The Roots of Progress Institute (RPI) is hiring for a new role:
We also have two roles recently announced that are still open:
Please apply if interested, or share these opportunities with great candidates! The links above are shareable. The full text of the new Development Manager role is also included below.
All roles are full-time and fully remote (North America–based).
Development Manager
The role
The Roots of Progress Institute (RPI) is seeking a Development Manager, to own our fundraising process and all philanthropic donations.
RPI is a startup nonprofit dedicated to building a culture of progress and restoring a bold, ambitious vision of the future. We are part of the broader progress movement that was kicked off in The Atlantic and has been profiled by BBC and Vox. Our founder and president, Jason Crawford, is quoted as a spokesman for progress in those stories, and we are known as a central organization in that movement.
You will work closely with Jason. He will be the public face of the organization and the primary donor contact. You will own the pipeline, process, and followup; and you’ll be in the loop on all meetings and emails.
The people you will meet in this role are some of the smartest, most accomplished, and best-informed people in the world (and we say that not just because some of them might be reading this!) Some are highly successful individuals in Silicon Valley, New York finance, and other communities; others run funds of $100M or more at some of the most forward-thinking foundations on the planet.
They are also one of the most demanding audiences you will meet. They are busy and require conciseness; they want to see credible plans and tangible results; they are allergic to hype and fluff; they cannot be snowed. In short, they will keep you on your toes.
You will join at a pivotal time, and start from a solid foundation: We already have a good network of donors and good relationships with them. We have more leads than we have been able to follow up on. We also have a very good brand. Our annual Progress Conference is the main event for our community. Our writer’s fellowship, university workshops, and high school summer program are already having an impact, and provide plenty of material for donor pitches and updates. And next year, we’ll be launching Jason’s book, The Progress Manifesto, which will greatly expand our mindshare and create evidence of momentum and attention.
You’ll report directly to Jason, and will work closely with him and with the program leads. We’re a small team with Silicon Valley DNA; we operate with high autonomy and minimal process. You will fuel the work of this fantastic team. This is a role that will stretch and grow you: the rigor of your thinking, the clarity of your communication, your ability to execute with minimal oversight.
What you will own and do
You will be responsible for:
All philanthropic donations and grants, from individuals and foundations, at all levels
All donor relations and communications
Sponsorships for our conference and other programs (but not direct program revenue, such as ticket sales)
Your key metric will be the revenue brought in through these channels.
You will have broad latitude to devise fundraising strategies and tactics. At the same time, you must own execution: you will be the only person dedicated full-time to fundraising.
Examples of day-to-day tasks you might perform include:
Prospecting for foundations, grants, and donors; and for events where we can build these relationships
Researching donor prospects
Writing grant proposals
Getting sponsorships for Progress Conference and other programs
Developing/improving our donation pipeline tracking system
Creating our annual fundraising letter / pitch deck
Writing donor communications such as a monthly update and annual report
Sending thank-you cards and gifts; planning and creating donor swag
Planning and attending fundraising events
Setting up donor meetings; joining on those discussions whenever possible, and debriefing with Jason afterward
And probably other things that you will figure out!
About you
You should:
Be familiar with the progress community and its ideas.
Be crisp and articulate in communications. You must be fluent in the efficient, non-nonsense communications style of Silicon Valley.
Thrive on closing deals; but be able to face rejection without taking it personally.
No prior experience in fundraising roles is strictly required, although experience in relevant roles is valued! The right candidate in this role might come from a sales or operations background.
Location and travel
We’re a distributed team, and you can work from anywhere that has reasonable overlap with US timezones. You’ll be expected to travel multiple times a year for donor events, our annual conference, and our annual team meeting.
About the Roots of Progress Institute
The Roots of Progress Institute is a nonprofit dedicated to building a culture of progress and restoring a bold, ambitious vision of the future. Our programs this year include:
Progress Conference, the main annual gathering for the progress community
The Blog-Building Intensive, a fellowship program for progress writers
Progress in Medicine, a summer program for high school students
Teaching Progress, a workshop for university professors who want to teach ideas of progress
Our founder and president, Jason Crawford, writes and speaks about the history and philosophy of progress, including in his forthcoming book The Progress Manifesto.
Why care about progress? The progress of the last few centuries—in science, technology, industry, and the economy—is one of the greatest achievements of humanity. But progress is not automatic or inevitable. We must understand its causes so that we can keep it going, and even accelerate it.
In order to make progress, we must believe that it is possible and desirable. The 19th century believed in the power of technology and industry to better humanity, but in the 20th century, this belief gave way to skepticism and distrust. We need a new philosophy of progress for the 21st century, and beyond.
Read more about our mission and the bios of our team.
Application process
We’ll review applications on a rolling basis. Promising applications will get an intro call from Jason. To get an offer, expect that you will interview with a few members of the team, and do a written assignment that we’ll discuss with you.
This role can start immediately. We aim to fill it by October.
Scaling donor pipelines requires treating fundraising like an engineering delivery loop: tracking multi-stakeholder state machines, optimizing funnel velocity, and ruthlessly minimizing context switching for the principal. Solid operational framing here.