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Director of Development

Honolulu, Hawaii; San Francisco, CA; New York, New York; Washington, D.C.

About Elemental Impact

Elemental Impact is a nonprofit investment platform that scales climate technologies with deep local impact. Elemental has a 15-year history of investing in climate projects that make neighborhoods and homes cleaner, healthier, safer and more affordable. To date, we've invested in over 160 climate companies across energy, food and agriculture, water, transportation, and industry – de-risking early commercial technologies and attracting follow-on investment. Core to our work supporting innovation and entrepreneurs, and essential to our five-year strategy, is the central role of community impact in the implementation of climate technologies. 

We are a dedicated and passionate team that thrives in a fast-paced environment driven by a shared desire to maximize impact. At Elemental, where we are constantly pushing the edge of innovation, we find ourselves at an exciting inflection point - with more federal funding into climate solutions and philanthropic engagement than ever before, we will be steadily growing our team to meet the moment. Join us at Elemental Impact and be part of the next phase of our journey.

About the role

Reporting to the Managing Director of Growth, the Director of Development will lead the grant writing, pitch development, and proposal submissions for all philanthropic and government funding opportunities. Working in close partnership with the CEO, Chief Growth Officer, and Managing Director of Growth, this person will also manage the identification, outreach, and cultivation of a pipeline of mission-aligned High Net Worth (HNW) Individuals, foundations, family offices, and wealth managers, as well as be well versed in government funding programs. The Director of Development will primarily focus on materials creation, as well as researching new funding opportunities to build an expanding portfolio of private and public funders. They will work in close collaboration with the Managing Director of Growth and across a team of practitioners and partnership builders in order to create an aligned fundraising strategy.

About you:

You are an entrepreneurial, creative and tenacious development professional with a strong track record of fundraising success. You bring exceptional grant writing skills and the ability to communicate Elemental’s vision and impact to a wide group of audiences.

The ideal candidate believes deeply in Elemental’s mission and has a pulse on climate philanthropy, climate finance, and the fundraising landscape.

Key responsibilities include:                         

  • Lead the entire grant writing, proposal development and application submission process – from identification and research to grant compliance and reporting
  • Manage data collection, develop content libraries and capture storytelling for both turn-key concepts and complex proposals
  • Collaborate and coordinate across the Elemental team on external communications and messaging to reflect donor interests and giving motivations across our funder portfolio
  • Expand an existing portfolio of foundations, HNW individuals, wealth managers, and donor networks in order to increase revenue from philanthropic funders
  • Provide quality control and strategic guidance on federal award proposals, reports, compliance, stewardship and reporting
  • Track trends and new opportunities to ensure that the case for support expresses Elemental’s unique value proposition and incorporates climate giving and investment trends
  • Maintain updated donor records in our CRM and create systems and process for the Development Team to monitor movement within the pipeline, including anticipated gift close dates, contacts, and communications
  • Develop processes, protocols and systems to coordinate seamless content development, impact evaluation, and data analysis across Elemental’s program teams

Qualifications  

(Even if you don’t meet 100% of the qualifications, we still encourage you to apply!)   

Desired Skills:                        

  • 10+ years of successful end-to-end grantwriting experience for both small gifts and large seven- and eight- figure grants
  • 7+ years of experience fundraising and managing a diverse portfolio of both public and private donors 
  • 3+ years experience in the environmental and innovation sectors
  • Excellent written communication and narrative proposal writing skills with the ability to create and deliver compelling formal and informal communications about our organization, mission, and impact
  • Deep experience in government fundraising, including leading the writing of government grants and reports
  • Comfort and familiarity communicating to philanthropic donors, including large and family foundations
  • Expert strategic thinking, information synthesizing and storytelling skills
  • Strong interpersonal skills and ability to interact with people from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences
  • Ability to work independently, hit deadlines and stay laser focused on high-priority goals in a fast-changing, agile environment     
  • Ability to travel approximately 2-3 times per quarter 

Standout Skills:

  • Though this role isn’t primarily external-facing, experience representing an organization during fundraising meetings and communicating with large donors is a plus
  • Comfort with writing proposals and reports for both philanthropy and government funders is a plus

Compensation & Benefits

This is a full-time "at-will" position working at least 40 hours per week. You may be asked to travel for work periodically. 

The salary range for this role is $106,400- $191,000, which is based on market data and the organization's compensation philosophy. Also, please note that while we strive to benchmark against for-profit companies and try to be as competitive as possible, we are a non-profit. Our offer will be within the range as required by certain state laws and individual salary offers will vary within the range depending on location, relevant education, knowledge, skills, and experience. We also offer comprehensive employee benefits, including a professional development stipend and three weeks paid time off (more details here). 

Location:

We will consider candidates located near one of our headquarters: Honolulu, San Francisco, New York and Washington, D.C. Elemental has a hybrid working model and if you are within a reasonable distance to one of our offices in New York, DC, Bay Area, or Honolulu, we are asking employees to come into the office at least one day a week to build community with the team. Currently, most people come in 1-2 times a week, but we encourage those who are interested to come in more often if they’d like. 

Other Application Details:

Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment Visa at this time.

We will accept and review applications on a rolling basis. Although all applications will be considered, we may be unable to respond to all inquiries. Please note that we do read cover letters, so we advise spending adequate time on them to share your relevant stories and experiences with us. We also ask that you refrain from using tools like Chat GPT and keep the cover letter to 1-2 pages long. We try to keep applications open for at least 2 weeks, but if we receive a high volume of applications early on, we may close the position.                                                             

Elemental is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. Elemental is also committed to providing access and reasonable accommodation in its services, activities, programs, and employment opportunities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and other applicable laws.

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