Heavy industry is the foundation of modern society. We need materials like cement, steel, and aluminum more than ever to rebuild our bridges and roads, to construct wind and solar projects, and to manufacture electric vehicles and heat pumps that will undergird our future. But industry needs a new social contract with America. For all the good industrial progress brings, it also causes a lot of harm. It threatens our climate, reinforces environmental racism, it’s wasteful, and it has left workers and communities behind when convenient to industry’s bottom line.
Addressing this challenge – and the opportunity it presents – is why Industrious Labs exists. With our partners, we’re reimagining the industrial sector as not only a source of good union jobs, but a climate solution where we make things responsibly, prioritize waste reduction, reuse, repair, remanufacture, and recycle. To do this we will have to change how our stuff is made and what we do with it when we are done with it. We see an America that is known again as a country of industry, where the best quality and greenest materials are made with American labor. In the future we build together, industry is a good neighbor to communities, the anchor of a healthy regenerative economy, and leading the world in addressing climate change.
Position Overview
Guided by an inspiring vision, smart strategies, and significant early financial investment, we are seeking an entrepreneurial Philanthropy Director to join our team. Industrious Labs is fully remote, and this role reports to co-founder and partner Evan Gillespie.
In this newly created position, the Philanthropy Director is a highly strategic relationship builder with proven ability to raise funds from individual donors, family offices, and foundations. They are passionate about solving the climate crisis by focusing on the strategies that will make the biggest impact, including focused campaigns, research and analysis, diverse coalitions, and sharp communications. The Philanthropy Director is energized by the challenge of the climate crises, inspired to step into a new era of the movement, and has a strong track record of working with climate philanthropists and funders to resource innovative solutions.
The Philanthropy Director leads the design of a contributed revenue plan that complements Industrious Lab’s earned revenue strategy (consulting and advisory services, mostly to foundations around their industrial strategy). They oversee successful implementation, building and inspiring a team to expand the organization’s pipeline of funding partners. We are currently a $3 million LLC with a goal of doubling in the next year through c3 and c4 vehicles. More importantly, Industrious Labs aspires to help raise $100 million / year that is needed to properly resource the movement for industrial decarbonization. This is not about filling our coffers but rather about moving resources equitably and efficiently to a burgeoning area of the climate movement. The Philanthropy Director partners with the co-founders, current funding partners and key advisors (we do not have a governing board) to build out Industrious Lab’s network of investors, while identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding their own portfolio.
This is a public-facing and high profile role for a proven leader who has a stellar track record of setting and achieving ambitious revenue goals. In doing so, the Philanthropy Director further establishes Industrious Labs as a national leader on industrial decarbonization and a go-to resource for policymakers, policy influencers, climate advocates, and community leaders.
The inaugural Philanthropy Director holds key responsibilities that will evolve over time as the team grows and functions are distributed. During the first year of the role, we anticipate a focus on the following priorities:
Strategy Development
- Develop and implement an ambitious resource development plan in support of Industrious Labs’ short-, mid-, and long-range vision and goals.
- Manage focused efforts to secure individual and family office major gifts and foundation grants (6- to 8-figure).
- Identify opportunities to boost Industrious Labs’ visibility and leadership in the philanthropic landscape.
- Track trends and opportunities to ensure that the case for support expresses Industrious Labs’ unique value proposition and considers donor/funder priorities.
- Build relationships with organizations across the climate and social justice ecosystems in order to forge strategic partnerships that generate funds for the broader movement to clean up heavy industry.
- With Industrious Labs colleagues and partners, develop an equity-centered and transparent mechanism to move resources to the movement.
Revenue Generation & Stewardship
- Serve as a lead fundraiser alongside the co-founders and partners.
- Initiate, develop, and manage high-value relationships (initially $100k+) that result in significant income and value to Industrious Labs and to the broader movement, developing strategic relationships with individual funding partners, and making or facilitating specific asks for financial support.
- Maintain a significant portfolio of major donors and funders to build lasting relationships and to move these partnerships through the identification/qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship cycles.
- Oversee timely and accurate gift processing, donor/funder acknowledgement, and reporting.
Funder Cultivation and Pipeline Growth
- Develop, grow, and manage a pipeline of high net worth individuals and foundations who will invest in Industrious Labs’ growth and impact.
- Support research efforts to ensure that Industrious Labs can identify and progress relationships with prospective high-value investors, effectively leveraging the existing base and identifying new funding prospects to build a broader, better-qualified, and more significant prospect pipeline.
- Design and deliver engagement opportunities such as webinars and funder briefings for donors and prospects.
Team & Systems Building
- Actively recruit and manage fundraising staff and contractors (#TBD) focused on supporting the resource development plan, including establishing annual objectives, providing regular feedback and appropriate recognition, conducting annual performance reviews, and supporting ongoing professional development.
- Help drive efforts to create and implement efficient and effective fundraising-related systems and procedures (e.g., CRM, prospect research, and grant reporting).
- Oversee the integrity and functionality of the donor database, including best practices in tracking donor data with the highest degree of security, meeting all U.S. federal standards and regulations.
- Develop and provide organizational leadership with dashboards to track progress and benchmarks against the resource development plan and proactively produce reports and analyses of efforts to inform strategies and improve results, including donor retention and satisfaction.
- Build and sustain an organizational culture that promotes the relationship between philanthropy and the mission and goals of Industrious Labs.
How To Apply
To apply or nominate a candidate, please send to cathy@industriouslabs.org with “Philanthropy Director” in the subject line a resume and cover letter answering the following:
- What motivates you to spend your time, skills and expertise working on climate change?
- How do you ensure you are raising funds and developing relationships with a justice-oriented analysis?
- Briefly share a fundraising effort you led that generated significant revenue to help an organization scale. What was the goal and what did you learn from the effort that you would bring with you to Industrious Labs?
Submission in a combined PDF or Microsoft Word file is preferred. This position is open until filled. Candidate review and phone screens begin immediately and will be conducted throughout the search.