The Beacon Center is Tennessee’s premier free market policy and public interest litigation organization. Beacon is pound for pound the most effective and efficient state-level think tank on the planet. With a staff of just a dozen, Beacon has achieved remarkable victories that have empowered Tennesseans to reclaim and protect their freedoms. Our recent accomplishments include:
- Repealing the state death tax and Hall Income Tax, becoming just the second state in history to eliminate an income tax. These tax cuts have cumulatively saved taxpayers more than $5 billion to date.
- Bringing universal school choice to families all across Tennessee.
- Leading the effort to enshrine right-to-work in the Tennessee Constitution, an amendment that passed with 70% of the vote in 2022.
- Advancing free market healthcare reforms, including direct primary care, an overhaul of Tennessee’s certificate of need laws, Medicaid work requirements, and a Right to Try Law that allows terminally ill patients to access life-saving treatments.
- Helping usher in the nation’s first Right to Earn a Living Act to bring about occupational licensing reform, and successfully repealing multiple licensing laws, resulting in Tennessee leading the nation in the reduction of licensing barriers.
- Winning numerous lawsuits protecting Tennesseans’ economic liberty and property rights, including a case cited by the U.S. Supreme Court expanding property rights protections nationwide.
More than 5.4 million Tennesseans have directly benefited from our work. But we’re still not satisfied, and we won’t be until Tennessee becomes and remains the freest, most prosperous state in the nation.
That’s why we are looking for new talent. Beacon seeks a Director of Development who will help take our organization—and the freedom of our fellow Tennesseans—to the next level. The Director of Development is responsible for leading Beacon’s donor relations, including managing relationships with existing individual, corporate, and foundation donors, and identifying and cultivating relationships with new donors who support our mission. The Director of Development will initially lead a two-person development program.
Beacon is a lean, innovative organization that operates like a start-up. We are not afraid to take risks and develop new ways to solve old problems. And neither should our Director of Development. He or she should have an entrepreneurial spirit and a high velocity of work, and be results-oriented, optimistic, and curious.
We believe that the principles of free markets, individual liberty, and limited government are the foundation of a prosperous and opportunity-laden society. Our Director of Development must believe in and abide by these core principles.
The Director of Development will ideally be based in Nashville, but candidates located elsewhere in Tennessee who can travel to the Nashville office at least twice a month will also be considered.
Roles & Responsibilities:
- Lead the entire development arm of the Beacon Center
- Create and execute an annual development plan in coordination with Beacon’s CEO
- Acquire, develop, and sustain long-term individual, foundation, and corporate donor relationships
- Work with our Board of Directors and senior leadership team to secure the annual funding necessary to advance Beacon’s mission
- Oversee the drafting of grant proposals on Beacon’s key policy priorities and legal cases
- Grow our planned giving program with new legacy and multi-year gifts
- Manage a development associate whose main responsibilities include scheduling and preparing for donor meetings; building and managing non-major donor program; administering Beacon’s donor database; and executing our direct mail program for both existing and prospective donors
Required Experience:
- 5+ years of development experience, preferably in the free market movement, wealth management, sales, or business development sectors
- Strong management, organizational, and people skills
- Affinity for liberty and free market principles
Preferred Experience:
- Excellent written and oral communication skills
- Understanding of public policy and knowledge of political processes
- Database management experience, specifically with Salesforce
How to Apply:
To apply, qualified individuals should submit the following application materials in one PDF document:
- Cover letter including:
- An introductory paragraph(s) describing three distinct reasons you are drawn to the Beacon Center’s mission and how you came to those beliefs. Be sure to include at least one specific issue, case, or policy area that resonates with you.
- Salary requirements
- Resume
Applications should be submitted to Talent Market via this link: talentmarket.org/apply-for-your-dream-job/.
Questions can be directed to Stephanie Keaveney, Senior Manager of Outreach at Talent Market, who is managing the search process: [email protected].
There is no application deadline for this position. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. This job will remain posted on our site until it is filled.
While we thank all applicants in advance for their interest in this position, we are only able to contact those to whom we can offer an interview. Only direct applications will be considered. No phone calls, please.
Talent Market is a nonprofit entity dedicated to promoting liberty by helping free-market nonprofits identify talent for critical roles. We provide consulting and recruiting services at no cost to 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations that clearly and directly focus on advancing the principles of economic freedom, free enterprise, free trade, free speech, property rights, rule of law, and limited regulation.
