Outreach and Development Organizer, guides.vote

Outreach and Development Organizer, guides.vote 

$50,000-62,000 – full-time, hourly contract position

guides.vote seeks a creative, energetic, and experienced organizer to reach out to existing donors, potential donors, and organizational partners who can distribute our guides. We’re looking for a full-time applicant but would consider part-time with the right experience and skill set. Our team members all work remotely, so geographic location is flexible.

guides.vote engages potential voters, especially young voters, by providing clear, insightful, and well-sourced candidate information so they can draw clear contrasts and counter misinformation. We create and distribute nonpartisan candidate guides for America’s most important elections. Our guides give voters the confidence to participate, understand the stakes, and make informed decisions. The guides highlight where candidates stand on key issues, with links to credible sources. Concise, trustworthy, and user-friendly, our resources help people rise above the myth that voting is not worthwhile because candidates are “all the same.” They’re distributed by organizations including Black Voters Matter, Mi Familia Vota, the NAACP, Nonprofit Vote, Vote.org, Youth Service America, Teen Vogue, and Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream. Working with groups like Andrew Goodman Foundation and Campus Vote Project, we also reach hundreds of college campuses.

Collaborating with our terrific partners, we distributed 600,000 individual nonpartisan guides in our first year. Colleges with a total enrollment of 715,000 also posted enlarged versions as banners and posters in high-traffic locations, as did some community groups. The guides traveled further as individuals emailed them to friends, shared them on social media, and even posted printed versions on neighborhood lamp posts.

See guides.vote for more information, including our Executive Summary  

This is a dual role with the following expectations: 

Engage existing and potential financial supporters.
Engage potential distribution partners, like national and local nonprofits, media outlets, and corporations.
For both, you’ll need to communicate the value of our nonpartisan guides in helping potential voters past their overload and mistrust and the ways that partners have distributed them.

Engage New and Prospective Partners:

Reach out to existing distribution partners, as directed by Managing Director Payge Hardy or Founder Paul Loeb, and engage them to distribute our guides and increase their level of participation. Partners include voter participation groups, nonpartisan advocacy groups, community-based nonprofits, including social service organizations, nonpartisan voter engagement coalitions, individual campuses, and media outlets.
Engage new potential partners by email, phone, LinkedIn, social media, etc. Communicate the value of the guides, motivate them to distribute them, and work to integrate them into their programs.
Research and follow up on lists of new potential distribution partners, including working through allies like Nonprofit Vote, Vote Early Day, and Youth Service America. We’re particularly interested in reaching communities of color in our top priority states.
Assist with communications, like partner and donor newsletters, email appeals, and ad campaigns.

Fundraising tasks:

Reach out by email and phone to existing donors and new prospects, as directed by Payge or Paul.
As much as possible, incorporate each donor’s passions, interests, and communication preferences in your outreach.
Identify, research, and solicit new prospective individual, foundation, and corporate donors.
Assist with the submission of grants as needed. Grant Writing experience is a plus but not essential.
Help organize in-person or virtual fundraising events drawing on the networks of our supporters.
Work on donor-related marketing materials like E-newsletters, thank-you letters, or event invitations.
Log your donor contacts into our database (Little Green Light) in a timely and accurate manner.

Desired Skills and Qualifications:

A passion for citizen engagement and enthusiasm for providing trustworthy and accessible information to help people vote with confidence.
At least three-five years of relevant nonprofit or grassroots experience, more preferred. Demonstrated ability to engage new allies, whether funders, organizational partners, or individuals, and inspire them for your cause. History of leading successful initiatives with measurable results.
Ideally, 2 + years of experience personally soliciting and a proven record of closing major gifts. If candidates have strong and successful organizing experience, we’ll consider training them in fundraising.
Highly organized self-starter, able to foster strong relationships, carry out projects independently, manage multiple deadlines, and take the initiative while working in a fast-paced team environment. Ability to promote existing models of engagement while also developing new ideas.
Persistent and creative. Comfortable asking people for donations and distributing our guides, willing to keep following up despite the inevitable no’s.
Strong communicator with high emotional intelligence. Able to “make the case” to inspire potential partners and donors while hearing and heeding their interests and passions.
Strong writing, editing, and research skills. (Be prepared to share a writing sample.)
Works with integrity, reliability, and professionalism. Particularly maintains confidentiality when fundraising.
Familiar with Microsoft Office, Google Docs, and sheets, willing to use our easy-to-learn CRM, Little Green Light, to track all your outreach.
If not a US citizen, have US work authorization.

This is a contract position reporting to guides.vote Managing Director Payge Hardy and founder Paul Loeb. Hourly payment is $25-30 hr based on experience, to be at most $62,000 per year without administrative approval. As an independent contractor, the employee needs to cover their benefits. They may be expected to work during weekends or late hours during peak election cycles. This is an opportunity to work full-time from your location on the critical mission of educating voters about where candidates actually stand.

Guides.vote is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We value diversity in our work environment and believe it furthers our mission to create and preserve an inclusive democracy for all voters and underrepresented and marginalized communities. Applicants from diverse backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply.

Check out quotes from our partners and allies.

Contact Payge@guides.vote with a cover letter, resume, and three references minimum. PDF format preferred.