Chief Revenue Officer

OUR STORY

inewsource is a nationally recognized leader in the emerging and fast-growing field of nonprofit journalism. We believe that local and regional civic news, especially investigative reporting, is essential to a functioning democracy, and can help communities alter the course of history. Since our founding over 10 years ago, inewsource has been nothing short of ambitious in our mission and our journalism. We are a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to improving lives in the San Diego region through impactful, data-based investigative and accountability journalism. We do not editorialize or give opinions. Our work reaches more than 1 million media users each week, thanks to our groundbreaking partnership with San Diego’s KPBS, one of the top NPR and PBS affiliates in the nation.

Whether we are writing about local government, transportation, education, health, taxes or the environment, our journalists work together to deliver original reporting with data-driven precision through web, radio, and TV. inewsource produces all original work, focused exclusively on investigative journalism and accountability. This focused approach enables our newsroom to go deep, conducting extensive research and rigorously fact-checking stories, resulting in high-impact, enterprising journalism. In addition to reporting, our internship and community education programs further our commitment to promoting the practice of fact-based journalism. Our team of 13 staff, which is projected to scale to 27 over the next two and-a-half years, is housed in the KPBS newsroom on the campus of San Diego State University.

OUR MOVEMENT

Nonprofit journalism is a new and emerging field, staffed by extremely passionate people committed to public service and protecting our democracy. The current COVID-19 pandemic highlights the critical role our sector plays, as traditional print newspapers reduce staff or close their doors completely due to falling advertising revenues. With 200+ organizations around the country, nonprofit journalism is actually thriving: while newsroom jobs at traditional newspapers have dropped 45% over the past 5 years, employment at nonprofit news organizations is up 79%. We are working with the American Journalism Project and other nonprofit newsrooms across the country to build a national movement committed to ensuring communities have the information they need to sustain our democracy.

THE AMERICAN JOURNALISM PROJECT INVESTMENT

AJP is a venture philanthropy organization with an ambitious mission to raise and deploy $50M to grow sustainable nonprofit, nonpartisan local newsrooms that are governed by, sustained by, and reflect the public they serve. In December of 2019 AJP announced its first $8.5M in grants, selecting inewsource as one of 11 nonprofit civic news organizations around the country to receive a significant multi-year financial investment. One of the most unique and exciting aspects of AJP’s support is that the funding is directed for business operations – investing in staff and resources to help scale the organization and build our revenue base. With AJP’s support, the inewsource budget will grow from our current $1.4M to $2.6M annually, based on progress towards our milestones.

More information about inewsource, our partnership with AJP and the
nonprofit journalism movement is available at:

• inewsource website https://inewsource.org
• TEDx presentation by Founder Lorie Hearn:
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-ZSgtLy_vc
• The American Journalism Project website http://www.theajp.org/
• New York Times coverage of the AJP program
  https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/10/opinion/local-news.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

POSITION SUMMARY

inewsource has a very ambitious growth plan, which is why we created the Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) position. This leader will be dedicated to identifying and developing new revenue streams, thereby ensuring the organization’s sustainability for the future. They will be intimately involved in developing new audiences and new products, and will have the opportunity to build successful models that may be replicated across the country through our partnership with the American Journalism Project. Although based in San Diego, this position has the potential to become a key player in the national nonprofit journalism movement.

We are looking for a passionate, entrepreneurial leader to take ownership of our $2.6M annual funding goal. The CRO will develop the business strategy and leverage funding we recently received to scale our revenue team with up to 5 new positions. As a member of our senior leadership team, the CRO will work closely with the CEO, overseeing every aspect of revenue generation. Equally as important, the CRO will also serve as a highly valued thought partner to both the CEO and the Board. With philanthropic support as the highest priority, this position will carry a portfolio of major and principal gift prospects and provide critical support to all other members of the revenue team. inewsource has been quite successful in raising its current $1.4M budget through individual memberships and major gifts. The CRO’s challenge will be to expand our base of traditional funding sources by creating new and innovative revenue streams through leadership in marketing and strategic partnerships.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The core focus areas of this position are:

1. Build, lead and manage the new revenue team.
2. Grow inewsource’s traditional funding base (individual giving, major gifts, annual giving, events,
   campaigns, planned giving, foundation grants, corporate sponsorships, membership).
3. Develop additional creative funding streams including earned revenue.
4. Build audience and conversion efforts.
5. Expand inewsource’s capacity in the areas of marketing, strategic partnerships, and new product
   development.

The CRO will have a broad range of responsibilities under these focus areas, requiring a strong mix of
skills, experience and character. These include:

• Working with the CEO and Board to develop and implement a multi-year revenue strategy that includes growth of our major donors, foundation support and membership programs.
• Taking the lead in hiring the revenue team, which will grow from 2 to 7 members over the next two years, while providing strong leadership and effective management for the team.
• Advancing the field of nonprofit journalism and growing inewsource’s reach through collaboration with local organizations as well as state and national entities.
• Balancing a multitude of, and sometimes conflicting, viewpoints while always keeping journalistic integrity and the best interests of the organization at the forefront.
• Embracing traditional philanthropic fundraising methods while also leveraging best practices and innovative strategies from the corporate world and startup sector.
• Rethinking events and traditional fundraising approaches (for example, inewsource has had prior success with small, highly targeted gatherings of influencers in nontraditional settings).
• Connecting inewsource with younger and more diverse audiences and building awareness as to the critical need for good journalism now and into the future.
• Constantly scanning the journalism landscape for new ideas and use of tools to emulate in delivering our content in broadcasting or on the internet.
• Thinking creatively about inewsource’s assets and capabilities to pilot new and innovative ways to translate those into revenue as well as trading/in-kind for other resources.
• Partnering with other organizations (including other nonprofit entities) to develop joint funding and sponsorship opportunities.
• Instilling a culture of philanthropy that spans across our organization and board, assisting every team member to support our revenue goals however they can.
• Setting appropriate short and long-term revenue targets and taking responsibility for achieving
  those goals.
• Managing a personal portfolio of major donors and prospects.
• Overseeing our data management efforts in Salesforce; providing reports and updates to the CEO, Board and staff as needed.
• Coaching, mentoring and developing team members to their highest potential.
• Setting clear success metrics and holding others accountable to achieving their goals.
• Staying current on events at the local, state and national levels.

ATTRIBUTES & WORK STYLE

• Ambitious: likes to build things, beat targets and win.
• Passionate: holds a firm belief in the First Amendment and the critical role of accurate information in our society.
• Strategic: is a true thought partner to the CEO; enjoys formulating aggressive goals and designing innovative, yet practical methods for achieving them.
• Entrepreneurial: able to be bold and to take calculated risks, says “yes” to new opportunities.
• Visionary: always learning, focused on the future and devising a path to get there.
• Transparent: collaborates to empower others; shares information and uses an open and inclusive decision-making style.
• Confidence: comfortable and effective working with senior executives and major philanthropists; not afraid of having the difficult conversations.
• Storyteller: able to communicate the impact of our work beyond single articles and issues.
• Analytical: uses well-researched numbers and other data points to support their strategies and business plans; able to carefully study issues, identify trends and formulate new ideas.
• Direct: employs a communication style that is sensible, concise and focused.
• Tenacious: demonstrates exceptional follow-up and follow through in everything they do.
• Collaborative: fosters a respectful, transparent, and collaborative work environment.
• Proactive: demonstrates strong personal initiative and the ability to drive projects through to completion.
• Positive: charismatic, warm and welcoming; a true “people-person.”
• Adaptive: able to manage multiple (and sometimes conflicting) priorities, projects and deliverables; enjoys working both independently and in teams.
• Reflective: is a skilled listener who is effective at giving and receiving feedback and critique.
• Tactful: patient and diplomatic; highly skilled at identifying and activating connections and relationships in support of inewsource.
• Communicative: possesses strong written and oral communication skills. An effective public speaker and representative of the organization.
• Flexible: able to work evenings and weekends as required.

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE

• 7+ years of professional experience in revenue generating positions – this experience could
  come from the fields of business development, sales, nonprofit fundraising, startups, marketing
  or new product development/management.
• Direct experience building and managing teams to achieve revenue targets.
• Demonstrated results in designing, pitching and closing major business development opportunities or philanthropic gifts.
• Solid understanding of the sales cycle and/or fundraising strategies, systems, and processes.
• Bachelor’s degree preferred; exceptional professional experience will be considered in lieu.
• Experienced in constructing, articulating and implementing strategic growth plans.
• Prior direct responsibility for cultivating, soliciting and stewarding prospects.
• Experience developing and managing budgets over $2M.

inewsource is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating a positive and inclusive work environment for all employees.