Application Guide

How to Apply for Director of Development

at Life After Justice

🏢 About Life After Justice

Life After Justice uniquely combines strategic litigation with holistic support services to not only free wrongfully convicted individuals but also restore their lives after release. Unlike many criminal justice organizations, they focus on both exoneration and comprehensive reentry support, creating a full-circle approach to justice. Working here offers the opportunity to directly impact systemic change while supporting individuals through their most vulnerable transitions.

About This Role

As Director of Development, you'll build the fundraising infrastructure for an organization at the intersection of wrongful conviction work and reentry support. This role involves creating innovative fundraising strategies beyond traditional grants and events, specifically tailored to amplify stories of exonerees and systemic injustice. Your success will directly enable both legal victories and life-changing support services for wrongfully convicted individuals rebuilding their lives.

💡 A Day in the Life

A typical day might involve strategizing with the legal team about upcoming cases to identify compelling fundraising narratives, while simultaneously developing donor cultivation plans for major gift prospects interested in systemic reform. You'd likely spend time crafting grant proposals that connect individual exoneree stories to broader policy change, while analyzing Bloomerang data to identify opportunities for growing the individual donor base through targeted digital campaigns.

🚀 Application Tools

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Interview Prep

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🎯 Who Life After Justice Is Looking For

  • Has 5+ years specifically in nonprofit fundraising with experience building programs from early-stage to growth-phase, not just maintaining existing programs
  • Demonstrates success with major gifts cultivation in social justice or legal advocacy spaces, not just general nonprofit fundraising
  • Shows familiarity with criminal justice reform ecosystem, including innocence projects, reentry organizations, and policy advocacy groups
  • Has hands-on experience with donor databases like Bloomerang and can articulate how they've used data to grow donor bases

📝 Tips for Applying to Life After Justice

1

Quantify your fundraising achievements specifically in social justice or legal advocacy contexts - e.g., 'Secured $X in foundation grants for criminal justice reform initiatives' rather than generic fundraising numbers

2

Demonstrate your understanding of the innocence movement by referencing specific cases, organizations, or challenges in wrongful conviction work

3

Include examples of 'non-traditional fundraising approaches' you've developed - campaigns, storytelling initiatives, or digital strategies that moved beyond events and grants

4

Show how you've built fundraising programs in resource-constrained environments, as Life After Justice appears to be in a growth phase

5

Mention specific experience with Bloomerang or similar CRM systems and how you've used them for donor cultivation

✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter

['Your specific experience with criminal justice reform fundraising and understanding of the innocence ecosystem', "Examples of innovative, non-traditional fundraising strategies you've developed and their measurable outcomes", "How you've built fundraising programs from early-stage to sustainable growth in mission-driven organizations", 'Your approach to telling compelling stories that drive donor engagement in sensitive or complex social justice contexts']

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🔍 Research Before Applying

To stand out, make sure you've researched:

  • → Life After Justice's specific cases and exonerees - understand their stories and the organization's litigation approach
  • → Current funders in the innocence and criminal justice reform space (like the Innocence Project network, MacArthur Foundation's Safety and Justice Challenge, etc.)
  • → The organization's current fundraising activities and public presence - what gaps or opportunities exist in their current approach
  • → Key players and partnerships in the wrongful conviction ecosystem that could inform donor cultivation strategies
Visit Life After Justice's Website →

💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics

Based on this role, you may be asked about:

1 How would you develop fundraising strategies that authentically center exoneree stories while respecting their trauma and privacy?
2 What specific foundations, corporate partners, or individual donors in the criminal justice reform space would you prioritize cultivating for Life After Justice?
3 Describe a time you developed a 'non-traditional' fundraising approach - what was innovative about it and what were the results?
4 How would you balance fundraising for immediate client needs (reentry support) versus long-term systemic change initiatives?
5 What metrics would you track in Bloomerang to measure and grow individual donor engagement for this specific mission?
Practice Interview Questions →

⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Generic fundraising experience without specific examples in social justice or legal advocacy contexts
  • Focusing only on traditional grant writing without demonstrating innovative, multi-channel fundraising approaches
  • Showing limited understanding of the unique sensitivities and challenges in fundraising around wrongful conviction and reentry

📅 Application Timeline

This position is open until filled. However, we recommend applying as soon as possible as roles at mission-driven organizations tend to fill quickly.

Typical hiring timeline:

1

Application Review

1-2 weeks

2

Initial Screening

Phone call or written assessment

3

Interviews

1-2 rounds, usually virtual

✓

Offer

Congratulations!

Ready to Apply?

Good luck with your application to Life After Justice!

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