Wabanaki Benefit Foundation

Wabanaki Benefit Foundation’s (WBF) mission is to honor our ancestors' dream of the health and prosperity of our people, through fostering our collective traditions of respectful relationships and giving. 

We are seeking an Executive Director who is a relationship-builder, fundraiser, and administrator with a demonstrated passion for Wabanaki people and culture. Our ideal candidate will serve as an enthusiastic spokesperson within Tribal communities, in Maine, regionally, and nationally. They will model creative and collaborative leadership, effectively engage partners and supporters, and will manage the organization’s grantmaking, programs, and resources. Wabanaki traditions, language, and culture guide our approach and inform the ways we do this work. 

‍Background
‍Wabanaki Benefit Foundation was born out of the process and fundraising to support the creation of the new Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument’s Tekαkαpimək Contact Station. Upon receipt of $1 million added by donors’ request as part of the Monumental Welcome fundraising campaign, in 2024 the Tekαkαpimək Wabanaki Advisory Board decided to create a 501(c)(3) public charity, Wabanaki Benefit Foundation. We are growing a community foundation that addresses the needs and opportunities of Wabanaki people. This will allow significant financial resources to return, creating intergenerational wealth to be stewarded and disbursed by Wabanaki people. We have incorporated in the State of Maine, obtained our Federal EIN and Maine Charitable Solicitation License, adopted bylaws, engaged Goldman Sachs as our investment management firm, and received our federal 501(c)(3) designation.

Values at the core of WBF are: 
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• Wicuhkemtultinen “we help one another” 
• Mutual respect for one another’s values
• Honesty Responsibility to the People
• Mutual caring for one another 
• Ensuring benefit for those beyond us in the future generations

As a neutral intra-tribal party, WBF has the opportunity to nurture ideas, relationships and community wealth. WBF can respond and support ideas that arise organically from within our communities. We can attract financial assets and funding partners from Maine, regionally and nationally.  We can move much more quickly from concept to implementation than governmental and non-Wabanaki funding allows. WBF leads with a Wabanaki worldview where culture, land, language, health, and art are interdependent and integrated. WBF will be a partner to individuals, other Wabanaki programs, initiatives, small businesses and Tribes, as well as the philanthropists who seek to support us.

‍How will grantmaking work? What are the priorities? 
‍We will initially focus our grant making on Wabanaki museums, language programs and other cultural activities. Beyond that, our exact process and specific funding areas have not yet been determined. As we thoughtfully start up, we are attempting to move fast enough to leverage the support and interest we are experiencing, while being deliberate, inclusive and worthy of trust. 

‍Position Summary
‍The focus of the position will be launching this emerging organization and working with a hands-on Board of Directors to conduct ongoing endowment and diverse fundraising campaigns, make grants and operate programs, and build and maintain relationships with Wabanaki Tribes and community organizations, philanthropists and other regional and national partners and supporters. The Executive Director will serve as the primary point person for all Foundation activities, support the work of the Board, coordinate with consultants, supervise future staff, and ensure compliance with laws, regulations, and foundation best practices. This new position calls for a strategic thinker who is innovative, an active learner, detail-oriented, able to work independently, relationship-oriented and has a solid familiarity with Wabanaki people and cultures. The position will involve leading the Foundation’s rapid endowment growth, shaping its grantmaking, implementing strategic directions, conducting external communications, and managing operations. This position offers the opportunity to learn and grow alongside wisdom-keepers and make meaningful contributions to Wabanaki communities and individuals today and to future generations.

Essential Job Functions
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• Build and maintain relationships and lead communications with Wabanaki leaders, people, Tribal staff, funders, and other important constituencies.
• Serve as the lead WBF fundraiser, including managing its upcoming feasibility study, capital campaign, partnerships, grant seeking, and other philanthropic opportunities.
• Develop and implement programmatic and grant making philosophy and systems.
• Participate in local and national networks and organizations pertinent to WBF’s mission and goals.
• Partner with the Board to assure the effective development and implementation of organizational policies, systems, and procedures reflecting Indigenous foundation best practices.
• Oversee maintenance of official records and required documents to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulations and organizational policies and procedures.
• Manage consultants and their deliverables.

Characteristics and Skills for Success
Successful candidates will bring many of the following skills, experience, and attributes to the position, as well as the aptitude and enthusiasm to learn and further develop areas for growth.
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• A people-person who values and cultivates trusting relationships with Wabanaki people, philanthropic leaders, and others. 
• Exceptional interpersonal and communications skills with proven ability to: build collaborative relationships across the philanthropic, private, and public sectors; exercise high diplomacy; and solve problems.    
• Resourcefulness—the ability to leverage networks in Wabanaki country, Maine, and nationally to identify new opportunities for engagement and impact.
• Proven fundraising skills, including cultivation and solicitation of partnerships, major gifts, and grants. 
• Familiarity with grant making; ability to attend to and transition between the small details of grant-making and donor cultivation and the big picture of communicating with partners about this work.
• Deep knowledge, relationships, and understandings of Wabanaki communities and organizations.
• Leadership experience in a mission-driven organizational setting that leverages relationships with local and community stakeholders.
• Experience supporting and working with an activist Board of Directors.
• Enthusiasm for initiating and growing new projects, and the ability  to navigate the ambiguity and change that comes with this process.
• Exceptional leadership, time management, and organizational skills. 
• Self-motivated and able to work independently, as well as with a team.
• Patience, persistence, and flexibility to accomplish collaborative projects, and the ability to maintain grace when confronted with delays and challenges. 
• Demonstrated capacity and willingness to learn new skills.
• Proficiency with technology, standard software and the use of databases.

Pay, Benefits & Work Conditions
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• Compensation: $80,000 - $95,000 annual salary, healthcare and retirement stipend and paid time off.
• The Executive Director must be able to reside within a reasonable proximity of the Wabanaki Communities and will be expected to be able to travel among these communities regularly, throughout the area, and to national meetings and events.
• The Executive Director will work from home and other locations agreeable to the board; flexibility is essential.

How to Apply
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• To submit your application, please send cover letter and resume to wabanakibenefitfound@hallcollaborations.com
  Attn: Vice Chief Richard Silliboy, President
• Applications will be considered on a rolling basis; the deadline for materials to be submitted for the position is March 14. We encourage you to apply as soon as possible!
• The goal of the Board is to have an Executive Director in place by May 2025.

Commitment to Equity 
We encourage applicants from all cultures, races, colors, religions, sexes, national or regional origins, ages, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity, military, protected veteran status or other status protected by law, and to maintain a non-discriminatory environment free from intimidation, harassment or bias based upon these grounds. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please send a note to wabanakibenefitfound@hallcollaborations.com to discuss how we can meet your needs to apply for this position.