The mission of the Native Fish Society is to advocate for the recovery of wild, native fish based upon the best-available science and promote the stewardship of the habitats that sustain us all. The Native Fish Society works across the Pacific Northwest, often through our locally based grassroots River Stewards advocates, to identify and advance science-based solutions to the root challenges facing wild, native fish.
The Native Fish Society is a regionally focused organization with programmatic activities in 67 watersheds in Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho and British Columbia. Our main office is located in Oregon City, Oregon.
Work for Native Fish
Full-time Development Director
Application Deadline: July 31, 2019
Location: Oregon City, Oregon
Compensation: commensurate with experience + generous benefits
Native Fish Society seeks Development Director
The Native Fish Society seeks a full-time development director to head our ongoing fundraising needs. Reporting to the executive director, this role is best filled by a person who is infectiously upbeat, highly organized, energized by meeting new people, and shares our passion for reviving abundant wild fish, free-flowing rivers and thriving local communities across the Pacific Northwest. This position is based in our Oregon City office.
The development director role involves large-scale fundraising initiatives and events, building relationships and outreach strategies to engage new members and donors, and stewarding relationships with new and existing charitable foundations. The development director will also assist our director of wild steelhead funding and executive director to implement major giving and planned giving fundraising strategies as well as support organizational strategies including our equity, diversity, and inclusion priorities.
Our ideal candidate will come with a minimum of 3 years of experience with non-profit fundraising, a community of contacts interested in Northwest native fish and rivers, and a track record for dogged persistence in their work. They should be familiar with CRM nonprofit software, such as Little Green Light, donor databases, social media platforms, and other fundraising technologies.
Native Fish Society is an equal opportunity employer. Women, people of color, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ candidates are encouraged to apply.
Applications will be accepted through July 31, 2019 and early submissions are encouraged. Please send application materials (resume, cover letter, three references, and salary requirements) to mark@nativefishsociety.org. Please include “Development Director & Your Name” in the subject line.
Development Director Key Responsibilities
- Planning and evaluating fundraising campaigns and activities
- Identifying and stewarding prospective corporate, foundation, and individual donors
- Conveying Native Fish Society’s mission, vision, programs, strategies, and campaigns clearly and compellingly, verbally and in writing to foundations, corporate partners, and individuals
- Managing grant calendar, authoring, and submitting grant proposals
- Developing and implementing new fundraising and outreach events across the Pacific Northwest
- Recruiting and training fundraising volunteer leaders
- Staying on top of fundraising trends and the nonprofit community
Everyday activities include:
- Communicating with donors and staff via email, phone or social media.
- Answering donor and staff inquiries in a timely fashion.
- Using prospect research tools and your donor database to build donor relationships.
- Creating solicitation materials for operations and conservation team.
Development Director Skills & Competencies
- Superb written, verbal, and interpersonal skills.
- Ability to connect with people from a wide range of backgrounds
- Fundraising software and tools expertise
- Creative, adaptive, and self-starter attitude
- Donor and volunteer service mentality
- Time management, multi-tasking, and flexibility with job duties
- Organized and inspiring team member
Ideal candidate:
- Experience working on grassroots advocacy campaigns and can speak personally to how Native Fish Society accomplishes our work
- Loves to travel and has contacts across the Pacific Northwest
- Personal interest or experience with native fish and rivers.
Compensation
- Starting salary commensurate with related work experience and qualifications. We offer a comprehensive benefits package including medical stipend, Simple IRA retirement plan through Vanguard, travel, and phone reimbursement and generous paid time off.
About Native Fish Society
Mission: Guided by the best-available science, Native Fish Society advocates for the protection and recovery of wild, native fish and promotes the stewardship of the habitats that sustain us all.
Native Fish Society envisions a Pacific Northwest abundant in wild fish, free-flowing rivers, and thriving local communities. We cultivate a groundswell of public support needed to revive wild fish populations across the region. We create this momentum by empowering people to take action on behalf of wild fish, our homewaters, and our communities.
We accomplish this work through policy and advocacy efforts, coalition building, conservation campaigns, hosting trainings and gatherings, and community science monitoring efforts. Through our programs, Native Fish Society empowers passionate advocates and provides them with the tools, resources, and strategies necessary to run effective initiatives. Our place-based volunteer River Stewards heal their homewaters and protect over 4,000 stream miles. Their advocacy is enhanced by skills-based Fellows who use their expertise to advance our shared vision.
Notable accomplishments include:
- Protecting 22,000 stream miles of salmon habitat in Oregon from suction dredge mining
- Collaborating with Oregon Fish and Wildlife on conservations plans to revive abundant wild spring and fall Chinook salmon in the Rogue River and Oregon’s SW coast.
- Dam removal and precedent-setting hatchery reform on Oregon’s Sandy River, boosting the recovery of wild salmon
- Safeguarding 101,000 acres of public lands from strip mining in the headwaters of remarkable salmon and steelhead rivers including the Illinois, Smith, Pistol rivers and Hunter Creek
- Designating the Molalla and Chetco rivers as State Scenic Waterways
- Helping establish 8 rivers in Washington as Wild Steelhead Gene Banks, where wild steelhead populations are recovering in watersheds free from hatchery fish
- Advancing 150 miles of new Wild & Scenic rivers critical for wild salmon and steelhead including the Molalla River and tributaries to the Rogue River.