Strategy Development Manager Jobs in Gaithersburg, MD

Position Summary

Hip Hop Caucus began as a movement in 2004. Today, it is a 501(c)(3) non-partisan organization, Hip Hop Caucus Education Fund, with a sister 501(c)(4) organization, Hip Hop Caucus Action Fund. The Caucus leverages Hip Hop culture to build campaigns, advocacy, and narrative power with communities, to impact issues critical to racial, climate, and economic justice and civil and human rights.

The Development Manager is a foundational hire on Hip Hop Caucus's lean, fast-moving Development Department, working side-by-side with the Senior Director of Development, and will fundraise for both the c3 and c4 entities. This role will hold primary responsibility for the institutional grants portfolio, help build out a new mid-size individual donor program from the ground up, support major donor cultivation alongside the Senior Director, and manage the Development Marketing Specialist.

The Development Manager will work closely with program teams across the organization to ensure grant proposals and funder reports are well-coordinated and accurately reflect program work, and will support the department's fundraising and legal compliance practices related to Hip Hop Caucus's C3/C4 structure.

Key Responsibilities

Grants & Institutional Giving (primary owner)

• Own grant writing including research, proposal writing, tracking, and reporting requirements
• Provide oversight for the project management of grant applications, ensuring proposals are thoughtfully developed, reviewed, and submitted on time with all supporting materials
• Write, proofread, and submit grantmaker-facing written materials, including concept notes and LOIs, in collaboration with the Senior Director and program team colleagues
• Coordinate across program divisions to ensure effective information-sharing and joint strategizing, so that grant proposals and funder reports accurately reflect program teams' work and are developed in alignment with them
• Ensure grant income and institutional contact information is tracked accurately in EveryAction and is consistent with Finance/Operations
• Prepare funder reports on program accomplishments, grant expenses, and other frequently requested information
• Coordinate the acknowledgment process, including informal communication and acknowledgment letters as requested
  

Mid-Size Donor Program (build & manage)

• Help design and stand up a new mid-size individual donor program, in partnership with the Senior Director, including strategy, targets, and cultivation cadence
• Manage a growing portfolio of mid-sized individual donors (up to $5,000)
• Leverage the EveryAction database to design and implement targeting techniques, with an emphasis on increasing giving across non-institutional donor segments
• Coordinate with the Digital Marketing Specialist on essential EveryAction fundraising skills, including list pulling, navigating contact records, and preparing contribution reports
• Engage in ongoing prospect research using internal and external data sources on current and potential institutional and mid level individual supporters

Major Donor Support

• Support the cultivation and stewardship of critical institutional and individual prospects alongside the Senior Director, participating in each step of the donor pipeline: identification, qualification, research, cultivation, briefing, requests for support, prompt follow-up, stewardship, and recognition
• Assist with coordinating major donor appreciation and cultivation projects such as mailings and events, including managing relevant vendor relationships (e.g., mailing houses, event vendors) as needed
• Manage the Development Team's tracking of progress on contact lists, donor pledges, and planned asks, keeping information current for the Senior Director

Digital & Multi-Channel Fundraising

• Partner with the Development MarketingDevelopment Marketing Specialist to schedule and produce multi-channel fundraising campaigns, including email marketing, social media, and website updates for special fundraising days, year-end appeals, and other special projects
• Partner with the Development MarketingDevelopment Marketing Specialist to maintain and grow the monthly Sustaining Donor program
• Support coordination of any direct mail solicitation process

Team Management

• Directly supervise the Development Marketing Specialist, including regular 1:1s, goal-setting, and day-to-day guidance on digital and multi-channel fundraising work
• Support the Development Marketing Specialist's professional growth, including performance feedback and identifying development opportunities
• Ensure the Development Marketing Specialist's work is aligned with departmental priorities and timelines

Database Operations

• Support fundraising and legal compliance related to Hip Hop Caucus's C3/C4 structure, including accurate revenue coding, documentation, and related compliance requirements as needed
• Enter and maintain institutional and mid-size donor contribution data, ensuring accuracy and proper coding to revenue categories
• Ensure institutional and mid-size donor records are tracked accurately in EveryAction and are consistent with Finance/Operations
• Ensure anonymity of donors is maintained when requested

Meetings & Team Resources

• Ensure the success of internal and external meetings, including scheduling, creating preparation materials, taking notes, and summarizing and communicating out takeaways and next steps
• Support event logistics as needed for select funder convenings and mobilizations (e.g., NYC Climate Week)
• Create mini-trainings, checklists, and other tools for fundraising in EveryAction that support departmental and organizational needs
• Manage the Development Team process guide, documenting team processes and staff fundraising resources
• Support the successful collaboration with program team staff to monitor progress towards grant deliverables and ensure alignment with team work plans and timelines
• Perform other duties and tasks as assigned.

Qualifications

• 3-5 years of experience in nonprofit development, with direct experience in grant writing and institutional funder relationships
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience
• Demonstrated track record independently managing an institutional grants pipeline, including proposal development and reporting, from research through submission
• Proficiency with a CRM/fundraising database (EveryAction/NGP VAN strongly preferred)
• Strong writing and proofreading skills, with experience producing grantmaker- and donor-facing materials
• Interest in and/or experience with individual donor cultivation, ideally including mid-size or major donor work
• Familiarity with digital fundraising channels (email, social, sustaining donor programs) and comfort partnering with a digital-focused colleague
• Comfort working with financial data and reconciliation processes in partnership with a Finance team
• Prior experience supervising, managing, or mentoring staff preferred; comfort taking on people-management responsibility as part of this role's growth trajectory
• Excellent attention to detail and follow-through on recurring, deadline-driven tasks
• Strong organizational and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple donor relationships and concurrent deliverables
• Ability to handle confidential donor and financial information with discretion
• Comfort operating in a small, lean team where ownership and roles will grow over time
• Genuine commitment to Hip Hop Caucus's mission at the intersection of racial, economic, and climate justice, and civil and human rights
  

Compensation and Benefits

The salary range for this role is $80,000-$95,000, and the final salary will be based on experience and qualifications. Hip Hop Caucus also offers a comprehensive benefits package. The Caucus team has a remote culture, with physical offices in Los Angeles, CA, and Washington, DC. This opportunity is location-flexible, with a strong preference for candidates based in one of the office locations or the metro Atlanta area.

Application Process

Submit a resume and cover letter via https://hiphopcaucus.org/careers/. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Hip Hop Caucus is an equal opportunity employer. We strongly encourage Black, Indigenous, and other people of color, women, LGBTQIA+ individuals, people with disabilities, and those with lived experiences connected to our mission to apply.