About us

Rainbow Railroad’s mission is to help LGBTQI+ people escape state-enabled violence and persecution. Rainbow Railroad provides support to LGBTQI+ through our core emergency travel support program, whereby we evacuate LGBTQI+ people from unsafe situations, as well as through financial assistance, work with global partners, global crisis response, the provision of information as well as advocacy and work with international governments. 

Rainbow Railroad is a registered Canadian charity and a USA 501(c)(3) organization with its headquarters in Toronto, Canada and an office in New York City, USA.

The Role 

Rainbow Railroad is seeking a skilled relationship builder who is passionate about LGBTQI+ rights to join our team to build strategic donor communications and excellent stewardship strategies.

You will be an important part of the Rainbow Railroad team, providing leadership in donor stewardship, the development of impact reports, planning events, and creatively inspiring renewed support of our work. As our organization continues to grow, this role will play a crucial role in supporting our growing and highly engaged donor base.

You will work with donors and colleagues in Canada, the United States and around the world, and occasional travel may be needed. 

Duties & Responsibilities

Donor Relations & Stewardship 

• Implement a comprehensive stewardship plan for donors that includes a donor engagement strategy, strategic donor recognition, and stewardship events
• Care for our donors from first point of engagement with the organization, ensuring they’re inspired and informed about our mission
• Proactively support donor managers and donor stewardship across all revenue streams
• Develop innovative and meaningful plans and communications to surprise and delight donors and stakeholders, while demonstrating the impact of their support
• Lead in the development of impact reporting material, and support the development of case material, proposal material, and donor recognition materials, including via web and social media
• Support the organization in management of donor inquiries and requests
• Ensure our database is fully up to date with relevant donor information

Donor Communications 

• Lead in the collection of impact stories to share the direct impact of our work with supporters
• Prepare donor centered communications for specific donors as well as groups of donors, including but not limited to cases for support, thank you letters, proposal templates, impact reports, donor recognition stories and recognition event collateral that align with fundraising goals
• Ensure stewardship is built into the organization’s existing fundraising campaigns and events
• Support in the process of issuing organizational acknowledgment, tax receipting, and pledge reminders

Volunteer & Event Management 

• Oversee the stewardship of senior volunteers, ambassadors and committee members
• Organize and execute stewardship events across North America for key Rainbow Railroad supporters
• Support donor managers in engaging key supporters at events

Qualifications

• 2-4 years’ related experience in a marketing, events, fundraising or donor relations role
• Bachelor’s degree in a related field, or relevant combination of skills and expertise
• Past success in engaging donors or organizational stakeholders in innovative ways with the goal of building relationships or deepening engagement
• Skill in the production of external-facing branded communications, such as funding proposals, letters, web content, social media, donor stories etc. 
• Experience in volunteer or influencer management, with experience working with a board or board committees an asset
• Experienced in a variety of software programming including CRM software (Salesforce an asset), Microsoft Office, Zoom, WordPress and others
• Deep enthusiasm for Rainbow Railroad’s mission and vision is an absolute must

Application Deadline – August 31st at 4pm

Length of Contract – Full-Time, Permanent

Hiring Salary Range – $60,000-$65,000 plus competitive benefits package

Please forward your resume addressed to Dane Bland (he/him) at hire@rainbowrailroad.org. Include the exact job title in the subject line of your email.

We thank all applicants for their interest in this position however we will only be contacting those selected for interviews.

Rainbow Railroad is dedicated to building an organization that reflects the diversity of the communities we serve. This includes diversity in languages spoken, culture, race, sexual orientation and gender identity. If you do not meet the full qualifications for this role, we encourage you to still apply. You might be exactly what we’re looking for!

Requests for accommodation due to disability can be made at any stage in the recruitment process.