WE’RE HIRING: Development and Member Engagement Coordinator For Block Club Chicago

Block Club Chicago is hiring a Development and Member Engagement Coordinator to help our nonprofit newsroom grow and sustain itself through a revenue model that depends on devoted members, philanthropic support, sponsorships and events.

We’re looking for someone who understands how vital local journalism is to our democracy — and who also loves reading about the quirks of the city’s neighborhoods. We believe the future of journalism depends on not only a diverse newsroom, but a diverse revenue model.

About The Job

We’re looking for a highly organized self-starter to help Block Club with donor-prospect research, donor correspondence, filing deadlines, fundraising events and finding new, fun ways to connect with our readers and the communities we cover. Also, we need someone to:

• Keep track of grant filing deadlines, grant reporting obligations and potential funding opportunities
• Help plan and execute fundraising events, working with community partners and potential corporate sponsors
• Help develop a corporate sponsorship strategy that aligns with our values and our status as a nonprofit newsroom
• Establish fundraising goals and create a development calendar
• Work with Block Club‘s Director of Strategy to design and implement fundraising campaigns using email, direct-mail, social media, events, etc.
• Steward the brand and reputation of the organization

The Perks

• Full benefits (medical, dental, vision) NOTE: retirement offerings coming soon
• Supportive, scrappy, tight-knit editorial team
• Generous vacation policy

Qualifications

• Experience and comfort with an interactive position that requires candidates to be outgoing and able to encourage fundraisers through peer-to-peer fundraising.
• Some experience with grant writing, fundraising, nonprofits and philanthropic foundations. If you’ve worked in media sales or advertising in the past, don’t hesitate to apply!
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• A self-starter who can manage multiple projects simultaneously
• Excellent interpersonal communications skills
• Comfort with Google sheets, social media and tackling lots of emails
• A passion for local news and some knowledge of the local media landscape

How to Apply

• Email a cover letter (the email itself can be your cover letter — just tell us about why you’d be great for this job) and resume to newsroom (at) blockclubchi (dot) org along with two references. Put “Development and Member Engagement Coordinator” in the subject line, please!

Deadline for applications is May 20, 2019

Block Club Chicago is committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to everyone regardless of race, sex, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, national origin, age, physical and mental disability and any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Block Club Chicago believes that diversity and inclusion among our staff makes us a better newsroom more able to accurately report on the neighborhoods of Chicago.

About Us

Block Club Chicago was created by former DNAinfo Chicago editors following the shutdown of DNAinfo and Gothamist in November of 2017. After hearing from people all over the city about how much they missed our truly local coverage, we knew we had to get back to work.

Thanks to more than 3,000 Kickstarter backers and generous support from Civil, we were able to recruit a dedicated team of reporters ready to hit the streets. Our focus remains on telling stories that matter in the neighborhoods, and growing our coverage sustainably through reader and donor support.