GROUP FUNDRAISER

Quick info

Contract type: Contractor

Location: Remote (optional hybrid London)

Remuneration: Invoicing per day – £300 / day

Time requirements: About 10 days per month

Reports to: The Social Change Nest’s Head of Development

Contract Start date: As soon as possible

 

Ready to apply? 

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About The Social Change Nest

At The Social Change Nest (SCN), we’re radically transforming the funding landscape and strengthening civil society. We remove the financial and administrative barriers – like bank accounts and legal structures – that often prevent communities, grassroots groups and informal movements from accessing funding and focusing on their core mission. We also work closely with funders, enabling them to support social action with confidence and transparency. 

We currently support over 700 groups across the UK and abroad addressing issues such as social injustice, climate, housing, wellbeing and animal rights. We are at the forefront of fiscal hosting in Europe and, since our inception in 2020, we have supported groups in securing over £50 million in funding, helping them take advantage of opportunities that may have otherwise been unavailable.

We work with all types of social movements and community groups, from climate to housing, wellbeing and animal rights. Read more about this here. 

The Social Change Nest is part of The Social Change Group. We are a Disability Confident Employer, and an accredited Living Wage Employer. 

How We Work

You’ll be joining a close-knit team, supported and developed to be the best you can be. We believe that every member of our team brings a unique perspective from their experiences and abilities and we encourage everyone to be curious about how we can improve everything we do, from how we interact as a team to how we deliver for our clients and communities. 

Underpinned by our values of collaboration, curiosity, courage, and creativity, we work closely and with care with our partners because we believe relationships are the glue that hold us all together. 

We’re a growing business and operate at pace to keep up with the challenges that the sector faces. We have established a lot, but as we grow, we’re still working some things out. The right person will thrive in this environment and feel a level of ownership to support the build out of things we need as we need them. 

The ideal candidate will enjoy working within a fast-paced and evolving organisation, and have a natural curiosity about how their role fits into the bigger picture. You’ll thrive on problem-solving and will feel comfortable handling multiple priorities at once, always seeking collaborative solutions. You’ll be adaptable and able to shift focus quickly when things change, ensuring strong communication across the team and with clients to keep everything aligned.

About the role

In this hybrid role, you will operate as an external consultant working closely with some of the groups hosted by The Social Change Nest to help increase their income. Because each group’s fundraising strategy is varied and unique, your priorities and the strategy may shift to adapt to their specific needs.

To ensure alignment and success, you will be expected to report to and communicate closely with both our Head of Development and the respective group leader. We will aim to allocate you to only 1 to 2 groups at any given time so you can provide dedicated, high-quality support. This role requires a minimum dedication of 10 days per month.

Key responsibilities

The main goal of this role is to help groups increase their income. While strategy will be a component, our groups need somebody who is a doer and can get on with the hard work without needing much support. You’ll need to be able to work independently and be ready to carry out a wide range of tasks in order to secure additional income for the group. Depending on the group, the work might fall in one or several of the categories below: 

 

Bid Writing and Grant Applications 

  • Identifying Opportunities: Actively researching and qualifying relevant trust, foundation, and institutional grant opportunities aligned with the group’s mission.

  • Drafting Compelling Proposals: Writing, refining, and submitting high-quality funding bids and grant applications from start to finish.

  • Tailored Donor Comms: Creating bespoke case-for-support documents and pitches tailored to specific funder priorities.
 


Small Donor and Crowdfunding Engagement 

  • Data Analysis: Reviewing past crowdfunding and small-donor campaign data to extract insights and trends.

  • Donor Segmentation: Pinpointing past donors who show a high likelihood of contributing again or upgrading their support.

  • Targeted Re-engagement: Designing and executing direct, targeted communication campaigns to re-engage past supporters and drive recurring donations.
 
 

Major Donor Cultivation 

  • Prospect Mapping: Collaborating closely with group leaders to identify, research, and map out prospective large-scale donors or historical high-net-worth supporters.

  • Outreach Strategy: Developing tailored communication and engagement materials designed to capture the attention of large donors.

  • Opening Pipelines: Initiating contact and securing initial meetings to unlock new major giving opportunities. 

 

Pipeline Development and Tracking 

  • Lead Generation: Proactively researching, networking, and cold-approaching entirely new potential funding streams and partners.

  • System Optimisation: Creating, updating, and maintaining robust internal tracking systems (e.g., CRM or pipelines) to monitor active opportunities from discovery to close.

Skills and Experience

We are looking for a grounded, proactive collaborator who is ready to roll up their sleeves and get things done. You’ll be a great fit for this role if you bring: 

  • Hands-on Fundraising Experience: A proven, practical track record in at least two of the key areas above.

     

  • An Entrepreneurial Attitude: A self-starter mindset with the ability to work independently, manage your own time, and pivot quickly as fundraising strategies and priorities shift.

     

  • Appetite for Diversity: A genuine enthusiasm to work with a highly diverse range of hosted groups across all thematic areas (from climate action to social justice) and the ability to easily adapt your style to match each group’s unique culture.

     

  • Strong Communication and Stakeholder Management: The ability to build trust quickly and maintain clear, close lines of communication with both our Head of Development and the respective grassroots group leaders.

     

  • Values Alignment: A deep, demonstrable commitment to social change and equity, with a passion for our mission to remove financial barriers for grassroots and unincorporated movements. 


Hiring process

Send your CV and a short statement explaining why you are interested in this role and why you are a good fit to aroa@thesocialchangenest.org with the subject line “Group Fundraiser Expression of Interest”.

We strongly encourage applicants from a wide variety of backgrounds. We are committed to our staff representing the wide variety of backgrounds represented in the communities we work with. If you are concerned that you may not fit 100% of the job specification – please throw your hat in the ring. We never put formal education requirements on any role as we value lived experiences as highly as formal education and training qualifications. 

If you need any accessibility accommodations for this application please do not hesitate to contact us at people@thesocialchangenest.org or by calling 07958298727 and we will be happy to provide you with those accommodations.

Please visit our main vacancies page for our equal opportunities statement. 

Using AI in your application

We recognise that AI tools are becoming increasingly prevalent in various aspects of professional life, including the job application process. While we neither encourage nor discourage the use of AI in your application, we believe it’s important for candidates to be aware of both the potential benefits and drawbacks. Here are some key points to consider:

Potential Benefits of Using AI

  1. Reduces barriers: AI can help individuals with disabilities or those who are not native English speakers in the application process.
  2. Guidance: Can provide suggestions on what you might want to include in your response.
  3. Feedback: Can offer insights on how you could improve your responses.


Potential Drawbacks of Using AI

  1. Generic content: Can result in similar wording appearing across multiple applications, making them feel less unique.
  2. Inaccuracies: AI is sometimes overly creative with facts and may provide inaccurate information.
  3. Loss of personal touch: Your individual experiences and personality might not shine through if AI is relied on too heavily.
  4. Environmental impact:  AI consumes significant environmental resources with every prompt contributing to this.

Remember, the most successful applications are those that genuinely reflect your skills, experiences, and personality. Whether you choose to use AI tools or not, make sure you check your responses thoroughly and ensure that your application accurately represents you as a candidate.