development

DEVELOPMENT & COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR

The Educational Video Center (www.evc.org) is seeking an exceptional Development and Communications Director to join our team at a time of strategic growth.  EVC is an award-winning non-profit youth media arts and social justice organization dedicated to teaching documentary video as a means to develop the artistic, critical literacy, and career skills of young people, while nurturing their idealism and commitment to social change.

The Development and Communications Director’s primary focus will be proposal and report writing, prospecting and research of funding opportunities, cultivation of new and existing funding relationships, liaising with EVC’s program teams and other departments to understand needs and programming, and effectively and compellingly communicating EVC’s mission, programming, accomplishments, and needs to external audiences in both verbal and written form. Extensive grant writing experience is required; experience in marketing and public relations is a plus.

The Development and Communications Director responsibilities include: 

Developing and implementing a comprehensive fundraising strategy to ensure that EVC’s revenue meets its annual funding objectives and broadens its donor base through: foundation and government grant writing, corporate giving, individual and major donor recruitment and retention, digital fundraising, and in-person and virtual events planning.

Grant writing and reporting (75%)

• Write, review, and edit foundation, government and corporate grant proposals and reports, funder emails and other grant-related materials (one-pagers, information summaries, program briefs).
• Coordinate language development with ED and other staff, including development of new language as appropriate, as well as splicing, synthesizing, and expanding upon existing language, depending on the specific needs and aims of each piece of writing.
• Work closely with program staff to gather data, client stories and program news to prepare compelling narratives for funder audiences.
• Sift through information from disparate sources, and then identify and prioritize the key pieces, and synthesize and organize them into coherent narratives.
• Conduct prospect research on foundation, government and corporate funders and prepare briefing documents;  attend pre-proposal conferences and other informational sessions.
• Develop and manage fundraising calendars of LOIs, proposals, and report deadlines.
• Help to cultivate relationships with new foundation and corporate funders in collaboration with ED including thank you calls, high stakes emails, periodic email updates, virtual tours, and other opportunities for funder engagement.
• Research trends in the field to support team learning, coordinate stewardship of existing foundation donors, and identify and strategize around new private funding sources to meet ambitious annual fundraising goals.

Individual giving, major donors and fundraising events (15%)

• Oversee individual and major donor engagement activities, including donor research, cultivation and stewardship; creating and launching campaigns; peer-to-peer fundraising; and identifying new opportunities in collaboration with ED and Board of Directors.
• Manage all aspects of donor-focused events. These events range from virtual events, annual Benefit in June, annual Winter Cocktail in January, to intimate cultivation events that occur throughout the year.

Systems, Processes, and Department Administration (5%)

• Oversee fundraising operational systems including donation processing, tracking, and acknowledgement.
• Oversee maintenance of EVC’s donor database (Salesforce).
• Oversee maintenance of all department files, systems, and processes.
• Schedule, coordinate, and participate in external and internal meetings as requested.
• As needed, assist with volunteer, visibility, and employee engagement opportunities throughout the year.

Communications (5%)

• Develop communications strategies and calendars.
• Draft newsletter and e-blast texts.
• Draft all external communications including press releases, annual impact reports, promotional materials, website texts etc.

Other responsibilities as assigned.

Candidate Qualifications: 

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Three or more years of grant writing experience with a proven record of success; multi-year grants and six-figure grants experience preferred.
• Exceptional writer, storyteller, and communicator; ability to see “big picture,” think strategically, and translate strategy into goals and actions.
• Ability to manage multiple strategic writing projects and deadlines in a fast-paced, results-oriented work environment, while maintaining a very high bar for quality.
• Has an anti-racism and social justice lens, and an ability to talk fearlessly about race, class, gender, sexuality, migration, ability, and structural injustices.
• A passion for youth media and social justice, as well as a familiarity with current social, political, cultural, and economic issues.
• In depth awareness of the New York philanthropic community and youth development and education foundations nationally.

 Compensation:

The position will be compensated at a full time rate with benefits in the range of $70,000 – $80,000 commensurate with experience, and will be supervised by EVC’s Executive Director.

This position is eligible for vacation, sick days, and organizational holidays with health and dental insurance, commuter benefits, and more.

Application:

Please submit your resume and a thoughtful cover letter detailing how your experiences match the responsibilities of the position, and how you heard about this position, to [email protected]   Please include the title of the position in the subject line.  Applications will be considered on a rolling basis and handled with confidentiality.

As an organization EVC is committed to engaging in work that disrupts and roots out systems and structures that perpetuate racial inequities and oppression. We intentionally seek to build and maintain a diverse and talented team that reflects the backgrounds and experiences of our students and creates an inclusive environment for all employees. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, EVC encourages applications from all individuals regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, marital status, physical ability or any other legally protected basis.