Leadership Gifts Associate

About the Job

The ACLU of Northern California is an enduring guardian of justice, fairness, equality, and freedom, working to protect and advance civil rights and civil liberties for all Californians.

The ACLU of Northern California (ACLU NorCal) seeks a Leadership Gifts Associate (LGA) to join our development team during this unprecedented time for civil rights and civil liberties. As we challenge the Trump administration’s discriminatory policies and block efforts to dismantle constitutional protections, you will play a critical role in resisting the rise in anti-democratic and authoritarian threats and actions. As part our development team, you will support fundraising efforts for leadership gifts portfolios managed by organization leadership, helping to mobilize resources to advance the work of the ACLU and build stronger social justice movements regionally and nationwide.

This position is eligible for hybrid work, and is represented by IFPTE Local 20

What You Will Do

Reporting to the Deputy Director of Development, the Leadership Gifts Associate serves as senior leadership’s primary development liaison, with a focus on supporting the Executive Director and Director of Development. The LGA collaborates with senior leadership to navigate complex situations, make strategic decisions, and drive fundraising initiatives for the portfolio. The LGA also independently develops and oversees high-level fundraising communications, advises on and executes donor engagement strategies, and ensures seamless execution of Leadership Gifts portfolio activities.

• Work closely with Development Department leadership to execute and manage sophisticated, highly customized strategies for qualifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding leadership donors and prospects. Focus on those in the Executive Director’s and Director of Development’s portfolios, as well as others requiring their engagement, to optimize fundraising efforts.
• Prepare sensitive and tailored briefing papers, dossiers, proposals, letters, emails, reports, and other documents to support the fundraising efforts of the Executive Director and Director of Development.
• Draft and execute a high volume of donor correspondence on behalf of the Executive Director and Director of Development, ensuring accuracy, appropriate tone, and consistent style.
• Ensure accurate and up-to-date documentation of donor activities, moves, and interactions within leadership gifts portfolios in a central database, including data entry and hygiene maintenance.
• Assist in scheduling national and affiliate staff travel and organizing donor engagement events, such as house parties and small donor gatherings.
• Stay informed about national programmatic priorities and key civil liberties issues to effectively communicate ACLU’s impact to donors.
• Integrate Community Centric Fundraising principles and industry best practices to enhance donor stewardship and fundraising effectiveness.

What You Will Bring

• 3+ years’ experience in development or relationship management. Experience in a non-profit institution of comparable complexity and scale, and with c3 and c4 fundraising is preferred.
• Exceptional organizational, communication, and writing skills, with a strong foundation in grammar, proofreading, and crafting customized, engaging donor communications.
• Ability to understand and follow many different areas of civil rights and civil liberties work, synthesize complex information and translate it into compelling, clear messaging.
• Strong project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple detailed and complex projects with follow through to completion under tight deadlines.
• Poise under pressure, sound judgment, and diplomacy.
• A commitment to an anti-racist workplace that values and respects differences of race, ethnicity, age, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, religion, ability, and socio-economic circumstances.
• Proficiency with office technology and information systems (including Word, Excel, and Outlook) and donor databases, preferably Salesforce or Blackbaud CRM.

What We Will Offer You

• The base salary for this $37.86 - $ 44.86 with the final amount depending on experience, skills, and qualifications.
• Time away to focus on the things that matter with a generous paid time-off policies
• Focus on your well-being with comprehensive healthcare benefits (Including fully paid medical, dental and vision coverage as well as parental leave and a fertility benefit)
• Plan for your retirement with 401k plan and employer match
• We support employee growth and development through annual professional development funds.
• A mission-driven team that values equity, belonging, inclusion, collaboration, and growth.

How to Apply

• Applications must include (1) a resume, (2) a cover letter
• Applications will be accepted until the position has been filled and evaluated on a rolling basis.
• 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.
• If your application is a good match, our team will reach out to schedule an interview. If you're no longer under consideration, you'll receive an email update. We truly appreciate your interest, and due to the high application volume, we may not be able to personally communicate with everyone who applies.

For selected candidates, we anticipate the full hiring process will include:

• Screening call with Human Resources staff (no more than 30 mins)
• Video interview with the Hiring Manager (no more than 30 mins)
• Video interview with Hiring Manager and select staff (no more than one hour)
• Request for time-limited, take-home skills assessment or work sample
• Reference checks and offer

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. Lived experience, volunteer work, and transferable work skills will be considered toward experience requirements. We value diverse experiences and depend on a diverse staff to carry out our mission. If you believe that you could excel in this role, we encourage you to apply.

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).