About Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy

Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP) is a growing community of foundation professionals and other changemakers working to advance equity within and through philanthropy. Our mission is to empower emerging leaders and elevate philanthropic practice in order to build a more just, equitable, and sustainable world. EPIP has established itself as a leading network for diverse early- and mid-career philanthropic professionals, particularly those who identify as people of color, women, and/or LGBTQ. Our 16 member-led chapters span the country and provide peer-to-peer programs, networking opportunities, and support while serving as platforms for member leadership. National programs like our webinar series and our biannual conference connect members to additional supports, knowledge, and opportunities.

EPIP’s new strategic plan, adopted in 2017, outlines three core strategies to achieve our mission over the next four years:

• Professional and leadership development supporting members in succeeding, leading and advancing in their institutions and in the sector;
• Advocacy and innovation to create a more diverse, equitable and inclusive field; and
• Community-building to enrich the EPIP experience, bring opportunities to our members, and amplify our and others’ influence to move the sector into deeper leadership for equity and social justice.

EPIP is a fiscally sponsored project of Tides.

About The Role - Director of Network Resources

EPIP is facing a great challenge: We have an abundance of opportunities to advance our mission and build our organization -- more opportunities than our current team can seize.  EPIP’s current plans call for revenue growth of $770,000 in 2017 to $1.4 million in 2021 -- and that may not even be ambitious enough. As the Director of Network Resources, you will create long-term value for the organization by supporting and mobilizing EPIP’s vast network of leaders, exploring new revenue models, and enhancing existing monetization efforts in order to unleash new revenue for the organization that furthers our strategic direction.

We are starting from a position of strength as EPIP currently has one of the most diverse funding models among comparable organizations, benefiting from operating support grants, individual and institutional memberships (approximately 1,200 individual members and 55 member institutions), and conference sponsorships. Our current plans call for growth across the board, but with a strong emphasis on foundation grants and conference sponsorships.

Working closely with our Executive Director, Tamir Novotny, and in partnership with staff, board members, and EPIP members at large, you will identify opportunities, train and support our community in pursuing those opportunities (where appropriate, pursuing those opportunities personally), and build the organizational systems that allow for this work to blossom in alignment with our values. Where appropriate, you will also work with staff and others to explore new revenue generation activities and improve or innovate on our current revenue model.

Your Responsibilities Will Include:

• Creating and implementing an annual strategic revenue plan that is diversified and realistic, allowing us to reach our near- and long-term goals.
• Evaluating and improving our development infrastructure (database, gift processing, technology, staffing, systems, etc.) necessary to increase revenue.
• Developing and updating materials in support of fundraising efforts.
• Strengthening and managing the Board’s Development Committee and working with the Executive Director and Board Chair to ensure that board members are actively involved in fundraising efforts.
• Training and supporting EPIP staff, board and members to ensure that EPIP’s leadership at all levels can effectively raise funds for the organization.
• Collaborating with EPIP’s Director of Operations & Member Services, Biz Ghormley, to drive institutional member recruitment.
• Representing EPIP’s fundraising interests in internal discussions and decision-making.
• Traveling (~20% of the time) to meet with potential and current donors and/or EPIP members/ partners.

Who You Are:

• A Relationship Builder. You thrive on meeting new people and like to foster relationships. You like learning what motivates people, what inspires their generosity and makes them feel appreciated.
• An Organizer. You recognized that a well-prepared and supported community can achieve far more than a single, highly talented individual. You truly believe in our organizational value of shared leadership.
• An Exceptional Communicator. You have excellent oral and written communication skills. You can craft high-quality proposals and presentations, explain complex concepts in a clear manner, and combine intellect and intuition.
• Resourceful and Adaptable. You’re at ease with ambiguity and rapid change. You possess a positive attitude and identify creative solutions to obstacles. You can juggle many important responsibilities at once and you’re rigorous about prioritizing.
• Ambitious and Tenacious. You thrive with ambitious goals and metrics ahead of you and you won’t stop until they’re met.
• A Creative Fundraiser. You understand that development is more than only donations and fundraising, and thinks outside the box on various forms of revenue.   
• An Abundant Thinker. You believe that we are living in a world of abundant resources and that the right team of partners can make improbable things happen.

What You’ll Need

• 6-10 years of overall professional experience with experience in a nonprofit development, individual giving, institutional giving, or related role.
• Demonstrated commitment to EPIP’s values, particularly social justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.
• Ability to engage and support professionals of all backgrounds, in particular, people from historically marginalized communities. You're always asking: “Whose voice is not represented?”  
• Ability to translate between social justice concepts and values and the priorities of foundations and other philanthropic institutions.

Hiring Process

For this hire, EPIP is using ReWork’s process, which is designed to focus on relevant work skills and experience first while filtering out information that can allow for implicit bias. It de-identifies candidates, schools and past employers from in the early stages, removing these factors from view while zooming in on the work itself. This ensures that the candidate’s work is the primary informant of our decision making and makes opportunities like this one more accessible.

In practice, this means:

• We will only ask for your résumé during the referencing phase at the end of the hiring process.
• We will not ask for a traditional cover letter.
• We will only ask for relevant, de-identified work experience (i.e. not organization names) during the initial application.
• We will de-identify your name during the application review process.

Our hiring process includes these steps:

• Round 1: Brief written application for initial screening.
• Round 2: 30-minute phone interview assess fit and answer candidate’s questions.
• Round 3: 4-hour trial project to be completed on your own timeline.
• Round 4:
  • Half-day in-person interview with EPIP team (résumé submitted for the first time).
  • Reference checks.
  • Offer issued.

We are committed to transparency throughout this process. We understand interviewing can be stressful and aim to minimize that stress and uncertainty. To give you a sense of timing, steps two through six above typically take four to six weeks.

How To Apply

Please complete the very simple form under "Apply Here" via this link and choose "Job Board" and indicate EPIP in your note.

Candidates are able to display interest on an ongoing basis but please do so by Midnight EST on Sunday, April 29th at the latest. ALL candidates will be invited to complete a set of short answer questions shortly after completing the form.

We are currently seeking candidates to be based in New York City but we are open-minded if you are based elsewhere.

If you have any questions about the role, please feel free to email us at [email protected]. We look forward to getting to know you!