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Program Officer, Rapid Response Fund


Overview: Groundswell Fund [1] is a public foundation that resources intersectional, solidarity-based grassroots organizing work that centers Black women, Indigenous women and other women of color including Transgender women of color. We fund within many social justice movements and are the largest funder of the U.S. Reproductive Justice (RJ) movement. For more than a decade, we have enabled foundations and individual donors to increase the impact of their giving by offering a different kind of philanthropic model. Different in who we are: A program staff of women of color, transgender people of color, and gender nonconforming people of color who come directly out of community and labor organizing and have a combined 70+ years of grassroots organizing and civic engagement experience within communities of color; a board comprised of grassroots leaders shaping strategy alongside funders and donors. Different in who we support: primarily Black and Brown women, including transgender women of color who are organizing at the grassroots. Different in how we support the field: not just through grants, but also through capacity-building support focused on boosting grassroots power, and funder organizing that lifts up our grantees to a larger audience of funders and donors who can move resources to their work, whether or not these resources come through our doors. Groundswell moves at least 80 percent of the dollars that come in our doors back out to the field. 

 

Since 2003, Groundswell has moved more than $60 million to the field in grants and capacity building support; increased the giving of dozens of national and local foundations; and helped bring thousands of new individual donors into the RJ movement. Our grantees have been instrumental in the passage of more than 250 pro-RJ policies at the state and local level and in blocking many regressive policies, and they have built a growing grassroots base of support for RJ across the U.S. In 2017, we expanded our funding to support multi-issue organizing led by WOC and transgender people of color across other social justice movement sectors, from environmental and economic justice, to immigrant and LGBTQ rights, and on. We also launched a 501(c)(4), Groundswell Action Fund, now the largest c4 fund in the country centering WOC-led c4 work.  

 

Virtual Organization: Groundswell is a completely virtual organization and has been for several years. We are committed to building a strong identity and thriving culture that is exemplary in the nonprofit world and in the greater landscape of fully remote organizations. When travel is safe again, we will have the opportunity to travel and see each other in person for retreats, conferences, and events; but until then, all our work is virtual. To succeed as remote workers, applicants should have a dedicated workspace, a commitment to clear and frequent communication, and comfort utilizing technology to increase collaboration and connection. Those with previous remote work experience are preferred, but we also welcome those who are new to remote work and understand the requirements of working in a thriving virtual organizational culture.   

 

Program Summary: Launched in 2016, Groundswell’s Rapid Response Fund provides fast funding to grassroots organizations led by women of color, trans people of color, and low-income women and trans people in critical, but unexpected, fights to protect and advance reproductive and social justice. A multi-issue fund, the Rapid Response Fund supports organizations on the frontlines, defending the most vulnerable communities with timely, flexible grants with an emphasis on funding in states and communities where women of color, transgender people of color, and low-income women and trans people-led organizing is under-resourced. 

 

Position Summary: The Program Officer is responsible for managing Groundswell’s Rapid Response Fund and supporting other grantmaking as needed. A significant part of the role will involve managing the day-to-day needs of the Rapid Response Fund that makes grants on a monthly basis. Role will also include conducting ongoing outreach, relationship building, and strategic communications to ensure resources are reaching historically under-resourced communities and geographies. The Program Officer will work closely with the Senior Director of Grantmaking, fellow Program Officers and Program Associates and the Capacity Building Team to move resources to the field and support grantees in a timely manner. All Groundswell Fund Program Officers play an important role in the field of philanthropy by generating increased visibility and resources for reproductive and social justice movements.  

 

Responsibilities: 

 

Grantmaking & Outreach  

  • Stay abreast of trends in philanthropy, reproductive justice, and related social justice movements.  
  • Identify priorities, gaps, and opportunities to strengthen strategic grantmaking.  
  • Conduct research on key issues and policies and communicate findings.  
  • Conduct daily/weekly intake calls with prospective grantees and manage grantee/prospective grantee correspondence.  
  • Conduct thorough assessment of grant applicants, including comprehensive proposal review and site visits.  
  • Develop and implement communication and outreach strategies to ensure a diversity of historically under-represented organizations and communities receive Rapid Response Funding.  
  • Regularly monitor and evaluate the progress and impact of grantees.  
  • Preparation of external and internal communications documents, including monthly reports and dockets/grant summaries by issue, region, etc.  
  • Track and manage Rapid Response Fund budget. 
  • Support other projects and funds as assigned. 

   

Field Building & Funder Organizing  

  • Serve as an effective public spokesperson for Groundswell and raise the visibility of organizing efforts led by women of color and trans people of color by writing and speaking in diverse forums.  
  • Build and maintain strong, collaborative relationships with funder colleagues, individual donors, grantees, and other key partners.  
  • Contribute to the implementation of technical assistance and evaluation programs for grantees, including coordinating logistics for grantee meetings and convenings and managing consultant contracts.  
  • Support collaboration and connection across Groundswell’s grantmaking portfolios with the goal of strengthening reproductive justice and social justice movements.  

 

 

Qualifications: 

 

Required:  

  • At least five years of grassroots organizing experience with women of color and/or transgender people of color.  
  • Excellent at time management and project management.  
  • Experience managing projects with the pressure of set deadlines.  
  • Experience managing budgets. 
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate effectively via phone and email, and to serve as a public spokesperson for Groundswell.  
  • Demonstrated ability to research an issue area and effectively communicate findings.  
  • Demonstrated ability to engage in strategic and analytical thinking and planning.  
  • Experience moving a project from conceptualization to completion.  
  • Experience and familiarity with distinctions between 501c3 and 501c4 organizations.  
  • Experience coordinating the planning and logistics for meetings and convenings.  
  • Ability to work independently, on multiple projects at a time, and across several time zones.  
  • Comfort with online communications platforms and technology.  

  

Strongly Preferred:  

  • At least ten years of experience working in social justice movements.  
  • 1-2 year of grantmaking and/or philanthropy experience.  
  • Strategic communications experience.  
  • Evaluation experience.  
  • Fluency in Spanish.  
  • Familiarity with reproductive/gender justice.  
  • This is a remote position and applicants must be able to work from home. Eastern or Central Time zones preferred, but Groundswell staff and grantees are located across multiple time zones, so the candidate must be willing to be flexible with their work hours.  

 

Computer Skills: To perform this job successfully, the candidate should have comfort and a high level of proficiency with the Microsoft Office suite of programs, the ability to work with basic web platforms, database software, web browsers, social media, and conferencing software. Experience with Slack and project management tools also desired.   

 

The above job description is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of duties and standards of the position. Hired candidates should be willing to perform any other related duties as assigned by their supervisor.  

 

Work Schedule: Groundswell is a completely virtual organization, allowing for flexibility in work schedules for our staff across differing U.S. time zones. While work can usually be completed during standard business hours of the applicant's time zone, there may be times where early morning, evening, and weekend work may be needed to ensure organization-wide collaboration, to staff or attend events, and/or to meet organization workload needs during busy times of the year. When travel is possible again, staff whose jobs require travel can expect longer hours, as travel may happen outside of business hours and on weekends.  

 

Travel: No travel is expected in 2021. When travel is safe again, must be available to travel 5 - 10 times a year for overnight events/meetings across the U.S.  


  1. http://groundswellfund.org/

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