Comprehensive development and fundraising services for the Emmett Till and Mamie Till Mobley House Museum

Blacks in Green (BIG NFP), a not-for-profit environmental justice organization, owns the Emmett Till and Mamie Till Mobley House. Located in the Chicago South Side neighborhood of West Woodlawn, it was where Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till Mobley, lived at the time of his brutal lynching in the summer of 1955. In response to his death, Mamie would become an important Civil Rights activist. We are currently restoring the house with the cooperation of the Till Family, and intend to open it to the public as a site of commemoration and celebration of the Till Family's long legacy of courageous activism and radical forgiveness. At Blacks in Green, where we understand environmental justice as a civil rights issue, the Emmett and Mamie Till Mobley House is central to our mission. The restored building will house a rich array of programming, ranging from education to performance while meeting the highest standards for net-zero energy performance and construction. We have funding to initiate a major development campaign that will support permanent staffing and construction costs and are seeking a development consultant to lead this effort.

Overall funding for this work is budgeted at $300,000 for all aspects of the fundraising effort, including planning and operations. Our goal is to raise $3 million over the next three years. The development consultant will work on a contract basis.

Primary responsibilities of the development consultant

• Short and long term development planning
• Organize and supervise development operations
• Create and manage development communications with the BIG communications staff
• Meet intermediate deadlines for specific funding requirements (design services, permanent staff salaries, construction funding)

Other responsibilities of the development consultant

• Participation in the strategic planning process
• Participation in and support for the Till House Advisory Council and other community engagement initiatives