Development Manager

Overview: the Development Manager is responsible for supporting the Development Circle (alongside the Executive Director and Administrative Director) in fundraising, donor relations, grant writing, grant administration, and other development administrative tasks., Grants Management and Institutional Giving:

• Lead the research, prospecting, and application preparation for new foundation grant opportunities
• Bottomline grant reporting, preparing written progress narratives, financial records, and reimbursement submissions as needed
• Maintain existing foundation relationships, coordinating check-in meetings, progress reports, and renewal processes
• Respond to funder needs and inquiries, for example, regarding tax and wiring information, receipt confirmations, or organizational media like logos and photos
• Coordinate scheduling and calendar invitations for introductory calls and check-ins with funders
• Improve our grant tracking and administration systems

Grassroots Fundraising Strategy and Communications:

• Lead the development and execution of strategies to engage, activate, and expand our existing network of ~200 grassroots donors and supporters
• Lead the development and execution of annual EOY sustaining donor campaign
• Lead other appeals, donor communications, or fundraising event promotion as needed
• Submit sponsorship applications and conduct business outreach for our programs and events (like our annual Sorghum Harvest)
• Compile and create the organization’s annual summary of work document, highlighting key achievements and impacts
• Oversee Donorbox CRM management and explore strategies to enhance utilization of CRM

Development Project Coordination:

• Represent SFF in ongoing development projects and partnerships, such as coalitional grant projects or fundraising campaigns
• Liaise with other SFF circles and team members to support strategic alignment and collective understanding of grant applications and funded activities

• General: Participate in team responsibilities including all-staff meetings, annual planning, peer evaluations, and rotating miscellaneous tasks like notetaking

• Support other administrative and program tasks as capacity allows

• At least 3 years of experience in development with a track record of successful strategies for growing grassroots and / or institutional giving.
• Strong written and oral communication skills. The ideal candidate will be able to write or edit clear and compelling copy, represent SFF in a variety of settings, and articulate nuanced frameworks about food and land sovereignty to donors and partners.
• Strong commitment to the liberation, self-determination, healing, and joy of Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities and those marginalized by racial capitalism and settler colonialism. Working knowledge about food apartheid, food systems, mass incarceration, racial justice, and economic justice issues is valued.
• Strong project management skills and attention to detail.
• Experience using donor management systems and/or maintaining accurate records, * Design & web skills: creating graphics or documents on Canva, web pages on Squarespace, or campaign pages on Donorbox
• Demonstrated ability to build relationships and trust across diverse life experiences and backgrounds, in terms of race, ethnicity, gender (including trans and non-binary individuals and communities), sexual orientation, class, and religion.
• Emotional maturity, commitment to treating others with respect, kindness, and compassion, and a willingness to engage and navigate potential conflicts with intention and care for self and others.
• Experience living or working with communities of color, including fluency in Black, Indigenous, and/or Latinx cultural reference points; with low income/low financial wealth communities; and with communities inside prisons and those returning from incarceration.

Days and Hours: The position is expected to work approximately 30 hours per week, flexible scheduling. Occasional weekends and evenings required.

Salary and Benefits: Annual salary of $63,564. Health Reimbursement Account (QSEHRA) of $400 (Individual) or $1000 (with dependents) / month. Annual Technology and Equipment Stipend of $250. Fifteen days of flexible paid time off per year, plus two weeks of paid holiday break at year end.

Goals: As a key member of the Development Circle, this person will support the development and execution of strategies to 1) maintain the 2027 base operating budget of $800,000, 2) to build an organizational reserve of $150,000, and 3) to grow the 2028 budget by 25%., this position is: salaried, $60,406 - $75,000

At Sweet Freedom Farm (SFF), we grow culturally relevant, nourishing foods for communities impacted by food apartheid and mass incarceration. We are a majority Black and Black-led team working within a multi-racial community of collaborators to grow and distribute 15,000 - 20,000 lbs of locally and sustainably grown produce each year. Our food currently moves through mutual aid programs, traditional food banks and institutions serving working families and justice impacted communities. We are in demand and growing, with a broad network of supporters, funders, and collaborators.

Sweet Freedom is the primary project of a grassroots network called the Freedom Food Alliance, created by Black farmers, food justice organizers, and incarcerated elders in the visiting room of Sullivan Correctional Facility in 2008. Our current farm operation is 6 years old, and we stand on more than a decade of experience organizing grassroots programs that connect justice-impacted families to food and land. We envision a world free from prisons and from food apartheid, and a food system that truly nourishes Black and Brown communities. In the traditions of our elders and ancestors, we are working to bring that world about by building regional systems for Black and Brown food and land sovereignty.