ACCELERATE THE YOUTH REVOLUTION.
FOR GOOD.
Director of Development
Full-time/remote Opportunity
Role overview
Compensation: $120,000
Start Date: Summer 2024
Location: Fully remote (current team works from 5 countries)
We’re looking for:
RIVET is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, military service, age, ancestry, or disability.
RIVET is a new social purpose (NGO) brand that is leveraging the collective consumer power of Gen Z to create the world’s first micro-funding platform focused exclusively on young social innovators. Partnering with major brands (eg Nike, EOS, Adidas, Funko, Crocs), we plan to raise half a billion dollars over the next decade to provide small, start-up grants to a million young changemakers (under 30) from every corner of the globe.
RIVET distributes these grants through a network of youth-serving NGOs who have already built on-the-ground relationships in communities with youth who are ready to lead. These groups identify promising youth-led ideas, oversee grants & support, and track impact & identify promising projects for scale.
While RIVET’s model will be self-funded at scale, as a nonprofit start-up we need philanthropic “build capital” until our model is fully built and operational.
We’re looking for a Director of Development to partner with our CEO, staff team, young social innovators, and supporters to raise $3MM in philanthropic dollars to fund our growth to financial sustainability by the end of 2025.
Meet RIVET
hi!
RIVET is a new social enterprise bringing together brands, influencers, and NGOs to fund and amplify youth-led social change.
With over 100+ years of collective experience elevating young changemakers, RIVET’s founders have seen firsthand that young people don’t lack talent or imagination; they lack access to resources.
In response, we are creating the world’s first microfinance platform focused on young social innovators, funded by youth themselves. This engine will transform young people’s everyday purchases into philanthropic power for their generation’s ideas to change the world.
Created by, for, and with young people, RIVET represents the largest investment in youth-led social change. Ever.
Head of Youth Engagement
Co-Founder/Board Chair
Early Team at (RED)
Thorn Marketing Head
Founder, Entr@crash
BBC Top 100 Women
Founder, Conspiracy of Love
Author, Good is the New Cool
[Check out our 80-sec manifesto video]
Hi. meet rivet.
Co-Founder Peace First
Ashoka, Echoing Green, Aspen Fellow
Head of Impact
Mastercard Foundation, Impact Investment & Digital Economy Advisor
challenge
Young social innovators lack access to startup capital
But over 85% of youth live in
“CAPITAL DESERTS”
In 2022 0.002% of philanthropic money went to early-stage, youth-led innovations
Throughout time, young people have been at the forefront of social innovation
How can we finance youth-led social change at scale?
Tackling food delivery waste by switching single-use plastic containers with reusable packaging
Developing & scaling cost- effective, youth-driven mental health interventions in Kenya and beyond
Improving Women’s safety through an app tracking and preventing sexual harassment
The power of the RIVET concept is we solve existing problems for our partners and no one needs to change their behavior.
Brands spend $650B each year marketing to youth. RIVET provides an authentic and accessible avenue for them to reach this coveted audience. From streaming to CPG to gaming to activewear, the possibilities for partnership are endless.
Young consumers purchase the products they love with a transparent percentage of their purchase funding youth-led initiatives.
Our global network of NGO partners distribute funds through existing relationships with young people.
As a charity, RIVET’s business model is transparent, simple and sustainable: RIVET keeps 10% to cover costs, 10% supports our NGO partners’ data and project management costs. This means 80% of every dollar goes into the hands of young social entrepreneurs.
Our competitive advantage
RIVET’s core product is a data platform that tracks funds coming in and going out, as well as the impact of every project. Consumers know exactly where their investment is going, brands have powerful stories to amplify, and RIVET is understanding the insights and passion of millions of youth.
RIVET will invest millions in youth-led social innovation over the next decade.
Just as micro-finance revolutionized access to start-up capital for the world’s most needy, this “micro-philanthropy” model, powered by young consumers, will fund 1 million new youth-led projects over the next decade, created by the most diverse group of young leaders ever. RIVET provides additional capital (philanthropic and investments) behind the most promising ideas.
Not all will scale. But among those million new projects, will be thousands of truly game-changing ideas that will revolutionize how we work, learn, love, and care for each other and our planet.
Our impact
Health & Wellness
Education
Sustainability
Poverty
Inclusion
Secure brand partners
After a series of successful pilots, we are looking for our next set of forward-thinking brands who want to ignite young people’s compassionate creativity, build stronger connections with GenZ and show real progress against ESG goals.
Raise Philanthropic launch funds
As a charity, RIVET will be completely self-sustaining by the end of 2025. Until then we are looking for partners to provide the financial fuel to launch, learn, and scale.
Grow our YOUTH COMMUNITY
RIVET’s success will be driven by young people. We are focused on activating an initial community of 10,000 RIVETERS: youth supporters who will bolster RIVET’s legitimacy and urgency in the marketplace.
Where we’ve been. Where we’RE Headed.
Our consumer launch was August 12, 2023 (International Youth Day) with youth-led campaigns, brand partners, and a group of youth-focused influencers and celebrities.
Future focus
accomplishments
Over the past three years, RIVET has built a powerful, youth-driven brand; engaged 250 potential brand, NGO, and influencer partners; launched 6 brand partnerships which have funded 1,000 youth-led projects in over 66 countries around the world, and provided follow-on funding to 20 successful innovations.
Our advisorY COUNcil
Meta
Erika wykes-sneyd�Adidas, Uber
PlayStation
eos, L Brands
Stephanie Davis�LVMH, Estée Lauder
The INKEY List
Apple, Paypal, �Enphase
MARC PATRICk�Nike, Amazon
Beyond Meat
SHANNON SINUNU�Apple
Isis ARIAS�Netflix
SUZANNe Klahr�BUILD
ANDRE PINARD�adidas
RIVET thought partners come from the world’s leading innovators; below is a sample of the brands & NGOs that have partnered on RIVET’s design.
Leading CMOs have joined forces to bring RIVET to life.
Equity
Equity is not just something we live by, but commit to create. �We prioritize those who are historically overlooked, and work to lower access barriers.
RIVET lives and operates by these core values:
youth-centered
We are created for young people, by young people. Youth shape and sign off on every decision we make.
trust
We see the best in people, and work from a place of empowerment rather than control. We trust others, and honor the trust put in us through kindness, communication, and transparency.
belonging
Our movement is designed to unite. We actively celebrate our collective diversity, and consider it our superpower. Anyone who shares our values is welcome to join.
our values
Organizational chart
organizational chart
CEO
HEAD OF YOUTH ENGAGEMENT
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT
HEAD OF IMPACT
CHIEF MARKETING & GROWTH OFFICER
Partners & projects manager
director of development
Community engagement & creative manager
About the role
Role Description
As RIVET’s Director of Development, you will translate our compelling mission focused on providing micro-grants to youth innovators in “capital deserts” around the globe into significant philanthropic support from high networth individuals, family offices, and foundations.
You will be responsible for three work streams pertaining to fundraising:
The Director of Development will join a dedicated, passionate, low-ego team of founders in launching a first-of-its-kind social movement led by young people. This new role reports into the CEO, working across the organization with all team members and volunteer leadership.
This is a full-time leadership role.
We’re looking for candidates who want to make RIVET their ongoing home for at least the next two years, who are comfortable in early-stage non-profit startups defined by ambiguity and opportunity, and can operate in their lane while holding responsibility for the entire enterprise.
Compensation: $120,000
For non-US candidates, salary will be calculated according to local cost of living, purchasing power, and tax rate.
Start Date: Summer 2024
Location: Fully Remote
Candidates can be based anywhere in the world as long as they can work at least 4 hours of overlap with Eastern Time zone (9am-5pm) and travel to the US for events. Travel will be expected for events, donor meetings, and conferences (10% - 25%, depending on the season).
Core responsibilities
Strategy:
Fundraising:
Systems:
We recognize that no one candidate will possess every qualification and welcome candidates from different professional backgrounds who bring many of these professional qualifications and personal attributes:
Who we’re looking for
State of play
2021-2023 Fundraising Summary:
A group of individuals committed to creating opportunities for youth in capital deserts around the globe, provided $2.5M in philanthropic startup capital to get RIVET through our pilot and launch stage, including $1M that served as a match for additional donors. RIVET identified and cultivated a set of committed supporters who will serve as the bedrock for the next round of fundraising along with a growing pool of newly identified prospects.
Current Fundraising Efforts:
Resources & Needs: You will be responsible for the soup to nuts design and execution of ALL fundraising efforts.
You will have:
You will need:
FAQs
This is an ever-growing list based on questions that come in from applicants:
Q: I am passionate about youth but haven’t worked in the youth space before. Should I still apply? Yes! While we would love to have candidates with experience in youth development, even MORE important is someone who knows how to lead, design, and execute in order to achieve fundraising goals. We have tons of youth expertise (and amazing youth) on our team who can fill in the gaps.
Q: There is a lot in this role. What is the focus when I start? The groundwork has been laid and 2024 so far has been a year of accelerated fundraising and pipeline development. We are focused on getting our Leadership Council up and running and building the Youth Impact Fund community. You will jump right into those relationships and cultivation efforts already in progress.
Q: Can candidates really be based anywhere? Absolutely. Our global team is a key strength.
Q: How much travel will this role entail? We have been doing monthly events which have built our donor community in London, San Francisco, LA, and New York. Beyond that, travel will be dictated by you and the needs of funders.
Q: I noticed the period for fundraising is slated until the end of 2025. What happens after that to my role? RIVET’s goal is to be financially sustainable through brand partnership by the end of 2025. Philanthropic funds will provide the rocket fuel to get us there. At this time, you can expect this to be a minimum 2-year engagement and that the leadership team is invested in working with you to figure out a thoughtful off boarding or opportunities to stay on once the fundraising campaign is complete. And this is just a hypothesis; it may take longer to get to a place of financial self-sufficiency or there may be an ongoing role for philanthropy. We are clear that we want to build a model powered by youth, not dependent on the whims of funders (no offence to funders).
Q: The term “startup” can mean a lot of different things. Where is RIVET in its growth? Still early stage. We have strong frameworks and models and now need to begin implementing and testing. We’ve invested significant time and resources into building the brand partnership side of RIVET and nurturing our youth community. This role is a new, permanent hire on the development side. Everything that is awesome about a start-up (opportunity to create, move quickly, iterate, and make an impact) is especially true at RIVET. Same for everything that is hard (lack of systems, creating from scratch, the need to pivot and re-prioritize with new data). Gut-check if this environment is right for you.
Q: What is the culture really like at RIVET? We are a fun and committed team. We invest a great deal in relationships and we lead with gratitude. We are accountable to, and supportive of, each other. As a global and remote team, we create opportunities to bond, while respecting times zones and boundaries.
Q: Do you offer benefits? If so, what kinds? Not yet. We are in the process of defining and securing benefits for the team through a PEO and articulating key policies and procedures for the team. We hope to have these in place by the end of the year. We have unlimited time off and people are pretty good at taking what they need to stay healthy and grounded.
Q: Will I have a team or be able to hire one? What is my budget? We are actively raising funds for this next stage of growth (and you will be involved in defining needs). Right now your team will consist of joint supervision of a full-time Partners and Project Manager (20 hours a week for Development work), with support from the CEO (about 25 hours) and his EA (5 - 10). There is a small ($12,000) discretionary budget for this role.
Q: Have you had a fundraiser before? For our first two years we had part-time consultants helping to build the strategy and systems. We hired a Director of Development in January. Unfortunately she is leaving for family reasons (which is why we are reposting this role). Even in her short time with us, Ava has created a strong foundation of systems and strategies that this role will build off of.
Q: The application portal has questions to answer. How important are those? Very! We screen resumes for relevant work experience and use the an open question template instead of standard cover letters because it gives us a much more useful set of information. While we don’t expect you to write volumes we do read the responses to understand more about your experience and how you communicate via writing.
FAQs (continued)
How to apply
Join us!
Our hiring process*
Come on, give it a try!
Material review for skill & role alignment. This may be done internally at RIVET or may include a phone call with you.
An interview where we’ll identify alignment around your fundraising skills and vision.�
We value your time and energy.
Look, we know applying for a job can be a terrible, soul-crushing experience. Some of this we can fix and some of it is the nature of trying to vet thousands of candidates as fairly and quickly as possible. We aim to create a humane process by providing as much clarity as possible. We will always be available to answer questions about the status of your application and next steps.
As you will see (⇨), we run intensive job processes that are not for everyone. We move quickly but thoroughly and the multiple steps allow for candidates to deepen their clarity about the role while giving members of our team an opportunity to meet and connect with potential collaborators.
* Our process may adapt as interviews unfold. It will get shaped by the candidate pool, ongoing learning, and the needs of the candidates as well.
Ready to apply?
We can’t wait to meet you!
The priority deadline for applications is May 16 and application closes on May 30 at 5pm ET. We plan to make a decision by early July.