UpRoot Colorado measurably reduces surplus protective foods in Colorado, supports the economic stability of farmers and increases the nutritional security of our state’s residents.

We envision a mindful, humane and equitable Colorado foodshed where farmers are valued for who they are: a cornerstone of our society.

Organizational Overview
Thanks to Covid-19-related grant funding, UpRoot Colorado (UpRoot) hired a third gleaning coordinator in 2020 and, by season’s end, rescued more than 74 percent of its combined organizational totals from 2017-2019.

Additionally, in our first year operating as a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, we successfully raised enough capital to establish UpRoot’s first two full-time roles in 2021. The next step in our capacity-building journey is hiring a development coordinator to increase organizational capacity and establish mission resiliency. 

Team-member Role
You are mission-driven, empathetic, collaborative, a good listener, have solid organizational skills and vibe with food-systems work. You believe that you can move mountains and co-create cultural and systems-change that, in this case, bring about a more educated and grateful Colorado foodshed with increased food equity and food justice. 

This role balances both strategy and communication so you are both a thinker and a doer. You love to dream big and realize that dreams are often won in small increments and with sleeves rolled up. Writing is second nature to you and you enjoy and are adept at storytelling, mixing-in education, truthful information and honest emotion into your narratives; words that educate your audiences and connect with them at a human level. As a teammate, you are unafraid to ask for help or ask questions and are equally comfortable working with initiative and independently.

• Help conceive and implement a fundraising strategy that includes a focus on individual donors, online fundraisers (when safe, in-person fundraisers) and corporate fundraising
• Leveraging the fundraising strategy, lead the research, writing, editing and submission processes for grant applications 
• Initiate the creation of grant materials, including the formulation of programmatic logic models and budgets
• Further develop and stay abreast of both program and organizational budgets 
• Ensure grant deadlines, and requirements, are met 
• Collaborate with co-directors to ensure funding is being sought after in the areas where needed
• Collaborate with co-directors to monitor the organizational budget to ensure we are meeting our financial goals and funding needs

Reporting and Foundation Stewardship

• Monitor grant progress to ensure spend-down of grant awards
• Compile and submit status reports to foundations
• Prepare correspondence (e.g., thank-you notes), progress reports and other updates to foundation funders and donors
• Attend and actively participate in internal programmatic meetings to ensure accurate reporting 
• Brief and prepare staff for fundraising meetings and/or calls
• As appropriate, make presentations to the Board regarding fundraising progress
• Respond to data requests and inquiries from internal and external audiences, including preparation of data analysis and generation of reports
  • Produce internal data summaries, reports, grant statistics, geographic reports and custom analysis for the Board, co-directors and program staff, as needed

Research and Prospecting

• Research and identify prospective funding opportunities 
• Stay abreast of funding news and trends in both the philanthropic and private sectors
• Periodically attend fundraising events (when safe to do so) 

Qualification, Education and Experience Requirements
A Bachelor’s degree plus 2 years of nonprofit fundraising experience or 3 years of grant-writing experience (including for foundations and government-funding opportunities).

Your CV shares a story of both creating and implementing effective fundraising strategies and tapping diverse revenue streams. We’d also love to speak with you if you have these skill sets: 

• A nose for accuracy and detail
• An understanding of brand voice—its importance plus a willingness to expound on it
• Writing to you is like singing a cappella is to Andrea Bocelli (as part of the interview process, we will request a writing sample)
• Excellent proofreading skills
• Experience with remote-meeting software (e.g., Zoom, Hangouts)
• The willingness to comply with all state and federal health regulations and safety standards related to the COVID-19 pandemic
• You vibe with UpRoot’s mission 

Preferred:

• Experience with donor-management software (e.g., Fluxx) and/or CRM with fundraising capabilities (e.g., Salesforce)
• Experience with planned giving and estate planning 
• Prior experience working remotely 

Work Location

Remote (Colorado resident preferred)

Notes

This role is currently slated as a W-2 part-time employee and funded for one year at $19,000. As mentioned, your mission, if you accept it, is to increase organizational capacity and establish sufficient funding for three full-time roles in 2022 (including the development coordinator); we are also open to speaking with development professionals who wish to remain "independent contractors."

We need to get rolling: our hope is that we’re able to onboard a new teammate by early May 2021.