About ioby

ioby stands for “in our backyards,” and we are building a future in which our neighborhoods are shaped by the powerful ideas of our neighbors. We are a civic tech nonprofit that mobilizes neighbors with good ideas to become powerful civic leaders who plan, fund, and make positive changes in their neighborhoods. ioby was recognized by the Obama Foundation for contributions to civic innovation, was awarded the Jane Jacobs Medal by the Rockefeller Foundation, and an American Civic Collaboration Award for increasing civic participation.

Our crowd-resourcing platform at ioby.org connects leaders with the funding and support they need to complete their projects. Since its founding in 2008, ioby has leveraged its platform and wraparound support to help neighborhood leaders raise $19 million for 3,500 projects in over 260 cities and towns across the United States. We’ve supported crowdfunding for projects that address a wide range of issues: food and environmental justice, racial equity, arts and culture, community organizing, mutual aid, public health, and parks and public space improvements, to name a few. In 2023, ioby has an operating budget of $3 million, with generous funding from foundations, the public sector, corporations, and individual donors. 

In 2022, 65% of the projects that ioby supported were identified as BIPOC-led, and deep roots or grassroots groups led 93%. ioby believes in equity, inclusion, and accessibility in all its forms. That's why we're constantly working to ensure we listen and improve our approach, coaching, and technology to provide best-in-class services. Learn more about our approach to equity here. 

About the Opportunity

ioby seeks a successor to its founding Chief Executive Officer (CEO). With the support of committed staff and the Board of Directors, the CEO will develop a compelling vision for existing and new funders and partners to support the organization—and in turn, the generative, community-led projects that ioby helps to enable—today and far into the future. The ideal candidate will leverage ioby’s unique history and core strengths to provide critical leadership in executing a multi-year strategic plan to support local resident-led action and increase civic participation.

ioby has grown into a national organization with a diverse and talented staff of 20+ fully remote team members. Our team leverages a virtual work model and convenes in person when feasible. In addition, we observe a “whole person” approach that honors the diversity within our team, provides flexibility for lives outside of work, and nurtures the whole person. The CEO will work in deep collaboration with ioby’s senior management team (SMT), which was created to share power and guide ioby’s strategic direction. The SMT includes the Chief Financial Officer, Chief Philanthropy Officer, and Chief Technology Officer. The CEO’s other direct reports include the Senior Director of Leader Experience and the Community and Marketing Director. ioby is governed by a geographically diverse Board of Directors composed of 16 professionals in community development, arts and culture, digital advocacy, urban affairs, technology, finance, local government, consulting, and more. 
 

Areas of Leadership

Ideal candidates for the CEO role will offer a broad set of entrepreneurial executive leadership skills, with deep experience in civic participation, community organizing, fundraising, and/or civic technology and deep expertise in operationalizing racial equity and inclusion values. 

We encourage candidates with most of these experiences and competencies to apply, even if not every key competency is listed. 

Mission & Values Alignment: Excitement around ioby’s mission and the intersection of civic participation, technology, and resident-led neighborhood change. Apply a focus on equity and justice, understanding the importance of movement-building and philanthropic investment to advance community-based leadership. Communicate a clear, coherent, inspiring vision of ioby for the staff, Board, our funders, and the public.

Key Competencies: 

• History of senior-level leadership within the nonprofit, civic technology, for-profit social enterprise, community engagement, nonprofit capacity-building sectors or experience advancing civic participation and local leadership.
• Experience operationalizing strategies and programming centered around racial equity and inclusion. 
• Deep understanding of the underlying concepts that inform the values of equity and justice.
• Demonstrated ability to be a credible voice and thought leader on technology's impact, opportunities, and limitations on civic participation and community development. (preferred)

Executive & Organizational Leadership & Strategy: Adapt and evolve ioby’s technology and service offerings to our communities' present and future needs. In collaboration with the Chief Technology Officer, make critical investments to rebuild and relaunch ioby’s technology platform, implement improvements to support resident-led action, and make ioby the go-to choice for positive change projects. Emphasize ioby’s tailored one-on-one coaching, fiscal sponsorship, and other resources provided to strengthen local capacity in addition to its signature crowdfunding platform. Operationalize racial equity and inclusion in ioby’s internal and external work. Continually revise and guide long-term planning, using continuous analyses, user feedback, financial planning, and program evaluation as inputs. In partnership with the Board and team, articulate a vision for ioby’s growth and impact in alignment with the strategic plan.

Key Competencies: 

• Understanding of nonprofit finances, including the challenges of managing a budget with resource constraints. 
• Prior experience designing business models and developing and executing strategic plans.
• History of centering and operationalizing racial equity and inclusivity in management, development, and organizational decision-making.
• Significant experience setting a vision for and driving change initiatives (preferred).
• Track record of building productive partnerships with boards. (preferred) 

Resource & Partnership Development: Spend at least 50% of the time on fundraising and partnership development, working hand-in-hand with ioby’s Chief Philanthropy Officer and Partnerships & Donor Relations team, and with support from the Founder-In-Residence as appropriate. Retain ioby’s current base of partners and donors, and continually cultivate and close on new fundraising and fee-for-service revenue opportunities to ensure that ioby meets its annual revenue goals (approximately $3 million in 2023). Build investment to sustainably scale ioby’s impact, using current and new relationships to establish programming and presence in new geographic areas and around emerging community issues. Strengthen ioby’s overall brand and visibility. 

Key Competencies: 

• Experience identifying, prioritizing, and pursuing partnerships and funding opportunities that align with strategic organizational goals.
• Experience in fundraising, including building and managing complex partner and donor relationships from diverse sources (e.g., major donors, foundations, corporations, and government).
• Experience serving as the external face of an organization and leveraging opportunities to broaden an organization’s brand. 
• Experience with creating, expanding, and sustaining earned income models. (preferred)

People & Culture Leadership: Articulate organizational principles and foster an environment for a healthy, naturally-evolving culture that emphasizes a whole-person approach. Drive a positive and equitable organizational culture through clear communication, transparent decision-making, and staff & board engagement to ensure values alignment across the organization. Build redundancy, mentorship, and leadership pipelines so that ioby is an organization that invests in advancing all staff proportionately across race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, and ability.  

Key Competencies: 

• A track record of building diverse, inclusive teams & equitable organizational cultures.
• Senior management experience with a history of successfully directly managing a combination of seasoned professionals and early-career staff. 
• Track record of supporting the long-term growth of a team through active coaching, supervision, and team-building, both in-person and remotely. 
• Ability to assess the organization's goals and resources necessary to achieve them and to manage staff capacity.
• Experience supporting a team through iterative org-wide technology changes. (preferred)

Salary, Location & Benefits

The salary range for this role is $180,000 - $200,000, based on experience and geographic location. This is a full-time, exempt role and includes a generous benefits package (including full coverage of staff premiums for most health plans, vision, and dental; a 401(k) plan; and paid time off for sick leave, family leave, vacation, holidays and civic duty days). While the position will be fulfilled from a remote workspace, the CEO should be able to easily access a major airport to travel for fundraising obligations as needed, with an expectation of 25% travel.

ioby's Non-Discrimination Policy

ioby is committed to the principles of equal opportunity. ioby’s organizational policies, practices, programs, activities, and decisions regarding employment, hiring, assignment, promotion, compensation, volunteerism, internships, and other terms and conditions of employment or voluntary service shall not be based on a person’s race, color, sex, age, religion, national origin, mental or physical disability, ancestry, military discharge status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, source of income, parental status, housing status, or other protected status, in accordance with applicable law.

At ioby, racial equity is a core value. Women, people of color, and LGBTQ people are always strongly encouraged to apply.