WHO WE ARE

The Food and Farm Communications Fund (the Fund) was founded to address the funding gap in strategic communications and narrative work amongst grassroots movement groups working to advance justice, equity, and ecological resilience in food and farming systems. Operating as a multi-funder pooled grant program (and housed at Greater Horizons/Greater Kansas City Community Foundation), we raise visibility around the power and role of communications in movement building and social change. Since 2012, the Fund has invested over $3 million in targeted grants to community-based organizations, grassroots networks, and media efforts to uplift grassroots narratives, build power, and embolden transformative food and farm systems change.
 

THE OPPORTUNITY

At a time of strategic growth, the Fund seeks its first Communications and Outreach Director. In close partnership with the Fund Director, this position will set and advance the Fund’s communications goals to deepen and expand its storytelling, funder and grantee engagement, and overall reach. Specifically, the Communications and Outreach Director will lead in the following areas, the demands of which will ebb and flow over the course of the year:
 
Communications Strategy and Systems

• Develop and implement a comprehensive communications strategy designed to attract new supporters, lift up the voices of grantees, and generate greater awareness of the power of communications in the food and farm movement.
• Build infrastructure and systems to synthesize grantee reports, and uplift data and stories of the Fund, its grantees, and programs; develop and maintain an effective contact management system.
• Seek out opportunities to increase visibility of the Fund through philanthropic and food/farm movement communications outlets and other channels.
• As needed, conceptualize and develop written content, including presentations, impact reports, web copy, and other collateral.

Funder Outreach and Engagement

• In partnership with the Fund Director, develop and implement outreach strategies to engage existing funders and solicit new donor partnerships, including writing grant proposals, reports, and donor updates; center grantee stories and voices in donor-facing communications.
• In partnership with the Fund Director, participate in key conferences, meetings, and webinar opportunities to represent the Fund.

 
Grantmaking and Grantee Engagement

• In partnership with the Fund Director, conceive, plan, and implement grantee communications enrichment activities, such as sharing resources, facilitating peer-to-peer learning, and planning grantee webinars, trainings, events, and other capacity-building opportunities.
• Engage in grantmaking processes, particularly around capacity-building and impact media programs.

WHO YOU ARE

• A strategic and values-driven communications leader. You hold the big picture in leading communications work from start to finish. You apply a conceptual understanding of narratives and their role in movement building and social change. You possess at least 8 years of work experience in communications, fund development, philanthropy, or a related field.
• A compelling and engaging connector and storyteller. You enjoy serving as an organizational ambassador with a love of building relationships and networks. People’s stories inspire you, and you take a community-centered approach to storytelling. You are skilled at packaging data and stories in order to create powerful written and spoken narratives.
• A catalyst for racial and social justice work. You hold an analysis of racial and social inequities and systems of oppression. You have a demonstrated track record of working effectively across lines of difference. You are self-reflective about your own growth and learning, relative privilege, and positional power.
• A tech-savvy and well-organized project manager. You are experienced in leading multiple projects with concurrent deadlines. You are skilled at building processes and systems, and strategically leverage limited resources to create the biggest impact. You are proficient in Microsoft Office programs and utilize technology to track people, resources, and programs.
• A flexible, self-directed, and willing team member. You are at home in a lean nonprofit environment with the ability to stay focused and nimble in the face of growth and change. You play well with others, pitch in wherever is needed, and are comfortable with shared responsibility.
• A values-aligned champion for grassroots-led transformation. You share the Fund’s centering of equity, justice, and ecological resilience, as well as grassroots-leadership, as key to transformational change in our food/farm systems. You believe in the power of strategic communications and narrative to spark meaningful change.

The following knowledge, skills, and experiences are nice to have:

• Knowledge of and experience in the philanthropic sector
• Experience with fundraising, donor engagement, and relationship/contact management systems
• Experience in or knowledge of the food/farm systems movement work in the US and internationally, or other movement spaces

OUR COMMITMENT TO RACIAL AND SOCIAL EQUITY

The Fund acknowledges that the voice and experience of Black, Indigenous, and other people of color are left out of the narrative at highly disproportionate rates, yet essential to the change we seek. We believe philanthropy continually under-invests in BIPOC communities. To address these inequities, we:

• Prioritize our grantmaking toward these communities, investing at least 50% of grants in BIPOC-led initiatives and organizations.
• Ensure that Black, Indigenous, and people of color are centered in workshops or events that we support and in our impact stories about the Fund.
• Seek out consultants and vendors of color.

We are committed to engaging the skills, leadership, and lived expertise of Black, Indigenous and other people of color; LGBTQ and gender nonconforming people; individuals from rural communities and under-resourced geographies; and other individuals from diverse backgrounds, as staff and advisors to the Fund. We encourage people from these and other historically marginalized backgrounds to apply to this position.
 
The Fund provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.
 

SALARY AND BENEFITS

The salary for this position is $63,000 for 30 hours/week. The position comes with a competitive benefits package through Greater Horizons/Greater Kansas City Community Foundation that includes a 401K plan with employer match, medical and dental insurance, short and long-term disability insurance, flexible spending plan, generous paid time off and holidays, and a $1,000 charitable contribution to a donor advised fund of the employee’s choice.
 

TO APPLY

Click Apply Now with your resume and a 1-page cover letter that answers these questions:

• What excites you about the Fund’s mission and approach?
• What passions would you bring to this position and the Fund?
• How is this position a good fit for you, based on your understanding of the responsibilities of the role (e.g. communications systems and strategy, funder outreach and engagement, grantee support, all packaged into a 30 hours/week remote position?)