Overview

Department: Angeles Chapter
Location: Remote; Must be able to work at the Los Angeles Sierra Club office at least once per week
Reports To: Chapter Director
Supervises: None
Job Code: 358-22CHP

Context: At the Sierra Club, we believe in the power of togetherness. Together, we remain committed to the fight for a healthy climate built on a foundation of environmental, racial, economic, and gender justice – a future where all people benefit from a healthy, thriving planet and a direct connection to nature. As the climate crisis and deeply entrenched systemic racism all fuel inequity, we will continue to fight for a bold, transformational agenda that recognizes the interconnectedness between our planet, our humanity, and our democracy. By recognizing that our destinies are tied, we continue to name that all things are fundamentally connected, and the overlap between ecology, race, gender, and representative government will move to either advance our collective humanity or to oppress it.

Sierra Club is the largest volunteer-led, grassroots environmental organization in the country, with state and regional chapters in all fifty states and Puerto Rico, as well as national staff located across the country. The Angeles Chapter covers Los Angeles and Orange Counties, and includes more than 40,000 members, 100,000 supporters, 50 volunteer grassroots groups or networks, 4 staff members, and an annual budget of just $500,000 raised from members and other individual donors, foundations and joint project funding with national Sierra Club programs. The Sierra Club is also proud to be a unionized employer, with two labor unions representing more than half of our employees.

Scope: The Fundraising Officer is responsible for planning, organizing, and ensuring implementation of all aspects of the Angeles Chapter’s fundraising program including donor relations and stewardship, major gift donor identification and solicitation, appeal and grant writing and special events. The Fundraising Officer works closely with the Chapter Director and also engages the volunteer leadership in these endeavors. This individual ensures Chapter compliance with Sierra Club fundraising policies and with relevant grant and foundation requirements.

Job activities include but are not limited to:

1. Collaborates with the Chapter Director, Fundraising Committee and Treasurer in the development of the annual fundraising goals and objectives using fundraising data to forecast appropriately.
2. Designs and implements the annual fundraising program, including donor relations, stewardship and cultivation activities, and online and mailed solicitations. Develops fundraising materials including appeals, donation acknowledgements, solicitation case statements and compelling donor stewardship communications (ex: annual reports and quarterly accomplishment updates).
3. Actively seeks to center equity and inclusivity in the Chapter’s fundraising practices, and develops in consultation with Chapter Director and other staff an overall plan for strategic fundraising communications: timing and content and ensures execution.
4. Works with chapter and national staff to maintain fundraising database and track donations, processing of foundation donations, and memorial/honorary donations paperwork.
5. Works with Chapter and national staff to generate and clean-up accurate mailing lists from our database for mailed fundraising appeal and create content for Annual Report and regular newsletters.
6. Maintains regular contact with existing major donors and identifies, cultivates and solicits new major donors, coordinates fundraising special events as needed. Stays up-to-date on program work of the Chapter with the ability to highlight our victories and current challenges with prospective and current donors.
7. Support our volunteer-led fundraising outings, events and activities
8. Build the planned giving program
9. Researches and identifies potential foundation support, writes proposals and fulfills reporting requirements.
10. Participates in regular Finance Committee and Fundraising Committee meetings. Monitors responses to fundraising activities and prepares reports of fundraising progress and forecasting. Build a culture of fundraising in the Angeles Chapter.

The successful candidate must have the following skills and experience: 

• Ability to design and manage fundraising campaigns or the equivalent, and knowledge of fundraising techniques including donor relations, stewardship and cultivation activities and solicitations.
• Ability to manage multiple important priorities and meet deadlines while maintaining a high level of effective, high touch contact for donor, volunteer and staff constituencies, and an unwavering customer service orientation.
• Skill in using discretion, tact and diplomacy in dealing with confidential, controversial or sensitive matters.
• Experience building working relationships with volunteer leaders and navigating non-profit structure.
• Leading on Equity. You model effective equity analysis and practice and have a track record of operationalizing equity, and have embedded justice and equity throughout team/department policies, structures, culture, and programs.

The strongest candidates will also demonstrate the following experience, skills and competencies: 

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, particularly around effective program storytelling and communicating impact.
• Experience working with volunteers.
• Ability to work with diverse groups of people.
• Operations and organizational management skills to effectively navigate internal processes and compliance
• Experience with Microsoft Excel, Salesforce or comparable programs and applications.

Compensation and Benefits

The salary range for this position is $70,000 – $80,000.

This position is represented by a collective bargaining unit and is subject to the terms and conditions of the contract between Sierra Club and Progressive Workers Union.

The Sierra Club offers a competitive salary package commensurate with skills and experience plus excellent benefits that include medical, dental, and vision coverage, and a retirement savings 401(k) plan.

This is a category 5 exempt represented position.

Sierra Club is a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization. Sierra Club employees are not eligible to participate in the Federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program.

Sierra Club values the expertise and talents of foreign nationals. Sierra Club sponsors both nonimmigrant and immigrant visas when certain criteria are met, based on immigration laws and organizational needs. Such sponsorship is at the discretion of the Department Head and Sierra Club Human Resources in consultation with the employee’s manager. The Sierra Club cannot guarantee the approval of a visa petition. The Sierra Club is an equal opportunity employer committed to workforce diversity.

To Apply

This position does not have an undergraduate education requirement. If you choose to include your education history, please remove your schools from your resume. You may leave your degree (e.g., “B.A. Philosophy”), but please remove any undergraduate and graduate school names.

This anonymous process is aimed at opening this opportunity to more candidates, reviewing applicants on performance assessments and mitigating bias in the decision making process.

Lastly, we are intentionally not asking for a cover letter, so please do not send one in with your application.

Explore, enjoy and protect the planet.