Rachael Myers, Executive Director

I’m happy to announce we have an opening here at the Housing Alliance for the position of Director of Development. As a small organization, we don’t have many opportunities to bring new members on to our team, so this is big news for us.

In this exciting time of the organization’s growth, we need a talented, experienced development professional to help me and the board achieve our ambitious goals for growing and diversifying our base of philanthropic support. If you have broad experience in nonprofit fundraising and are committed to working for social change, then you might be the person to join the Housing Alliance team!

The Housing Alliance leads the movement to ensure all Washington residents thrive in safe, healthy, affordable homes. We fight for public policies that will end homelessness and make affordable homes more available throughout Washington. We mobilize on the ground to engage people in advocating for themselves, their families, and their communities.

And, we’re pretty good at it. This year, our advocacy day, already one of the largest in the state, brought almost 650 individuals from across the state and from all walks of life to the capitol to defend the Housing Trust Fund and safety net programs for the state’s most vulnerable residents. Despite continued financial challenges at the state level and a difficult leadership situation in the state Senate, our hard work paid off. The Housing Trust Fund will continue to be a cornerstone of funding affordable homes in our state. And threatened cuts to homelessness services were not included in the final budget. We also led a successful effort to strengthen rights for Washington renters with the Fair Tenant Screening Act.

By bringing many partners together, including homelessness service providers, providers of affordable housing, and community members, we show that a strong, unified voice can make a difference. We couldn’t do any of this without our talented staff. Our team is smart, passionate, and works hard to achieve the shared vision of a day when everyone can live in a safe, healthy, affordable home in a thriving community. We seek a creative, energetic, and experienced Director of Development who will share our vision and help us continue to fight the good fight by growing and diversifying support for our mission.

Since 1988, the Housing Alliance has gone from being primarily dues-based to an expanded funding portfolio that also includes major grants, organizational sponsorships, and individual contributions. We’re ready to shake up our fundraising strategy and further expand our base of individual donors. Should we have a single, large event each year, several smaller events, or none? How can we diversify our funding portfolio to provide long-term sustainability? What can we do to further develop a culture of philanthropy throughout our organization? How can our sister 501(c)(4) organization, the Washington Housing Alliance Action Fund bring on new donors to support its work without drawing too heavily from current Housing Alliance donor lists?

We need a creative and hardworking person to help us answer these questions. Working closely with the Board Resource Development Committee and me, you will cultivate a culture of philanthropy within the Housing Alliance and develop and implement an annual and long-range fund development plan with a strong emphasis on developing and stewarding individual donors.

Salary is competitive, our office environment is casual, and our benefits are great! To apply, please send resume, cover letter, and this diversity questionnaire to jobs(at)wliha(.)org. Full job description available at wliha.org/jobs. Position open until filled. Application materials will be reviewed upon receipt.