Application Guide
How to Apply for Senior Director, Development at Black Feminist Future
at Black Feminist Future
🏢 About Black Feminist Future
Black Feminist Future is a unique movement incubator specifically focused on amplifying the social and political power of Black women, girls, and gender-marginalized people. Unlike traditional nonprofits, it operates as an incubator that galvanizes collective power for 21st-century organizing, making it ideal for someone passionate about intersectional Black feminist movement-building.
About This Role
This Senior Director of Development role involves designing and executing a multi-year fundraising infrastructure to support Black Feminist Future's financial goals, with a focus on securing 5-10 million dollar budgets. It's impactful because you'll directly enable the organization's mission by building sustainable funding relationships that amplify Black feminist power across communities.
💡 A Day in the Life
A typical day might involve strategizing with the leadership team on aligning fundraising messaging with movement priorities, drafting grant proposals that center Black feminist analysis, and cultivating relationships with social justice funders. You'd likely balance long-term infrastructure planning with immediate donor stewardship needs specific to gender-marginalized communities.
🚀 Application Tools
🎯 Who Black Feminist Future Is Looking For
- Has 10+ years in development leadership with proven success in designing and implementing fundraising strategies for community, labor, or electoral organizations
- Demonstrates specific experience managing 5-10 million dollar budgets and stewarding relationships with institutional funders aligned with social justice movements
- Consistently applies a race, class, and gender lens in all communications and strategy development
- Has experience working within Black feminist or similar intersectional movement spaces and understands the unique funding landscape for Black-led organizations
📝 Tips for Applying to Black Feminist Future
Explicitly quantify your fundraising achievements in community/labor/electoral contexts (e.g., 'secured $8M over 3 years for X organization')
Highlight specific experience with Black feminist or intersectional frameworks in your materials—don't assume they'll infer it from general DEI experience
Research and name-drop specific funders in the Black feminist/social justice philanthropy space that you have relationships with
Demonstrate understanding of movement incubation models versus traditional nonprofit structures in your application
Show how you've built fundraising infrastructure from scratch or significantly transformed existing systems
✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter
['Your specific experience designing multi-year fundraising strategies for 5-10 million dollar budgets in movement contexts', 'How you apply a race, class, and gender lens to donor communications and relationship management', "Your understanding of Black Feminist Future's unique incubator model and how development supports movement-building", 'Examples of stewarding relationships with funders who support Black feminist and gender justice work']
Generate Cover Letter →🔍 Research Before Applying
To stand out, make sure you've researched:
- → Black Feminist Future's specific programs like 'Black Women's Blueprint' or 'Black Girls Dream Fund' to understand their movement-building approach
- → Their current funders and philanthropic partners to identify relationship opportunities
- → The landscape of Black feminist philanthropy and movement funding trends
- → Their public communications and messaging to understand their specific framing of Black feminist politics
💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics
Based on this role, you may be asked about:
⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Using generic DEI language without demonstrating specific understanding of Black feminist frameworks
- Focusing only on corporate or traditional nonprofit fundraising without movement/organizing context
- Failing to acknowledge the specific experiences of trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming communities within Black feminism
📅 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:
Application Review
1-2 weeks
Initial Screening
Phone call or written assessment
Interviews
1-2 rounds, usually virtual
Offer
Congratulations!
Ready to Apply?
Good luck with your application to Black Feminist Future!