Newsletter Creator & Email Campaign Coordinator

Category: Communications / Content / Fundraising

Time Commitment: Remote — approx. 4–6 hrs/week, ongoing

Location: Remote

About This Role

VFTA's email list is among our most powerful tools for building awareness around our documentary films, driving advocacy, and keeping our community of supporters engaged. We need a creative, organized volunteer to own our newsletter and email campaigns end-to-end — from writing and designing each issue to managing the send schedule, tracking performance, and keeping our list healthy. You will use NationBuilder's email tools to reach supporters directly, tell the story of our films and our cause, and turn readers into advocates and donors.

What You'll Do

• Write, design, and send VFTA's regular newsletter (bi-weekly or monthly) covering film project updates, animal welfare news, behind-the-scenes content, advocacy wins, and calls to action
• Create targeted email campaigns for film launch announcements, crowdfunding drives, festival selections, screening events, and donation appeals
• Build and send emails using NationBuilder's email broadcast tools — formatting for mobile, managing merge tags, and setting up tracked links
• Maintain list health: manage unsubscribes, bounce rates, and list segmentation so the right messages reach the right people
• Write compelling subject lines and preview text optimized for open rates
• Develop and maintain a content calendar in coordination with the social media manager and the NationBuilder website manager
• Track and report on campaign performance — open rates, click-through rates, donations driven — and adjust strategy accordingly
• Develop automated email sequences for new subscribers' onboarding and donation acknowledgments

Skills & Experience

• Strong writing skills — warm, mission-driven, concise, and compelling; you know how to tell a story in an email
• Experience creating newsletters or email campaigns, ideally for a nonprofit, advocacy org, or media brand
• Comfortable with NationBuilder's email tools, or with Mailchimp / Constant Contact, and willing to learn NationBuilder
• Eye for layout and design — ability to format a clean, readable, on-brand email without a graphic designer on call
• Understanding of email best practices: subject line optimization, mobile formatting, list hygiene, CAN-SPAM compliance
• Organized and deadline-driven — newsletters go out on schedule, every time
• Passion for animal welfare, documentary film, or advocacy storytelling a strong plus

What You'll Gain

• Newsletter editor credit on VFTA's website and organizational acknowledgments — your name on a publication that reaches VFTA's entire supporter community
• A documented portfolio of real email campaigns with measurable performance data — open rates, click rates, conversions — that you can show prospective employers or clients
• End-to-end email marketing experience on a live nonprofit campaign, from content strategy through execution and reporting — directly applicable to marketing, communications, fundraising, and journalism careers
• Opportunity to grow your writing portfolio with a cause that has genuine public interest and media visibility (the Billy / LA Zoo story and elephant welfare are topics with real press traction)
• Hands-on experience with NationBuilder's email and CRM tools — a platform skill valued across advocacy, political, and nonprofit sectors
• A letter of recommendation from VFTA's executive director highlighting your campaigns and measurable results
• As VFTA's films gain festival recognition and press coverage, your newsletter will be covering and driving that story — giving your work increasing relevance and reach

Your Impact

Every supporter who becomes a donor, every advocate who shares our films, every journalist who learns about Billy — many of them will first be reached through an email you wrote. Your words are VFTA's most direct line to the people who can make change happen.

To apply: Submit your resume and a brief note about your NationBuilder experience and interest in VFTA's mission through Idealist.org. Applications reviewed on a rolling basis — this role is needed immediately.