Development Manager

The L.A. Local News Initiative is looking for a Development Manager to serve in an essential fundraising role at an ambitious nonprofit startup news organization that is on a mission to close information gaps for communities across Los Angeles.

The Role

With more than $17 million raised so far, this position presents an opportunity for a motivated fundraiser to help build relationships and implement systems that will increase our local support base, ultimately creating a lasting civic institution serving Los Angeles with community-centered journalism for decades to come. The Development Manager will report to the Chief Development Officer and is responsible for maintaining a portfolio of active grants, developing compelling proposals and reports, maintaining the organization’s donor database, conducting prospect research, and supporting donor stewardship.

About the L.A. Local News Initiative

Founded in 2024, the L.A. Local News Initiative is a coalition of organizations and philanthropists that have come together to support local news in Los Angeles. This coalition represents a groundbreaking effort by philanthropy, media, and community organizations in L.A. to work together to fill information gaps, strengthen local democracy and make L.A. work better for Angelenos.

The new initiative will take a multi-pronged ecosystem approach to ensure all L.A. communities have free access to the information they need to be more civically engaged, to thrive and to hold decision makers accountable:

• It is investing in expansion of a community-centered, hyperlocal model developed by Boyle Heights Beat, a trusted newsroom serving Boyle Heights and East L.A., so that more communities in L.A. can get quality, independent news relevant to their neighborhoods, produced by people who are rooted in their communities.
• It will facilitate investments to add reporting resources in the region through investments in regionwide beats and state government reporting from the perspective of Los Angeles at LAist and CalMatters, made available to ecosystem partners, and continue to rally philanthropy to advance local news as a mechanism for civic engagement
• It will foster collaboration among ecosystem partners, by coordinating content sharing, and providing shared resources that will help existing news outlets in L.A. do more reporting and bring more journalism to more people

These strategies were formed following extensive research and community listening done in partnership between local civic leaders and the American Journalism Project, which included input from nearly 900 Angelenos spanning a wide range of ages, genders, races, ethnicities, incomes, professions, and neighborhoods.

Our values

• Free, Independent Local Press: We believe all Angelenos deserve to have a source of unbiased information that equips them to thrive in their daily lives. Our work will meet high journalism standards, be independent, non-partisan, and free to access. We’ll prioritize reaching as many Angelenos as possible, in the most effective ways possible.
• Community-first: We center the needs of local communities, with an ultimate goal to strengthen communities and make LA work better for Angelenos. Journalism should be focused on serving people most affected by the subject matter, and equipping them to take action.
• Equity & Inclusion: We need a representative, equitable, and inclusive local press. Newsrooms should be representative of the communities they cover, shift narratives to be centered on community perspectives, and provide pathways into newsgathering for residents.
• Trust: We believe that building trust must be a core principle of our journalism. As a baseline, the journalism we support must be accurate, independent, unbiased, non-partisan, and a trusted source of shared facts by the communities we serve.

Key responsibilities

Fundraising and Donor Communications

• Lead the development and submission of grant proposals and grant reports, soliciting and incorporating feedback from internal and external stakeholders
• Manage fundraising proposal and reporting lifecycles for institutional funders, major donors, and others, ensuring alignment with place-based fundraising priorities, timely reviews from stakeholders, and compliance with grant conditions
• Partner across the organization to develop and monitor project budgets, ensuring accuracy, grant compliance, and alignment with financial goals and resource allocation needs
• Work closely with leadership to develop funder-specific cases for support and renewal strategies for key funders
• Collaborate across the organization to ensure organizational materials are accurate, aligned, and impactful
• Support the creation and maintenance of one pagers, decks, and other materials that help explain our work to potential philanthropic partners

Donor Qualification and Research

• Proactively identify new prospects through research, including assessment of qualification for fit with our numerous place-based fundraising efforts
• Conduct in-depth research and produce high-quality prospect briefs to support leadership and external-facing staff in meetings and outreach
• Implement systems to manage and track pipeline of prospective funders, coordinating handoff of qualified prospects, including meeting prep as directed
• Maintain prospect research through ongoing review and updating core research briefs with relevant news and developments

Database Management and Fundraising Operations

• Oversee use of a CRM, managing data accuracy, pipeline reporting, and analytics to inform fundraising strategies
• Implement and maintain systems for fundraising operations, including workflow processes, team documentation, and budgeting tools
• Develop and deliver actionable insights and custom reports to track fundraising progress, analyze donor trends, and inform decision-making
• Collaborate with finance and operations staff to ensure seamless processes for gift tracking, reconciliations, receivables, and grant compliance

External Support

• Support on external engagements with local partners, which may include attending meeting with potential funders, or supporting on special events, including donor engagement events, board presentations, and special fundraising events
• As needed, support major fundraising events, ensuring a seamless and engaging experience for donors and attendees
• Represent the L.A. Local News Initiative at events, as needed, and maintain relationships with partner organizations to help track opportunities for collaborative fundraising and engagement

Candidate profile

This role might be a fit if you are:

• Detail-oriented - Ability to organize, delegate and monitor projects with clear structure that also provides for flexibility for others to adapt and lead as well.
• Mission-oriented - You’re committed to our mission to advance democracy and improve the lives of all Angelenos.
• A self-starter - You’re a decisive critical thinker who can prioritize. You are ready to experience startup life and are ready to work hard.
• A multitasker - Your flexibility to move from task to task almost seamlessly is a must as we are ever-changing and adapting to improve our workflows.
• An exemplary communicator - Empathetic and persuasive in driving home our mission, values and priorities to peers, other staff and stakeholders. Able to interpret and convey thoughts easily to all levels of organizational leadership to provide order and prioritization to projects at hand.
• Growth-oriented- You are prepared to grow your role in a new organization and expand your responsibilities as our fundraising progresses and the pathways to new positions become available.
• Passionate, positive and patient - You want you and your peers to achieve the biggest goals possible, and you foster a workplace where collective achievement is celebrated.

What background and skills do you have?

• Strong organizational skills and experience with fundraising, including writing grant proposals and reports
• Experience producing development materials and content
• Strong research skills
• Knowledge of fundraising principles/practices and ethics
• Proficient with CRMs (ActiveCampaign preferred) and other office software, primarily Google Suite, including strong presentation design skills
• Preferred work experience in a fundraising and development environment