Director of Development

April 2024 | Boston, MA
Download PDF

Boston Food Forest Coalition seeks a values-driven Director of Development to build on existing momentum and take the organization’s fundraising program to the next level.

About Boston Food Forest Coalition

Imagine walking down a street in Boston on a Saturday morning in June of 2050, picking a handful of blueberries and currants from an edible park, sitting in the shade of an old oak to chat with neighbors, and grabbing a basket of fresh veggies on your walk home for dinner. It’s 2050, climate-induced storms are stronger, sea-level rise is worse — but the Boston Food Forest Coalition (BFFC) planted a Forest City rooted in hope and environmental justice.

At the intersection of racial equity and climate resilience, the BFFC is a community of neighbors transforming vacant lots into public edible parks placed into permanent community control and ownership. Together, BFFC is building resilience in Boston through more equitable access to healthy green space and greater connection to each other and the natural world. The Coalition anticipates completing 30 food forests by the year 2030, with 10 already in existence today – one example of the tangible and long-lasting change their work can affect the Boston community. BFFC achieves its goals through a four-part model, which includes:

• Food Forest Development: As a coalition of neighbors, BFFC develops vacant lots into public parks for community gathering and urban forest gardening, prioritizing neighborhoods with less access to parkland and its critical benefits.
• Community Land Trust: In partnership with the city of Boston, BFFC acquires city-owned parcels of land for food forest development. These parcels are placed into community control and remain protected in the BFFC community land trust in perpetuity.
• Stewardship Teams: Each food forest site in the coalition has its own stewardship team comprised of neighbors. Teams take ownership of their space both in vision and maintenance. Across the coalition, BFFC learns from and supports one another in tending vibrant food forest parks, forming a network of mutual aid.
• Education: BFFC’s network of local educators offer regenerative permaculture and environmental workshops for stewards who caretake food forests and for the public of Boston.

The time to join BFFC in this critical work is now. Boston is facing a climate emergency – each decade, the city is facing record heat and temperatures, as well as an increase in extreme weather events, like drought and flooding. Boston’s history of discriminatory neighborhood development practices has led to an inequitable distribution of green space across the city, placing the burden of climate-induced impacts on the city’s most marginalized populations.

The city of Boston, and the entire nation, is taking notice of BFFC’s important work, with coverage by the Boston Globe, WBUR, WGBH, and more. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu attended the grand opening of the Edgewater Food Forest in May 2023, stating, “We know that many of these trees and plants will take a little bit of time — and some of them maybe even decades — to reach their full productivity, but we are doing this so all the kindergartners and their kids one day will have a beautiful space in our city.” With champions across the city, and great momentum as a coalition, BFFC is poised for major growth and impact that will benefit the Bostonians for generations to come.

For more information about Boston Food Forest Coalition, please visit https://www.bostonfoodforest.org/ourwork

Racial Equity, Social Justice, and Inclusion at the Center

BFFC believes in working towards racial equity and collective liberation. To achieve a vision of racial justice in Boston, BFFC believes we must understand Boston’s history of structural racism and how it manifests in policies, institutions, and culture related to BFFC’s work. BFFC pairs this knowledge with humility and curiosity as we work across diverse communities in pursuit of greater racial equity and justice.

BBFC believes in strengthening a Boston culture of belonging through collective ownership of land by a multi-racial, multi-generational, democratically engage community that has the information and decision rights to govern and operate a Community Land Trust that serves all Bostonians. Authentic representation and power-sharing is critical. BFFC believes we must examine the roots of the systems BFFC participates in as a nonprofit land trust in Boston, and take action to increase inclusion toward racial justice.

About Philanthropy at Boston Food Forest Coalition

BFFC’s philanthropy program has great momentum and is picking up speed. The organization has exceeded its revenue goals the last few years through its community partnerships, grants, and individual giving programs. BFFC’s FY23 budget was 1.36M, with goals of reaching 2.3M in FY24, with commitments already being made for the coming year.

While there is incredible immediate value of the food forests for the neighbors BFFC serves, the legacy and long-term impacts are an exciting motivator for BFFC’s donor base. BFFC sees opportunity in their fundraising program through growing their individual donor base, as well as beginning to ramp up their major gifts program moving forward.

About the Position

BFFC offers an incredible opportunity for a Director of Development (DOD) who is interested in making an immediate and lasting impact. Reporting to the Executive Director, Orion Kriegman, the DOD is a full-time position leading the development function, with support from a contract-based grant writer, and a plan to continue to grow the team in the coming years.

As part of the senior leadership team, the DOD will contribute to important strategic planning processes and conversations, to bring the organization into their next stage of growth. With many exciting opportunities, the DOD will help to discern the most pressing next steps for the development program, creating short-term and long-term plans for development with actionable steps.

BFFC is in an entrepreneurial stage of learning and growth in a cutting-edge field, with clear priorities centering diversity, equity, and inclusion. This requires all staff to think creatively, collaboratively, and with an action mindset. The DOD will play a large part in creating a culture of philanthropy that puts the neighbors they serve first, as well as setting up and integrating key internal development systems and processes.

The team at BFFC has identified the major area of focus for the DOD to include building the prospect pipeline, generating new individual and foundation giving, setting strategy for the department, and solidifying and integrating internal development systems.

Key Responsibilities

Development Program & Strategy

• Develop and execute BFFC’s annual fundraising plan
• Secure financial support from new and existing individuals, foundations, and government sources
• Partner with the ED to support successful week-to-week fundraising planning and stewardship
• Develop and manage the implementation of BFFC’s donor research and tracking systems
• Oversee organization of fundraising events and communications strategy in partnership with Communications Manager
• Develop and track proposals, reports, and cultivation for all major donors
• Hire, train, and mentor development staff and communicate fundraising goals and progress, including management of a contract-based grant writer
• Serve as an external spokesperson for BFFC in one-on-one relationships, as well as at relevant development events
• With Executive Director partnership, prepare and present reports and data to engage with the Board of Directors on development matters, and support Board recruitment and management processes

 Development Operations Support

• Review, create, and integrate development department systems and processes to help streamline workflows
• Hire, mentor and manage a Development Manager or Development Associate
• Manage internal systems to track prospect pipelines, and manage data entry in AirTable
• Manage budget development and cost tracking, and liaison with Director of Finance as needed

 Communications

• Proactively and creatively contribute to new ideas on how to engage audiences in conjunction with the Senior Leadership Team
• In partnership with the Communications Manager, execute on fundraising communications and stewardship needs, including projects related to online Fundraising and Annual Fund
  • Strategize and support around donor collateral for fundraising meetings, as well as donor appreciation communications

Key Qualifications

The following are the suggested qualifications for the Director of Development role at BFFC. Studies have shown that marginalized groups are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they can perform every qualification. BFFC is most interested in finding the best candidate for the job – not just candidates who check all the boxes. All are encouraged to apply.

• Demonstrated success and progressive leadership experience in fundraising and development, ideally with exposure to the nonprofit landscape.
• Expertise and interest in supporting the building and streamlining of internal systems and processes for the development department
• Experience growing individual giving programs and donor bases, with an interest and affinity for forging and cultivating new relationships
• Exposure to foundation and grant work, with ability to provide relationship and strategic support to grant staff
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and an ability to weave that commitment into the development department’s practices
• Able to think strategically to engage across multiple platforms with various audiences simultaneously.
• Interest in analytics and in converting data into actionable strategy and/or improvements to fundraising programming and delivery.
• Experience and familiarity with various social media platforms, and general understanding of how to use them creatively and strategically. (Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn)
• Excellent organizational skills and capacity to prioritize and manage time well, with strong attention to detail.
• Ability to work as a self-starter without oversight, and as a team player who productively engages with others within and outside the organization.
• Knowledge and experience with Google suite, Airtable, Action Network, Act Blue, DonorBox, Stripe, and/or Paypal a plus.

Compensation: The salary range for this role is $90,000 – $100,000 annually, and is commensurate with experience, competencies, and skillset. In an effort to make annual reviews of employees learning-focused, BFFC intentionally sets rigid internal salary bands to ensure equity and transparency in compensation.

All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

If you are interested in being considered for this search, please use the form below to submit your cover letter and resume in confidence.

Mel O’Keefe

Senior Consultant

Development Guild DDI