Canvass Director, Fight to Protect Clean Air and Water

~ Fund for the Public Interest is a national, nonprofit organization that runs campaigns for America’s leading environmental and public interest organizations. ~

We launched the Fund in 1982 to help find ways to engage people on the most pressing problems of our day and turn that support into solutions. And now we run the nation’s largest and most effective canvassing and telephone membership operation.

Our canvassers and callers talk to people one-on-one and through those interactions help make thousands, sometimes millions of people’s voices heard, through petitions, emails, small donations and meetings. That’s people power, and that’s what it takes to make a difference for the environment, for our democracy, and more.

Position Overview

As a Canvass Director for Fund for the Public Interest, you’ll build the people power it takes to create positive change for great organizations as they face their toughest challenges. You could work on issues like tackling climate change, ending the overuse of antibiotics on factory farms, defending our environmental protections and more.

You will build and lead a team and work with them to mobilize thousands, sometimes tens of thousands of citizens to take action and make their voices heard. That’s what we mean by people power, and that’s what it takes to win.

If you want to make real change, and you believe that the progress we’ve already made is worth fighting for and worth defending, this might be the job for you.

Training:

• We have an excellent training program—it’s one of the things for which we’re most widely recognized. All positions have a month-long initial training, most of which is spent working in an existing field office and getting hands-on training. After that, we follow up with a classroom-style training.
• Throughout the year, new and experienced canvass directors will participate in advanced trainings on staff management, canvassing, campaign strategy, media and public speaking.

Locations:

• We work on the campaigns and the issues that we think are the most pressing, and set up our ground operations where we think we can make the biggest difference.
• We are running campaigns in CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, IL, MA, ME, MD, MI, MN, NC, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OR, PA, TX, WA, WI, and Washington, D.C.

Responsibilities

• As a Canvass Director you will run your own office and work on campaigns with groups like Environment America and U.S. PIRG.
• You’ll recruit supporters, raise money and mobilize thousands of people to take action.
• Being a director requires that you work independently, exercise good judgment and work hard to meet the office’s staffing, campaign and field work goals.

Meet Goals for Your Campaign:

• Reach or exceed your office’s fundraising and membership goals. Most offices have goals of educating 100,000 people, gathering 35,000 political actions, raising $250,000 and identifying 5,000 members each year.

Recruit, Train and Manage Staff:

• Recruit, hire and manage a campaign staff of 10-40 canvassers.
• Train staff on effective canvassing and campaigning techniques.
• Run staff meetings and skills trainings.
• Arrange expert briefings and issue workshops 
to educate and motivate staff.
• Evaluate staff performance and give ongoing 
feedback.
• Identify strong staff, teach them leadership 
skills and promote from within.

Canvass:

• Lead by example.
• Canvass three to four times a week so you can train new staff, evaluate current staff, raise money, identify and activate members, and educate the public on the issues.

Run the Office:

• Oversee administrative functions related to campaign goals, staff management, fundraising and membership development, and general office management.
• Ensure that funds raised and member information collected gets to the partner organizations.
• Complete your staff’s payroll accurately and in a timely fashion.

Other Campaign Tactics:

• Work with our partner organizations on a range of campaign tactics, including petition drives, coalition building, letter writing, phone banks, media work and news conferences.

Compensation: The target annual compensation for Canvass Directors is $27,000 – $31,000 in the first year, depending on the position. The Fund offers a competitive benefits package. We also offer an excellent training program and opportunities for advancement.

~ Fund for the Public Interest is an equal opportunity employer and will not discriminate against any employee or applicant on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, age, sex, disability, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or veteran status.

For Los Angeles-based positions: Fund for the Public Interest will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring. ~