Job Title

Director of Development

Travel Requirements

50%

Status

Full time, exempt

Reports to

Executive Director

Location

North Carolina; remote office with up to 50% statewide travel

Direct Reports

No

The Opportunity - About Equality North Carolina

Headquartered in The Triangle in North Carolina, Equality North Carolina is the oldest statewide organization in the country dedicated to securing rights and protections for the LGBTQ+ community. Equality NC Foundation was originally founded as the North Carolina Human Rights Fund in 1979. In frequent collaboration with other progressive organizations, Equality NC builds LGBTQ+ power through advocacy, education, and uplifting the stories of queer and trans North Carolinians in pursuit of racial and social justice.

Equality NC works toward these goals by advocating on behalf of LGBTQ+ North Carolinians before the North Carolina General Assembly, the state’s executive branch, and local governments; by broadcasting LGBTQ+ news, stories, and content; and by mobilizing LGBTQ+ and allied communities on issues that matter most to them. These priorities include securing LGBTQ+ inclusive public accommodations and non-discrimination laws, parental and family rights, inclusive anti-bullying and comprehensive sex education policies, equitable access to reproductive health care (including abortion and gender affirming care), and increasing the number of informed and engaged “New Majority” voters – LGBTQ+, Black, Latinx people and communities, young and new voters, and immigrants. Equality NC also provides North Carolinians with educational programming, vets candidates for public office, makes endorsements and campaign contributions, and produces a Voter Guide.

Today’s Equality North Carolina is comprised of three connected nonprofit entities:

• Equality NC, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization that conducts lobbying and advocacy efforts and works to elect pro-equity/pro-equality candidates
• Equality NC Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides educational programming on LGBTQ+ issues and conducts campaigns to build public support for equal rights
• Equality NC Action Fund, a PAC that makes independent expenditures on campaigns and issues of concern

Since 2016 when HB2, the infamous “Bathroom Bill” was passed, Equality NC and North Carolina's community of advocates have defeated every anti-LGBTQ+ bill introduced in the General Assembly. After the sunsetting of key parts of HB142 (the "compromise bill" that replaced HB2), Equality NC and its partners passed 22 fully inclusive nondiscrimination ordinances, protecting a quarter of the state's LGBTQ+ population from discrimination in employment, public accommodations, and housing. Equality NC and pro-equality elected officials have also introduced five pro-equality bills in each lawmaking session of the General Assembly since 2016, aiming to guarantee comprehensive statewide nondiscrimination protections, ban conversion therapy, end the gay/trans panic defense, repeal the remnants of HB142, and guarantee domestic violence protection orders for LGBTQ+ people. In 2023, Equality NC brought more than 100 people to the capital to advocate for pro-equality measures and against the slate of 13 bills targeting the rights of trans and gender non-conforming youth.

In a state with a conservative, gerrymandered, anti-urban majority in the General Assembly – which remains actively opposed to social and civil rights legislation that would affirm full legal and lived equality for LGBTQ+ people – Equality NC continues to hold a vision of a thriving, liberated North Carolina with a powerful LGBTQ+ community united in service of racial and social justice.

Position Overview

The Development Director, in collaboration with Equality NC Staff and Board, oversees and is responsible for all the organization’s fundraising activities and manages relationships with the organization’s financial partners. Duties include cultivating new, current, and former donors to encourage ongoing contributions, seeking out opportunities for financial support through grants and sponsorships, and planning fundraising events.

Responsibilities

• Creates yearly development plan and annual organizational budget along with the Executive Director and Operations Director.
• Seeks, applies for, and manages grant and foundation funding.
• Manage and execute new and existing individual and corporate giving initiatives, apply for, and manages grant and foundation funding.
• Oversee and manage the donor database (Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge) and funder files to ensure the integrity of donor information, timely processing of gifts and accuracy of information.
• Optimize the functions of the donor software system to manage and maximize fundraising and donor relations.
• Build and maintain external relationships and partnerships. Stay up to date on relevant development trends and opportunities.
• Serves as staff liaison for Equality NC Development Committee
• Performs networking at selected community and leadership events.

Qualifications/Experience

• Five years or more professional experience working in development is REQUIRED.
• Experience working with, for, on behalf of LGBTQIA+ communities is REQUIRED.
• Experience managing up, down, and across teams to orchestrate successful fundraising campaigns.
• Experience managing a budget over $1 million with a good handle on how to read P&L statements and balance sheets.
• Demonstrated experience with and commitment to antiracism.
• Ability to work collaboratively and independently.
• Project management; prioritize and manage multiple competing projects smoothly.
• Experience analyzing and solving complex problems.
• Excellent communication skills, including verbal, written, and public speaking.
• Proficiency in Raiser’s Edge and Raiser’s Edge NXT, Google Workspace, Microsoft Office.
• Bachelor’s degree, or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Work Environment

Thrive in an intense, do-it-yourself, start-up environment. Ability to work well remotely, within a cross-functional team environment and with diverse communities.

Compensation and Benefits

• The hiring range is $70,000-$75,000. In determining a final salary for a position, we consider the role, experience, and skill needed while striving to maintain equity in our compensation bands. For this and other reasons, our salary offers are non-negotiable.
• Equality NC pays 80% of employee Health and 100% dental, vision, long-term disability, short-term disability, and life insurance
• 15 days of PTO with an increase at year one and again at year three; 16 paid holidays annually; end-of-year office closure.
• 3% Matching 403(b) after three months of employment

How to Apply

Equality NC is a proud equal opportunity employer committed to an inclusive work environment and to building a team that reflects the rich diversity of our community. BIPOC LGBTQ, people with disabilities, and people of diverse sexual orientations, gender expressions, and identities are encouraged to apply.

To apply, please submit your resume and a cover letter to hr@equalitync.org. Your cover letter should express
your specific interest and qualifications in working with the LGBTQ+ community.

About Equality NC
At Equality NC, we envision a thriving, liberated North Carolina with a powerful LGBTQ+ community united in service of racial and social justice. Our mission is to build LGBTQ+ power through advocacy, education, and uplifting the stories of queer and trans North Carolinians in pursuit of racial and social justice. Join a team that is passionately committed to advancing the collective lived equality for our most vulnerable populations and communities. Our organization places a high priority on communication, collaboration, diversity, equity, and inclusion where each person is supported to thrive and grow together. Equality NC recognizes that historical and systemic  inequity, especially institutional racism, is the root cause of problems we aim to solve.

We acknowledge that it is impossible for us to fulfill our mission without creating an equitable and inclusive environment for our staff, partners, and people we serve. For more information about Equality NC, please visit our website.