About Hip Hop Caucus
Hip Hop Caucus (The Caucus) began as a movement in 2004. Today it is a 501(c)(3) non-partisan organization, Hip Hop Caucus Education Fund, with a sister 501(c)(4) organization, Hip Hop Caucus Action Fund. The Caucus leverages Hip Hop culture to build campaigns, advocacy, and narrative power with communities, to impact issues critical to racial, climate, and economic justice and civil and human rights.
Our mission is to use the power of our cultural expression to empower communities who are first and worst impacted by injustice. Our members, as well as our dedicated national team, span the country and globe. We are multiracial and we center our work in communities of color. We span Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X, and we come from diverse backgrounds and experiences. Our vision is for racial justice, healthy communities, and a healthy planet.
The Hip Hop Caucus Education Fund has mobilized hundreds of thousands of young BIPOC voters across eleven election cycles, produced HOME (Heal Our Mother Earth) – the first climate album to move over 60,000 people to action in support of the Clean Power Plan in 2014, and led the first protest in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and has continually partnered with local communities for annual commemorations and advocacy.
Over the past three years, our community took over 4.5M actions on climate justice with Think 100% including petition signatures, EPA comments, event participation, social media post engagement, and more. We played an influential role as a national partner to the local Memphis community in the cancellation of the Byhalia Pipeline. We also raised and distributed $100,000 in direct relief to families affected by Hurricane Ida across 12 parishes in Louisiana.
Our Respect My Vote! campaign developed a free resource for people with a felony record and their loved ones to check their eligibility to vote based on state legislation; since its launch, the tool has been used over 175,000 times. We completed successful voter registration and mobilization tours, mobilizing more than 500,000 Black voters to the polls.
Our breadth of accomplishments reflects our principled approach to organizing, advocacy, and campaigning. The Caucus pioneers culture and narrative to expand our impact, shows up with direct relief and continued solidarity with communities being harmed by systemic injustices, and builds nonpartisan democracy by engaging voters year-round.
We are rooted firmly in the belief that racial justice and climate justice are interwoven.
Today, The Caucus has four platforms through which it works on core issues areas of democracy, climate and environmental justice, civil and human rights, and economic justice. Visit our website (hiphopcaucus.org) to learn more about these platform areas.
The Opportunity
As Hip Hop Caucus enters an ambitious phase of growth and movement-wide impact, the organization seeks a Senior Director of Development to build, lead, and elevate a high-performing fundraising function that fuels The Caucus’ mission and long-term sustainability.
This is a senior leadership role with significant visibility. The Senior Director of Development will:
- Report directly to the Managing Director &COO
- Serve as a key strategic partner to the President & CEO and Managing Director & COO to drive external fundraising and donor engagement
- Manage and mentor a three-person development team
- Represent The Caucus externally with major donors, institutional funders, and philanthropic partners
This leader will expand The Caucus’ philanthropic presence nationally; strengthen foundation, major gifts, and C4 fundraising; and steward a development function that reflects The Caucus’ values, cultural organizing, and racial justice commitments.
Key areas of focus and responsibilities for the Senior Director of Development include:
Strategic Development Leadership
- Design, implement, and evaluate a comprehensive multi-year fundraising strategy aligned with organizational priorities and growth goals.
- Serve as a thought partner to the President & CEO and Managing Director & COO on fundraising strategy, positioning, and donor engagement.
- Set annual revenue targets, department KPIs, and team priorities; monitor progress and adjust strategy as needed.
- Contribute to the Senior Leadership team, collaborating on annual planning and budgeting, strategy setting, and cross-divisional coordination.
External Engagement & Major Donor Cultivation
- Act as one of The Caucus’ most public-facing fundraisers, cultivating and managing a portfolio of foundation partners, major donors, and high-capacity prospects.
- Conduct high-level donor meetings, at times alongside the President & CEO and Managing Director/COO; prepare leaders for donor engagements and ensure strong follow-through.
- Lead strategy for institutional donors and major gifts, including identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
- Organize strategic donor events at key moments during the year.
Team Leadership & Management
- Manage, coach, and support a three-person development team, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, creativity, and excellence.
- Build systems for team performance, donor stewardship, prospect research, and revenue forecasting.
- Ensure team alignment with organizational values and cross-department collaboration.
Messaging, Storytelling & Donor Communications
- Guide the creation of compelling fundraising collateral, digital content, proposals, and reports that communicate The Caucus’ high-impact work.
- Collaborate with the Campaigns and Advocacy and Storytelling and Communications teams to translate complex programmatic work into donor-friendly messages.
Institutional Giving & Grants Management
- Expand foundation support across The Caucus’ four core issue areas: Strengthening Democracy, Climate/Environmental Justice, Civil & Human Rights, Economic Justice.
- Oversee all grants management, including proposal development, reporting, compliance, and funder stewardship.
C4 & Innovative Funding Streams
- Identify and advance opportunities to expand C4 fundraising.
- Expand and cultivate the grassroots donor base, in partnership with the Digital Department
- Monitor and stay current on philanthropic trends, with a focus on donors investing in climate, racial justice, culture, organizing, and civic engagement.
Systems, Infrastructure & Department Operations
- Strengthen and streamline all development systems, tools, and processes to maximize efficiency and donor engagement.
- Ensure accurate tracking, forecasting, and reporting of fundraising activities.
- Ensure seamless coordination between Development and Finance Departments, including on projections, planning, and reporting.
- Develop and implement a vision for the department, as well as policies and procedures to support sustained, scalable growth.
- Manage Development Department budget
- Ensure legal, financial, and 501(c)3 and 501(c)4 compliance and best practices.
Candidate Profile
The ideal Senior Director of Development brings a mix of strategic leadership, external fundraising expertise, team management experience, and deep alignment with The Caucus’ values and cultural organizing approach.
The following offers an aspirational view of the ideal candidate profile; we encourage applications from candidates with a wide range of experiences and backgrounds, especially those from underrepresented groups.
- Demonstrated success in securing multi-year philanthropic commitments and major gifts.
- Experience representing an organization externally with donors, partners, and senior stakeholders.
- Proven ability to design and execute successful fundraising strategies and build strong donor pipelines.
- Exceptional storytelling, writing, and communication skills.
- Experience optimizing use of digital Development tools, such as CRM systems.
- Experience managing and developing high-performing teams.
- Experience with 501(c)(4) fundraising.
- Ability to work collaboratively across a nimble and growing organization and contribute at both strategic and tactical levels.
- Strong understanding of racial equity, access, diversity, inclusion, and issues impacting BIPOC and frontline communities through the lens of racial justice and climate justice —and the ability to communicate that effectively to funders.
- Ability to travel around 15% of the time.
In addition, strong candidates will offer:
- Experience fundraising in civic engagement, climate justice, cultural organizing, civil and human rights, or related movements.
- Comfort working with grassroots partners, frontline communities, artists, creatives, cultural partners, media partners, and elected officials is a plus.
Compensation and Benefits
The salary range for this role is $160,000- $175,000, and the final salary will be based on experience and qualifications. The Caucus also offers a comprehensive benefits package. The Caucus team has a remote culture, with physical offices in Los Angeles, CA, and Washington, DC. This opportunity is location-flexible, with a strong preference for candidates based in one of the office locations.
Contact
DSG l Koya has been exclusively retained for this engagement, which is being led by Sarah Avendaño and Dina Tyler. Submit a compelling cover letter and resume by filling out our Talent Profile. All inquiries are strictly confidential.
DSG l Koya is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals living with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual living with a disability and need assistance expressing interest online, please email [email protected]. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process.
Hip Hop Caucus Education Fund and Hip Hop Caucus Action Fund are equal opportunity employers. Both prohibit unlawful discrimination against any employee or applicant for employment based on race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, age, national origin, genetic characteristics, disability, status as a special disabled veteran or veteran, marital status, sexual orientation, sexual identity, or any other basis prohibited by law.