Development Communications Director Jobs in Michigan

About Legacy Land Conservancy (Legacy):

Legacy Land Conservancy is an accredited land conservancy founded in 1971 to protect the forests, fields, wetlands, and rivers of southern Michigan. Serving Washtenaw, Jackson, and Lenawee counties, Legacy’s mission is to safeguard land and water to support diverse, thriving, and resilient communities – forever. More information: www.legacylandconservancy.org.

Position Overview:

The Grants & Impact Specialist is a critical part of Legacy’s fundraising team, working to use the written word to elevate Legacy’s mission, inspire giving through private and public foundation grants, and showcase the impact of our work throughout our community. They understand the power of storytelling and support the philanthropic team in crafting inspiring, motivating and mission-focused messaging that appeals to a wide audience.

Reports to: Development & Communications Director

Hours: 40 hours per week. Legacy embraces a work remote culture, flexible schedule to be determined with supervisor. Position will occasionally require some weekend and evening work.

Compensation:

• Salary is $55,000. Legacy sets a nonnegotiable salary to ensure all employees are compensated equitably
• 100% employer-paid health, dental, vision, life insurance, short-term and long-term disability
• Annual Flexible Spending Account (FSA) employer contribution $500 annually
• Up to 3% employer match to each employees’ 401(k) and/or Roth IRA
• Professional development opportunities
• 12 paid holidays
• Accrued, paid personal time off starting at 24 days the first year

Responsibilities:

• Fundraising and philanthropy (60%)

o Lead the execution of an aggressive grant (federal, state, foundation) submission program that thoughtfully and strategically supports programs, general operating, acquisition funds, and endowments that align with Legacy’s 10-year financial sustainability plan.

o Draft proposals for 20-30 grant applications annually.

o Provide continuous research and analysis into prospective grant opportunities.

o Manage and track grant outcomes and impact reporting, including managing final reports to funders.

o Use our CRM (Salesforce) to track, manage and communicate grant deadlines, expectations and deliverables.

o Collaborate with the Development & Communications Director to help inform grant strategy that helps Legacy achieve our 10-year financial sustainability plan.

o Communicate, as needed, with foundation and corporate representatives about requests for proposals, grant submissions and grant reports.

• Communications and impact reporting (40%)

o Assist the communications manager in developing public-facing messaging that inspires, uplifts, and enhances Legacy’s mission.

o Work across departments with all staff to ensure organizational priorities and strategies are being properly represented to external audiences.

o Contribute to writing website articles, newsletter content, and success stories for a wide variety of audiences.

o Take photos and video to accompany written work, with an eye toward developing content for social media.

o Act as an “on staff beat reporter” for all things Legacy, reporting out profiles on staff members, volunteers, donors and partners and event coverage to help demonstrate the impact of Legacy’s work.

o Develop content that connects Legacy’s work to wider trends locally, in the land trust community, and the larger environmental movement.

• Other tasks as needed.

Required Qualifications:

• Five or more years in grant writing, journalism, communications or another related field.
• Understanding of the importance of storytelling and personal connection to inspire giving.
• An ability to communicate clearly and compellingly in any format.
• Familiarity with AP Style and a high level of grammar and spelling competency.
• Be comfortable with a collaborative editorial process and be willing to adjust and adapt based on feedback.
• Experience interviewing subject-matter experts and distilling complex ideas to create accessible, captivating content for a wide audience.
• A positive, problem-solving mentality and an eye for opportunities to innovate, solve problems, and take creative approaches to continually improve.
• Excellent time and project management skills, including the ability to prioritize tasks, meet deadlines and understand how to most efficiently and effectively reach goals.
• Experience with photo or video editing for social media, with an emphasis on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
• Comfortable in a collaborative workplace environment that aspires to include as many perspectives as possible
• Cultural Competence:

o Demonstrated awareness of one’s own cultural identity and views about differences as well as the ability to consistently bring a high level of self-awareness, empathy, and social skills to work and interpersonal interactions

o Desire to build and sustain robust, authentic, and productive working relationships with colleagues and partners across differences

o Commitment to justice, equity, diversity, accessibility and inclusion as organizational practice and culture

o Understanding of how environmental issues intersect with racism, economic and social inequality in the United States and has a passion for working to dismantle these systems

o Ability to communicate clearly and directly with colleagues, working to match intent and impact in interactions, and being proactive to resolve conflicts and misunderstandings, especially across differences, as well as the ability to consistently give both positive and developmental feedback to support learning, excellence and personal growth

Other Requirements:

• Familiarity with a CRM, especially Salesforce, is a plus.
• Valid Michigan driver’s license and reliable transportation.
• Land trust experience is a plus.

Milestones:

First month:

• General Legacy onboarding with the Development & Communications Director, Director of Finance and Operations, and Executive Director
• Meet with each of your new co-workers to learn more about their roles
• Set up technology needs with Business Manager and familiarize yourself with the digital and physical layout of Legacy Land Conservancy
• Familiarize yourself with Legacy’s donor database, Salesforce and grants pipeline SOPs

Within three months:

• Complete 1-3 trainings through the Land Trust Alliance to familiarize yourself with land trust work and how Legacy uses conservation easements and publicly-accessible fee lands to achieve our mission
• Learn the details of Legacy’s 10-year financial sustainability plan from the Development & Communications Director and Director of Finance and Operations
• Begin writing website articles for use in annual report and spring print newsletter

Within six months:

• Create an impact story bank process in collaboration with communications manager and Development & Communications Director
• Publish your first donor, volunteer or supporter profile

Within one year:

• Be comfortable and confident in writing about Legacy’s mission with donors, volunteers, supporters, and the public
• Take full ownership of grant deadlines and deliverables, taking the lead in drafting grant proposals
• Be able to work independently to produce impact-focused content
• Independently secure a $15,000 grant as part of a match challenge set by a current funder

How to Apply: Interested candidates should send their resume and cover letter via email to bizmgr@legacylandconservancy.org. Qualified candidates will be contacted by email regarding an initial interview. Applications may be submitted through August 14, 2026, with an anticipated start date of October 5, 2026.

Legacy Land Conservancy is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Legacy recognizes that opportunities in the conservation and environmental fields have historically excluded and continue to disproportionately exclude Black and Indigenous people, as well as Asian, Latino/a, and Hispanic people, people from working class backgrounds, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ people. We strongly encourage individuals with these, and all other identities to apply.

Legacy is committed to fostering a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion. We embrace people from all backgrounds, experiences and viewpoints, because we value the collective sum of our individual differences, unique capabilities and talents. We encourage and support our employees’ differences in age, race, color, ability, ethnicity, family or marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, political affiliation, socioeconomic status, veteran status and any other characteristics that make our employees unique.

Core Values: Legacy seeks to embrace these core values in all our actions: Justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, trust, relationships, integrity, perpetuity, responsibility, honor, collaboration, science, sustainability, history.