Overview

Trestle is looking for a Development Director to drive fundraising strategies for our growing organization, joining us in sustaining our work in solving some of the most critical technology challenges facing the progressive movement.

About this Role

As we offboard a fundraising consultant who has led our scaling campaign for the last year, we are seeking a Development Director to take the campaign over the finish line and drive our fundraising work moving forward.

We’re a small and uniquely shaped non-profit organization funded by a combination of grants and paid-service engagements. We’re looking to expand our support from grants and donations in order to increase strategic and accessible technology support to BIPOC-led and frontline social change organizations.

Currently, Trestle has identified four main avenues of growth: major donor fundraising, corporate fundraising, foundation fundraising, and earned revenue (with a focus on foundation earned revenue). We are seeking a Development Director who is skilled in at least three of the above areas. This position does not have any grassroots fundraising responsibilities.

 

Key Outcomes

  • Along with Trestle’s leadership, grow traditional fundraising revenue and/or paid foundation contracts from $1.5M to $2.4M by the end of 2024 to complete our scaling campaign–we are currently on track to this goal
  • Create a diversified fundraising portfolio that is recession and loss resistant, with no one funder making up more than 20% of our funding – our preference is for a significant portion to be c4 funding
  • Bring in new c3 & c4 funding through prospecting and relationship building, including both working through a prospect list and identifying new prospects
  • Create strong narrative arcs and storylines to convey our mission to different stakeholders (Silicon Valley vs. progressive foundations)
  • Follow the recommendations outlined by of our development consultant in our development audit

Responsibilities

  • Lead and grow Trestle’s multi-modal foundation fundraising program to 60% of Trestle’s budget, including prospecting, grant writing, deck creation, calendering and leading meetings
  • Serve as a key member of Trestle’s core leadership team, including managing the Partner’s fundraising portfolios
  • Direct all aspects of Trestle’s major donor and corporate program, including managing all stewardship with donors, supporting calendering and prioritization of portfolios, and leading on strategy
  • Point on meeting strategy for major donors and foundations, including taking meetings with partners and solo
  • Prospect foundations, corporations, and major donors to identify new funding opportunities
  • Execute suggestions outlined in a development audit including outreach to identified prospects, closing identified threats, and shoring up identified deltas
  • Support the planning of, invitations for, and follow up around funder briefings and donor events
  • Work with our Operations and Finance team to maintain data and fundraising tracking systems (familiarity with Monday as fundraising CRM is a bonus)

Qualifications

  • 7+ years in a development role, with at least 3 years in a leadership role
  • Prospecting experience in both foundations and major gifts
  • Demonstrated experience securing funding from new funders
  • Experience asking for and securing seven figure gifts from foundations and individuals
  • Preferred: Success in securing earned revenue from foundations for services to grantees or corporate fundraising experience

Competencies

  • Ability to explain technology in layperson’s language
  • Understanding of the differences between c3/c4 fundraising, as well as the differences between non-profit fundraising and hard-side fundraising
  • Preferred: Expertise working to manage multiple leaders in their fundraising

Salary & Benefits
The salary for the Development Director role is $120,000. Benefits include:

  • Comprehensive health insurance: health benefits plus dental, vision, and affordable family coverage
  • Flex Spending Account: Tax free accounts to offset transportation, medical and childcare costs
  • 401k with 3% employer match
  • Life Insurance & Disability: To protect you and your family
  • Paid leave includes 15 vacation days, a winter holiday break, the day after Thanksgiving, and 10 federal holidays plus unlimited sick time
  • Flexible four day work week
  • Home office remote work stipend
  • Professional development funds
  • Remote work from anywhere in US time zones.

About Trestle Collaborative

Trestle Collaborative provides hands-on support to movement organizations, campaigns and progressive tech companies to reinforce the technology scaffolding that enables our 21st century movements for justice, equity and progress.

We are a non-profit team of technologists who partner with those who build and use technology for organizing, movement building and electoral campaigns to ensure they are getting the most possible impact from their technology investments.

Since our start in the 2020 election cycle, Trestle has made significant improvements to nearly every tool used to mobilize volunteers for progressive causes, protected national and local organizing groups from security vulnerabilities, and cultivated a diverse community of 130+ senior engineers, designers, and product managers.

 

Working with Trestle
We’re seeking someone who cares deeply about the pressing issues of our day. We strongly encourage BIPOC folks, people with disabilities, people with diverse sexual orientations, gender expressions, religious affiliations and identities to apply.

We are a deeply values-driven organization — we are building a workplace that centers equity, fights burnout culture, and makes space for levity and whole humans. We’re looking to collaborate with folks who appreciate and bring this spirit to their work. Read more about our values here.

Our team is fully remote, operates across US time zones and follows a 4 day work week (with no work on Fridays).