CommonWealth Kitchen (CWK) is in search of a passionate writer, researcher, communicator, and strategist to join our team as our next Development Director and help us build an equitable food economy grounded in racial, social, and economic justice. 

Common Dreams. Common Good. CommonWealth. This simple phrase speaks volumes about CWK’s commitment to building a community of diverse entrepreneurs, a network of advocates and supporters, and an increasingly powerful ecosystem of people united by a shared commitment to equity, opportunity and a regional food economy that works for everyone. As Development Director you will not only oversee CWK’s fundraising operations, you will contribute to powerful social change.

CommonWealth Kitchen

There has never been a more impactful or opportune time for an experienced fund development professional to contribute to CWK’s critical systems change work focused on supporting people of color and women launching, growing, and sustaining food businesses and building a new food economy where everyone can participate and prosper.

CWK’s entrepreneurial, systems-based approach focuses on addressing the human, social and financial capital needs of historically marginalized entrepreneurs and connects them to the resources and industry networks essential for success. In addition to its shared kitchens, CWK provides workshops and coaching, coordinated access to markets and capital, and outsourced manufacturing.  Additionally, CWK provides fee-for-service processing for farms, restaurants, and other food companies, and has its own line of products sold to local colleges and hospitals.  

The Development Director Role

CommonWealth Kitchen enjoys significant support from local and national government and institutional investors and individuals for its focus on leveraging the power of food to drive equity and opportunity.  In partnership with the Executive Director, the Development Director will play a key senior leadership role, ensuring all aspects of CWK’s fundraising work are coordinated, effective and responsive to support and grow CWK’s $3.6 million annual budget, which includes an enviable mix of grants, contracts, and earned revenue.  This position will also play a key role in a focused fund development tied to the planned purchase of CWK’s Dorchester facility in late 2021.  Planning for this fund is in its early stages and this position will play a key role in the design and staffing plan. 

The Development Director will craft compelling written materials that tell the powerful impact story of CWK’s work.  They will skillfully manage and cultivate relationships with funders and partners, implement systems that support strong foundation relations, robust individual and corporate giving, accurate and timely data and reporting, and other initiatives such as in-kind donations, annual appeal, and events.  The Development Director will partner with the Director of Marketing and Communications to craft compelling materials that convey CWK’s work. 

The ideal candidate will have excellent written and verbal communication skills, experience researching, writing, and managing grants, the ability to manage and meet budgets, and an unwavering commitment to equity and inclusion. As CWK grows, the Development Director will take the lead in building the staff infrastructure needed to support it.

Responsibilities

Fundraising 

• Serve as the leader and responsible manager for all aspects of fundraising: maintaining and growing institutional support; developing and maintaining organizational data and systems; research, writing, deadline management, reporting, and process coordination; helping cultivate individual donors; special event planning and implementation as needed; hiring and supervising staff and consultants as needed; exploring and adopting new or expanded strategies for individual giving and other initiatives.
• Lead and manage efforts with the Executive Director and CWK Board to advance Board capacity to support CWK’s mission and the fund development necessary to accomplish it.
• Work with the Executive Director and Board to develop a strategy for launching a CWK future fund in connection with the facility purchase in late 2021. The fund will include capital for the building as well as funds to support CWK’s larger systems-change efforts. 
• Manage all work involved in developing, refining, and reporting on proposals to foundations, public funders, and others, ensuring the highest attention to detail and quality.
• Collaborate across CWK functions to grow a Salesforce database that supports all of CWK’s data needs, including major donor and institutional funder stewardship.
• Partner with CWK’s finance team to develop budgets and fundraising goals, as well as a transparent reporting structure. 
• Represent the organization alone or with the Executive Director, Senior Management Team, or CWK members to donors, prospects, funders, and volunteers.
• Ensure that CWK’s written materials, whether traditional or digital, support fund development and inspire new investment. 

Organizational Leadership and Strategy

• Participate as a member of CWK’s Senior Management Team, helping set organizational goals, policies, and procedures. 
• Serve as the hub for CWK fundraising, leveraging the talent, expertise, and energy of CWK staff and members and fostering a culture of philanthropy.  
• Build and support the Board’s fundraising capacity, including recruiting Board members, helping to set goals and priorities, and implement strategy.
• Collaborate with the Executive Director and Marketing and Communications Director to devise a robust marketing campaign and supporting materials to strengthen CWK’s brand and reputation locally and nationally, and secure additional funding.
• Participate in meetings, organizational functions, partner events, and community events necessary to perform job responsibilities and/or to represent CWK.
• Other related assignments at the direction of the Executive Director.

Qualifications:

• Deep commitment to CWK’s mission, vision, and values embracing CWK’s focus on racial, social, and economic justice.
• Demonstrated track record as an effective written and verbal communicator with highly developed skills in writing and speaking. Must demonstrate excellent attention to detail and competency at crafting proposals, donor correspondence, and other materials that persuasively communicate CWK’s programs, mission, and interests.
• Previous experience in creating systems and building infrastructure needed for fundraising success.
• Demonstrated success participating on a diverse team, working across functions and outside the fundraising silo, and thinking creatively and entrepreneurially.
• A record of measurable results in organizing and implementing such activities as foundation relations, annual funds, corporate giving, online and traditional direct response appeals, individual donor cultivation, and special events.
• Demonstrated cultural competency and a high “EQ” to work effectively with and quickly gain the respect and support of diverse constituencies, including board and staff, donors, diverse entrepreneurs, industry partners, foundation, and civic leaders.
• Strong management and supervision skills with the ability to coach teams to their highest potential and maintain accountability for results as well as relationships. Ability to work independently, take initiative, and construct, articulate, and implement short-term and long-term strategic development plans.
• Minimum of 7 years of professional fundraising experience.  Proficiency in Google docs and Salesforce preferred. 

Benefits and Compensation

CommonWealth Kitchen offers a fast-paced, rewarding work environment at our 196 Quincy Street location, a group employee health insurance plan, and holiday and vacation benefits. Pay range is expected to be $85,000-$110,000, commensurate with experience. 

To apply

Please submit a letter of interest, resume, and supporting materials here. We will review submissions and only contact individuals selected to continue in the process. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

CommonWealth Kitchen is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We aspire to build a diverse staff team and community, including groups that are traditionally underrepresented among our sector leadership. Please indicate if you would like to request special accommodations during the interview process.

CommonWealth Kitchen is seeking a strategic, passionate, and persuasive writer, communicator, and events manager to support our fundraising, marketing, and communications work. The ideal candidate is a natural storyteller, who thrives on creating powerful and compelling narratives about equity, economic opportunity, and social justice. We are looking for a creative thinker with excellent organizational skills who loves an editorial calendar! This position will report to the Director of Development and work closely with CWK’s Marketing and Communications Director.

Primary Responsibilities

Fundraising:

• Assist in researching and crafting grant proposals and reports, funder updates, fundraising letters and annual appeals, and related communication materials in support of CWK’s operations.
• Manage CWK’s fundraising data in Salesforce, including managing the donor acknowledgment process.
• Help plan and execute fundraising and donor cultivation events including CWK’s annual Friday Night Bites celebration.

Communications:

• Draft, edit, and layout long and short-form pieces that convey the powerful and compelling work of CWK and our extended member business community for distribution across multiple channels such as our website, newsletter, social media, presentations, print materials, and for publication in local, regional and national media.
• Support Marketing and Communications Director in working with CWK member businesses to help them craft strong, compelling narratives, elevator pitches, and written materials to support their businesses and brands.

Qualifications

This is an ideal position for an individual who loves words, images, and persuasive communication. This position requires excellent organizational and communication skills and a passion for CWK’s mission to build a new food economy grounded in racial, social, and economic justice.

• You thrive in a collaborative, fast-paced entrepreneurial work environment while maintaining a strong sense of independence, ownership and accountability, and a commitment to quality and results.
• You love good storytelling and you are as comfortable writing an Instagram caption as a grant report.
• You have outstanding written and verbal communication skills and are a careful copy editor.
• You are well organized, have excellent attention to detail, and consistent follow-up, and are comfortable managing multiple projects.
• You are very comfortable with technology and are proficient with Google products, MS Office, MailChimp, plus experience with Salesforce, Asana (or other project management software), Adobe Suite (preferred) or Canva. You have demonstrated
• WordPress skills, experience with Elementor a plus! You are skilled with social media platforms and love looking under the hood at analytics to improve performance.
• You are excited to work in an organization that places racial and economic justice at the center of our work and have the ability to work with people from many different cultural and socio-economic backgrounds.
• You are a great communicator, love questions, and have a sense of humor.
• Photo and video shooting/editing skills are a plus but not required.

CommonWealth Kitchen is an equal opportunity employer. We value having a diverse staff who are representative of the community we serve and who bring a variety of traditions, experiences, and points of view to our organization. Individuals of all backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply.

Benefits and Compensation

CommonWealth Kitchen offers a fast-paced, collaborative work environment. We offer an employee health insurance plan, and standard holiday and vacation benefits. Salary will be commensurate with experience, but expected to be in the range from $60,000-$70,000/year. Note that we will consider part-time applications.

To Apply

Please submit a letter of interest, resume, and supporting materials here. We will review submissions and only contact individuals selected to continue in the process. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

About CommonWealth Kitchen

CommonWealth Kitchen (CWK) is Boston’s only nonprofit food business incubator and food manufacturing social enterprise. We’re on a mission to build a new food economy grounded in racial, social, and economic justice.

We provide shared-use commercial kitchen space, combined with business and technical support to @ 40-50 emerging wholesale and retail food companies, caterers, and food trucks. On average, approximately 75% of our businesses are owned by women and/or people of color, employing more than 150+ staff.

Since 2009, we’ve graduated 70+ companies out of our shared kitchens and into a mix of retail, wholesale, and contract manufacturing operations of their own, including Jamaica Mi Hungry, 50Kitchen, Buenas, Delectable Desires, Third Cliff Bakery, McCrea’s Candies, Down Home Delivery, ForkLift Catering, and Top Shelf Cookies.

We were thrilled to be named Boston Magazine Best Community Catalyst for 2021.