Capital Campaign Director – Lead a Field-Defining Campaign to Anchor Abolitionist Infrastructure in Oakland

Critical Resistance (CR)—a national grassroots organization working to end the prison industrial complex (PIC)—seeks a Capital Campaign Director to drive and staff Building People Power (BPP)’s multi-year capital campaign, leading strategy, fundraising, donor engagement, and ecosystem coordination to complete the remaining raise and bring a bold vision to life.

This is a rare chance to shape a field-defining campaign—one that reimagines how capital and community support local-to-global movement building, governance, and cultural memory. The Director aligns the campaign with CR abolitionist values and anchors its success in strong relationships, compelling narrative, and collective care.

This full-time, Oakland-based (hybrid) position reports to CR’s Development Director and collaborates closely with the BPP Building Project Manager, campaign consultants, and CR’s national staff team.

Building People Power | Project Overview

Building People Power (BPP) - a project of Critical Resistance - is preparing to launch the quiet phase of a bold capital campaign to resource a new movement hub for healing, organizing, and community-led governance—and to activate a living model of abolitionist economic sovereignty. A recent feasibility study affirmed BPP’s potential as a generational investment in abolitionist infrastructure and informed an updated campaign work plan, positioning CR to move forward with clarity, intention, and momentum.

At its heart is the transformation of a 10,000 square ft building at 4400 Telegraph Ave in Oakland, CA into a home for political organizing, cultural strategy, collective care, and movement stewardship. Currently under CR’s ownership, the building will house the organization’s national headquarters and provide a welcoming, inclusive space for movement partners and communities impacted by imprisonment, displacement, and state violence.

To date, the campaign has secured ownership of the building and a $6 million lead gift. With preliminary architectural estimates, the working goal is $11.5 million to complete renovations and ensure long-term sustainability for building operations (final goal to be confirmed with contractor pricing and updated BPP operational planning).

This is not just a capital campaign—it’s a blueprint for how movements can mobilize resources and relationships to build the world we need: centering community stewardship, participatory governance, and the transformative use of resources to build collective power.

Position Details

Title: Capital Campaign Director

Location: Oakland, CA (hybrid)

Status: Full-time, two-year+ position (initial six-month mutual fit review)

Salary Range: $120,000-140,000/year + generous benefits

Key Responsibilities

Campaign Strategy & Management

• Refine and implement a multi-phase campaign strategy from quiet phase cultivation through public launch and close.
• Align campaign calendar with CR’s programmatic, construction, and fiscal timelines.
• Track benchmarks, manage campaign budget, and report progress to key internal and external stakeholders.
• Coordinate consultants, advisors, and a Capital Campaign committee; assess overall campaign capacity and design.
• Develop annual fundraising plans and materials aligned with CR’s values, voice, and vision.
• Facilitate internal coordination and documentation across campaign staff, volunteers, and systems.

Donor Organizing & Engagement

• Build and manage a portfolio of donors and funders giving $10K+ in one-time or multi-year commitments.
• Cultivate and solicit major individual and institutional gifts—including recoverable or blended capital where aligned.
• Coach and support CR staff, campaign committee, and volunteers in donor engagement and asks.
• Manage donor systems, acknowledgements, pledges, and grant proposals and reports.
• Collaborate on donor storytelling and events that highlight the campaign’s transformative impact.

Campaign Culture, Learning, & Ecosystem Stewardship

• Cultivate a campaign culture grounded in CR’s abolitionist principles: collective care, accountability, and shared power.
• Represent CR and BPP in philanthropic, community finance, and movement-building spaces.
• Support documentation that uplifts BPP’s broader field impact and long-term strategic significance.
• Bridge CR with aligned fields (solidarity economy, community capital, and governance innovation).

Ideal Candidate Qualifications

We welcome applications from candidates with a variety of backgrounds (development, organizing, philanthropy, and economic justice). You don’t need to meet every single qualification to apply—we value curiosity, strategic thinking, and alignment with our values.

• 5–7+ years of fundraising experience, including 3+ years in capital campaigns or major gifts.
• Demonstrated success leading/co-leading multi-stakeholder fundraising and securing six-figure+ gifts.
• Strong relationship-building across philanthropic and movement spaces.
• Creative, values-aligned approach to capital strategy and narrative positioning.
• Effective communicator and collaborator with strong writing, planning, and prioritization skills.
• Comfort working in CRM systems (Salesforce a plus); experience managing campaign budgets and tracking systems.
• Experience supporting or supervising fundraising staff, volunteers, or campaign committees.
• Familiarity with integrated-capital strategies (e.g. grants, major gifts, recoverable capital, public/private partnerships) is a plus.
• Deep commitment to prison industrial complex abolition; ability to learn and articulate CR’s mission and values.
• Personal qualities: diligence, humility, integrity, emotional intelligence, and self-direction.
• Confidence operating as a visible campaign leader while honoring collective leadership and grassroots values.

Salary: $120,000-$140,000/year depending upon experience

Benefits: Six weeks paid vacation + generous benefits package

Classification: Position is full-time, exempt

Work Setup: Office infrastructure or remote work support available

Timeline: Two-year position with initial six-month mutual fit review period. There is potential for extension beyond the two-year period depending on candidate interest, fit, and campaign trajectory.

Reporting Structure: This role will be supervised by CR’s Development Director, informed by the Building Project Manager, supported by a capital campaign consultant, and accountable to the BPP Board.

This job description outlines the role’s primary responsibilities but is not exhaustive. The employee may be assigned other duties that are reasonable and related to the position, consistent with applicable law.