NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

ABOUT RESETTING THE TABLE
Resetting the Table (RTT) equips leaders and communities with tools and skills to transform political differences into a source of strengthened relationship, collective insight, and creative problem-solving. In our early years, RTT focused primarily on polarization in the American Jewish landscape surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Today, we reach thousands of multi-faith clergy, journalists, bridge-building practitioners, conservative and progressive activists, Hollywood content creators, and Jewish professionals and lay leaders across the country. RTT has brought together more than 45,000 participants for courageous learning and dialogue across political divides. We have become a leading innovator and resource in the bridge-building field, and our method for building “healthy conflict” in communities and religious congregations is nationally recognized and highly sought after.

At RTT, we see the motivation, growth, and well-being of our team members as a critical ingredient to our success. Our mission-driven workplace culture is dedicated to excellence, authentic collegial care, and investment in the professional development of each team member.

RTT has just completed a strategic planning process and the organization has charted a bold path forward to raise significant resources for tackling the challenges that polarization presents to our country and communities. We are on track to more than double our budget over the coming 3-4 years from $1.3m to $2.9m, as we meet the needs of this fractious moment and work to embed healthy engagement across divides as a national and communal norm. This position offers the opportunity to join RTT at an inflection point in its history and to work with a committed, passionate, talented team to build on the organization’s success and help propel it to new levels of accomplishment.

ROLE SUMMARY

Resetting the Table seeks a full-time, visionary Chief Development Officer to lead and implement the strategic expansion of a development program that advances RTT’s mission, impact, and growth. The Chief Development Officer will work closely with our CEO to build upon our strong financial footing and base of institutional funders, creating a multi-year fundraising strategy and culture of philanthropy throughout the organization. RTT’s fundraising to date has primarily been driven by a small number of institutional donors. The Chief Development Officer will broaden our base of support from both individual and institutional funders, working with the CEO to meet ambitious short-term fundraising goals while helping the organization build out our fundraising function as we scale and develop long-term.

The ideal candidate is an experienced fundraiser, savvy communicator, and authentic relationship-builder who possesses a passion for our mission and is able to craft and articulate compelling cases for support to diverse stakeholders, grounded in research and relationship-building.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Build Fundraising Strategy: You will work with the CEO to drive and implement a comprehensive strategy to identify, cultivate, and solicit individual and institutional donors aligned with RTT’s mission, work, and approach. You will set the big picture for evolving our fundraising, building a prospect pipeline, maximizing engagement of funders with the organization, and investing all staff in building a culture of philanthropy. You will work with RTT’s leadership and program teams to distill RTT’s accomplishments and impact in ways that resonate with diverse stakeholders. You will serve as an expert on RTT’s mission and rigorous framework for communication across divides in order to drive advancement efforts.
• Lead Fundraising Execution and Relationship-Building: You will oversee all fundraising efforts to ensure we are raising our annual budget and making substantive progress toward growth through a diversified fundraising plan, including envisioning and creating a major gifts program. You will independently own a portfolio of potential and existing individual funders through the entire cycle from identification to solicitation and stewardship, and you will provide support for the CEO and leadership team’s relationships with institutional funders. Working closely with the CEO, you will cumulatively raise $6 million in FY 23, 24, and 25.
• Oversee Development Project Management and Systems: You will ensure that funding proposals and reports are as well-crafted as our programs, and you will participate in proposal and report writing and development. You will oversee project management for grant proposals, reporting, tracking, and donor acknowledgment, ensuring the team’s capacity to meet deadlines with quality and accuracy. You will supervise a Development Associate to manage grant-related systems, including a calendar of foundation proposals and reports, maintaining and updating donor-related electronic files, organizing prospects, tracking qualitative and quantitative programmatic data, and gathering information for reporting to funders. You will identify and hire external vendors to supplement capacity, as needed. You will work with our finance and operations team to ensure optimization of financial reporting, cash flow analysis, and database management. You will create supports to help the organization become more efficient and effective in fundraising as a whole, including overseeing the development team to liaise with program staff to ensure timely sharing of data, information, and stories for communication to funders.
• Contribute to Communications: You will contribute to strategy and implementation for communications materials, ensuring that communications are aligned with fundraising goals to build greater visibility of RTT through storytelling, digital communications, and social media. You will support raising RTT’s profile and strengthening its reputation with donors, constituents, partners, and the general public, which may include pitch decks, newsletters, press releases, and other written communications. You will partner with communications team members on impact reports, videos, testimonials, presentations, and other key outputs. You will become a knowledgeable ambassador for RTT with an understanding of the context, trends, and key players in the bridge-building movement.

QUALIFICATIONS

Note to Applicants: We encourage you to apply even if you do not feel that you meet 100% of the listed qualifications. No one ever meets 100% of qualifications, so if this job excites you and aligns with your values and aspirations, we strongly encourage you to apply. We look forward to your application.

Ideal candidates for the Chief Development Officer position will have:

• 7+ years of demonstrated fundraising success and frontline experience securing 5-, and 6- figure gifts from institutional and/or individual donors, including roles that required communicating with a variety of audiences. Prior grant-writing experience is preferred.
• Outstanding communication skills, including creating powerful fundraising materials and sharing complex ideas through simple presentations. You are skilled at analyzing, breaking down, and communicating ideas in ways that inspire others to action. You leverage data and stories to articulate the ‘why’ behind an organization’s mission and impact.
• Passion for RTT’s vision and approach, and ability to represent it powerfully. You are an enthusiastic advocate for RTT’s value and excited to make the case that overcoming political polarization is an urgent communal and national priority. You are a big picture, analytical thinker on social cohesion and bridge-building and able to convey its importance.
• Gravitas, credibility, and an authentic, warm personality that translates to building strong, trusted relationships with existing and potential donors. You are a natural networker and have the ability to develop rapport easily and foster long-term connections with a range of personalities. You have experience in deepening relationships and upgrading donor giving over time, and in identifying, cultivating, and soliciting gifts from new donors.
• Experience in impact assessment and synthesizing insights from qualitative and quantitative data into verbal communication and/or written materials.
• Experience with complex project management in a fundraising context and effectiveness at managing others through solid- and dotted-line relationships. You have experience leveraging individuals’ strengths and fostering collaboration. You give and take feedback in order to motivate and promote excellence and growth.
• Experience working at an early- or mezzanine-stage nonprofit with an entrepreneurial mindset.
• A high level of computer literacy; MS Office Suite is essential and various other platforms and online systems are a plus (e.g. SurveyMonkey, Airtable, Dropbox, Zoom, Little Green Light, etc.)
• Experience in one or more of RTT’s focus areas: conflict transformation (particularly U.S. political polarization and/or the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict), American Jewish communal life, and/or democracy-building.

At Resetting the Table, we don’t just accept difference of background, identity, or point of view – we celebrate it, we support it, and we thrive on it for the benefit of our employees, our work, and our community. RTT is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. Applicants will not be discriminated against because of race, color, creed, ideology, sex, sexual orientation, gender, age, religion, national origin, disability, ancestry, marital status, veteran status, medical condition, or any protected category prohibited by local, state or federal laws. All aspects of employment are decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and organizational need.

HIRING PROCESS AND HOW TO APPLY

We will review applications on a rolling basis until the position is filled. To apply, please submit a resume & cover letter to Jamie Perry, Evolve Giving Group: jamieperry@evolvegg.com.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

The salary range for the Chief Development Officer will be $130,000-$165,000, commensurate with experience. This salary range is wide as we will be considering candidates with a wide range of experience. Salary is negotiable beyond this range for candidates with extensive experience in similar roles.

RTT also offers a competitive benefits package:

• Medical insurance, life insurance, and short/long-term disability
• Generous package of vacation, sick, and personal days, along with paid time off for Federal and Religious holidays each year
• Paid parental leave that increases with your tenure.
• Stipend for Home Office Expenses of up to $1000.
• 403b plan with 3% employer contribution.
• Support of caring colleagues invested in your growth and development.