Grant & Development Writer

The Opportunity

The ACLU of Northern California (ACLU NorCal) seeks a Grant & Development Writer to join our 15-person Development department. This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a team that is mobilizing resources to advance the work of ACLU NorCal and build stronger social justice movements regionally and nationwide.

The Grant & Development Writer is supervised by the Director of Development and may be based in the San Francisco, Sacramento, or Fresno office; ability to travel (a minimum of once per month) to the San Francisco office or Bay Area would be required for in-person team meetings or activities. This full-time position is eligible for a hybrid work schedule, working from their ACLU NorCal home office a minimum of one day per week and telecommuting for the remainder of the work week.

The Approach

Our work is guided by the principles of freedom, equality, and justice enumerated in the Constitution. However, we know that because of historic and systemic racism and other forms of oppression, these principles are not equitably applied to all. In an ideal world, everyone would have equal access to justice and equal protection under the law. Unfortunately, neither our world nor our country is ideal. Our work involves hard subject matters that can be emotionally draining. As a mission driven organization, we strive to make the world a better place, but recognize the road is long and hard. At the same time, we understand the importance of self-care, and do our best to reflect that in our practices and values.

The Position

The Grant & Development Writer (Writer) manages a small portfolio of private foundation funders, acts as our liaison to corporate donors, and creates the written content for print and online collateral for a variety of donor audiences. The Writer works closely with Program and Communications staff and the Development team to craft informed, accurate, and compelling donor-facing messaging, engaging stories, event materials, and educational pieces. The Writer is responsible for writing materials that support the organization’s ambitious fundraising goals, play a critical role in the cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of ACLU NorCal supporters, and reflect the values of ACLU NorCal and our Development program.

This position is represented by IFPTE Local 20.

About the Organization

The ACLU of Northern California is an affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, a nationwide, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to the defense and expansion of civil liberties and civil rights. The ACLU of Northern California (ACLU NorCal) is comprised of two distinct corporations, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California (the “Foundation,” a 501c3) and the ACLU of Northern California (the “Union,” a 501c4). The incumbent is a joint employee of both corporations. For most of the last century, ACLU Nor Cal has been part of many of the most major – and sometimes controversial – struggles for civil liberties and civil rights in our state.

Our mission is to ensure that constitutional rights don’t just exist on paper but are protected in practice. As we move into a new era, we face dangerous policies that threaten our civil rights and civil liberties, we must use our decades of experience in impact litigation, legislative advocacy, and community organizing to fight these policies and protect our most cherished rights and freedoms. At the same time, ACLU NorCal is committed to advancing proactive and positive change to transform laws and institutions to advance our values. We are committed to fostering an anti-racist work culture and to anti-racist principles and learning.

COVID-19 Prevention

The ACLU NorCal physical offices are open. Vaccination against COVID-19 is required as a condition of employment unless an exemption is requested and approved. Masking is required for in-person work at this time.

Duties & Responsibilities

Grants Management (25%)

• Manage and cultivate a small portfolio of foundation and institutional funders: develop strategies, build and steward funder relationships, and write proposals, reports, and project budgets, engaging appropriate program and other staff colleagues as needed.
• Prepare for, lead, and participate in meetings with donors and/or staff of foundations and institutional supporters. Develop and execute strategy for funder meetings, prepare program staff for meetings, and represent the organization and our program needs to funders. Demonstrate deep knowledge of program and funding needs in discussion with funders, making real-time decisions to advance discussions and secure support.
• Monitor grant guidelines and deadlines and ensure timely submittals.
• Track grant activity, reports, solicitations, funding received and denied.
• Create grants program budget (revenue and expenses) for annual development budget.
• Follow lead of program staff and respond to outreach from foundations, performing related research to identify suitable grant funding prospects.
• Limited, proactive grant prospect research, as agreed upon with director of development.

Writing Assignments (60%)

• Support writing needs of key stakeholders by using program knowledge, technical writing skills, and an understanding of what motivates different audiences to craft effective donor-facing messages, engaging stories, and other content for cultivation, solicitation, education, and stewardship purposes, such as:
• major and leadership gift proposals, reports, and stewardship updates, presentation decks, concept papers, and fact sheets donor event invitations and other collateral, talking points, and speaker scripts, newsletter stories, blog posts, annual report donor correspondence (letters, email), website copy
• Maintain comprehensive and sophisticated understanding of ACLU National and ACLU NorCal work across all major issues and strategies. Make independent judgements on how to select, distill, and present that content in the appropriate format for the given audience.
• Generate content at high level of accuracy and quality, requiring minimal review, that is ready to deliver to the given audience.
• Interview staff colleagues, staff at partner organizations, clients, activists and volunteers, donors, and other stakeholders to develop narratives.
• Project manage more complex writing projects and related deliverables. Manage and meet publication deadlines in coordination with Development department and Communications department calendars.
• Apply ACLU Development department values and community-centric fundraising principles to content development, including ethical storytelling.
• Work closely with the donor engagement & communications manager, deputy director of development (overseeing major and leadership gifts), and other Development staff to identify writing needs.

Curation of Program Information (10%)

• Apply assessment of the most compelling ACLU information to ensure the Development staff has access to organized systems of information about ACLU programs (NorCal and nationwide) to support donor outreach and engagement.
• Stay abreast of updates in program areas to keep written materials current and accurate by participating in program staff briefings and program area email lists, interviewing program staff, and monitoring website updates and press releases.
• Research and review material prepared by frontline Development staff, program partners, and Communications staff to curate a resource bank of creative, compelling written content for use by Development staff.

Other (5%)

• Prepare for and participate in department, working group, unit, or other related meetings, retreats, and activities. Contribute to intra-unit collaboration and department-level diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) and other culture-building activities.
• Other duties as assigned to advance the ACLU mission.

Qualifications:

Education / Experience:

Five years of related work experience, with at least three years of direct or related experience managing a grants portfolio and writing persuasive proposals, reports, and donor stewardship materials.

We welcome you to include any other relevant or lived experience you are comfortable sharing in your cover letter or an additional attachment.

Required Skills / Competencies:

• Exceptional writing, research, and proofreading skills. Ability to synthesize complex legal and policy information, translate it into compelling text, and communicate it clearly.
• Ability to adapt style and voice to write on behalf of others and for varied supporter audiences.
• Relationship builder with excellent interpersonal skills and the flexibility and finesse to work collaboratively with all constituent groups including staff, board members, volunteers, donors, clients, and other stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to organize tasks and priorities, manage multiple projects, and meet deadlines.
• A passion for resource mobilization and commitment to learning about and applying community-centric fundraising principles to your work, such as through ethical storytelling.
• Ability to work independently, collaboratively, and creatively as part of a diverse and close-working team.
• A commitment to a workplace that values and respects differences of race, ethnicity, age, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, religion, ability, and socio-economic circumstances; ability (or desire to learn how) to contribute to the ongoing work to build and sustain an anti-racist work culture.
• Commitment to the ACLU NorCal mission and our organizational values of equity and inclusion, emotional intelligence, expansion mindset, and excellence.

Technical Skills:

• Proficiency with Excel, Microsoft Word, Outlook, Adobe Acrobat, PowerPoint, and other MS Office programs.

Preferred Skills / Competencies:

• Knowledge of Salesforce or other donor databases.
• Experience with Asana.
• Experience interviewing stakeholders to inform written work.
• Experience developing and monitoring program budgets and expenditures for funder audiences.

A Note to Potential Candidates: We recognize that potential candidates with identities that have been historically excluded from the fundraising field may be less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet every one of the qualifications as described in the job description. If you believe that you could excel in this role, we encourage you to apply.

Total Compensation

We are committed to creating and maintaining a diverse workforce through equity initiatives, which includes equitable pay practices. Competitive compensation is commensurate with experience. Starting salary range for this position is $74,132.19- $86,487.56 per year.

We understand how vital our work is and at the same time understand the toll engaged activism can take. Our goal is to retain staff and we believe that having a robust benefit offering is vital in meeting that goal. Our benefits include four weeks paid vacation in addition to 14 office holidays; fully employer-paid medical, vision, and dental insurance for staff members, their dependents, and spouse or domestic partner; life and long-term disability insurance; and 401(k) plan with employer match. We have a robust Employee Assistance Program and emerging Employee Resource Groups.

To Apply

Applications will be accepted until the position has been filled. We encourage you to apply as soon as possible as we will be evaluating applications on a rolling basis.  Applications must include:

• a resume
• a brief cover letter that includes:
  • an example from your past work experience that illustrates the specific skills and knowledge that you would bring to this role;
  • how you would contribute to the work culture of a team with diverse life experiences;
  • at least one other specific way you would be an excellent addition to the ACLU NorCal Development department
  • Applicants concurrently applying to any other position with the ACLU should state what other position they are applying for.
• a writing sample of no more than 2 pages that you feel demonstrates writing skills relevant for this position

Please submit your application online at: Job Application for Grant & Development Writer at ACLU of Northern California (greenhouse.io)

For selected candidates, we anticipate the full hiring process including:

• Screening call with Human Resources Staff (no more than 30 mins)
• Video interview with the Hiring Manager (no more than 45 mins)
• Request for an additional work sample from existing portfolio
• Video interview with Hiring Manager and select staff (no more than one hour)
• Reference checks and offer

The ACLU NorCal is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual with a disability and need assistance applying online, please e-mail hr@aclunc.org.  If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process. 

The ACLU of Northern California advances equity and inclusion in the workplace by providing equal employment opportunity to support a work environment free from discrimination on the basis of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age (over 40), sexual orientation, military and veteran status, and any other basis prohibited by law. The organization also provides reasonable accommodations for qualified applicants and employees with disabilities. This equal employment opportunity policy applies to all aspects of employment, including recruitment, selection, advancement, training, problem resolution, and separation from employment. Through this policy, the ACLU NorCal strives to establish and maintain an equitable and accessible work environment that is free from discrimination and supportive of a workforce that reflects the rich diversity of our communities and the people we serve.  ACLU NorCal will consider for employment all qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance (SF Police Code, Article 49).

 

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