Communications & Fundraising Specialist (DevComm) — Freelance Contractor | Remote | $50-$70/hr | Starting ~5–10 hrs/week
I'm looking for a nonprofit fundraising communicator — someone who is comfortable with donor stewardship, grant writing, and advocacy communications, and who brings a deep, lived fluency in progressive movement work. If your background is primarily in social media content, general marketing, or brand work – with no experience in the nonprofit or social justice world – this is likely not the right fit.
Comms & Fundraising AKA DevComm Specialist
This is a contractor position supporting my consulting practice, which serves clients working in abortion access, information democracy, freedom of the press, and cybersecurity education. The communications I produce straddle two lanes simultaneously: high-stakes fundraising and sharp advocacy storytelling.
The person I'm looking for thinks in terms of donor relationships, movement strategy, and good-looking visual deliverables:
Primary responsibilities:
- Short-form content drafting — newsletters, op-eds, talking points, and similar deliverables that require a distinctive activist voice and genuine command of hope-based, intersectional framing; urgent calls to action and relationship-centered stewardship that move people to organize/take action, not just inform them
- MailChimp, WordPress, One-pagers (Canva / Google Docs)
- Grant writing — drafting and editing 6-to-7-figure grant applications, LOIs, and funder reports with precision, fluency in program language, and a strong narrative arc; this will be an area I own in the beginning of onboarding, then share with you as you get comfortable with each nonprofit and their mission. I’m not going to throw you into the deep end here
- Platforms: Google Docs, Google Sheets, Grantee portals (Fluxx, etc.)
- 1:1 donor communications — highly personalized stewardship and cultivation writing for major donors and individual funders (not listserv blasts); this will also include documenting and enforcing donor stewardship touch points (i.e. helping plan when to reach out to whom, how often, and with what relevant updates)
- Platforms: Gmail
- Funder research — identifying and profiling prospective foundation and individual donors aligned with client missions; I have a funding brief template I need help filling out for each donor/funding opportunity; knowledge of the major progressive funding landscape is strongly preferred
- Instrumentl, Google Alerts, Guidestar, Fundraising Listservs, 990s
- Light admin support — file organization, tracking deadlines and deliverables; a few hours per week, at max, to keep things running cleanly behind the scenes
- Platforms: Google Workspace, Google Calendar, Instrumentl
Who You Are
You have genuine, demonstrable experience in the nonprofit and progressive advocacy worlds. You’re familiar with how the communications department often straddles the fundraising department, and you are comfortable oscillating between the two.
You bring:
- Fluency in the language of intersectionality, feminist movement work, and progressive advocacy — not as buzzwords, but as a framework you actually think and communicate in; you know who Kimberlé Crenshaw is
- Hope-based communication instincts — you know how to write toward a vision, not just against a threat
- Comfort in tech-adjacent fields — cybersecurity, information democracy, threat of AI, and digital rights have a learning curve; you're not intimidated by it, and ideally, you've written in or around these spaces
- Knowledge of the major progressive funding ecosystem — you recognize the names, the priorities, and the culture of the foundations and intermediaries doing the most in this space
- A history of authentic major donor relationships — you've done the relationship work, not just the writing work (don’t worry, I am not expecting you to come with donor relationships and their emails LOL, I just want to know you’re comfortable helping a nonprofit build those ties authentically)
On AI
I need applicants to be upfront about the use of AI and LLMs. The work of my clients is often highly confidential, and given the nature of the fields I specialize in, I am very intentional about preventing Big Tech and AI companies from harvesting sensitive data.
If you regularly use AI as a drafting or editing tool and have refined that workflow to the point where the final product is indistinguishably yours — that's not a disqualifier. We can discuss comfortable boundaries around where and when to use AI.
However, we cannot have work that doesn't reflect your own ability at its core. Please do not submit AI-generated writing samples or application materials. We're evaluating your instinct, your ear for activist language, and your ability to write in service of a cause — we'll be able to tell.
What to Submit
I need your application and samples to prove four things:
- You know how to write persuasively
- You’re well-versed in progressive and intersectional activism
- You have a fundraising background, preferably in or adjacent to the areas of my clients (above)
- You can create professional, eye-catching visual materials.
If you're curious what I mean by "professional, eye-catching visual materials" you can look at some of work here: www.whatwesay.org/samples/
Whatever supplemental materials you’d like to share that can prove the above is okay with me! I will say though, I'm a sucker for a good cover letter.
Files should be submitted as PDFs. If files are large, upload to a shared drive, provide the link, and ensure permissions are open to outside viewers.
Email all materials to bevyn@whatwesay.org with the subject "Communications & Fundraising Specialist (DevComm)"
About Me
Hi! My name is Bevyn Howard, I live in Austin, and I am desperately hoping to turn Texas blue and am deeply committed to the missions I support through my practice. My background is in Rhetoric and Writing, and since I didn’t want to become a lawyer, I decided to use my persuasive skills to advocate for social justice missions I care deeply about. These include fighting racism, sexism, authoritarianism, and systemic power imbalances. As an undergrad, I completed my thesis on “White Feminism” and the ways white women perpetuate racism within the feminist movement.
I left my previous full-time position due in part to burnout, so mental health and a flexible, sustainable working relationship matter deeply to me. I'm a WNBA fan, a distance runner, a weightlifter, and a cat parent to two Siamese who will absolutely make an appearance on video calls. Sorry in advance.
Anyone who works with me is expected to have opinions, push back when they have a different idea, appreciate dry humor, and know that I value them for who they are — not just what they produce.
More on my background: whatwesay.org/about/
