Executive Director, Histories Collaborative

The Histories Collaborative of Philadelphia (HCP) is an in-formation 501(c)(3) organization thatis being established to serve as the unifying voice and coordinating backbone for Philadelphia's numerous history-related organizations, from major legacy institutions to grassroots community archives. HCP is best understood as civic infrastructure for the histories field, closer in spirit to a library system than to any single institution. Its impact will be dependent upon its persuasiveness, not statutory or authorized via other format.

It works by convening peers and enabling distributed authorship, not by directing them. HCP is in its launch phase, transitioning from a fiscally sponsored initiative to an independent nonprofit. HCP seeks a dynamic, entrepreneurial, and collaborative leader to serve as its inaugural Executive Director/Chief Collaborative Officer (ED/CCO). The ED/CCO will be the organization's first hire and may be its only executive for a meaningful period.

Reporting to the Board of Directors, the ED/CCO will be responsible for every dimension of organizational life: strategy, fundraising, stakeholder relations, communications, convening design, advocacy, technology, and administration. HCP sponsored an in-depth analysis of the city’s histories sector. Lord Cultural Resources was retained to undertake this assessment.

Strategic Context

• The national political environment has placed unprecedented pressure on federally funded cultural institutions including the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and PBS, with real and growing threats to Philadelphia's histories sector;
• The 2026 Semi quincentennial and the Philadelphia Cultural Plan create immediate windows for elevating Philadelphia's history within public and philanthropic funding frameworks;
• The sector carries deep resource disparities between well-resourced legacy institutions and under-resourced community-based organizations, alongside genuine gaps in shared technology, digital infrastructure, and AI capacity; and
• HCP's model is deliberately lean, informed by other cultural advocacy organizations that have achievedoutsized impact on budgets under $300,000 and with minimal staff.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership, Governance, and Startup Execution:
Guide HCP through its transition to independent 501(c)(3) status, including operating and financial systems, and governance formalization. Develop and implement HCP's inaugural strategic plan. In partnership with the Board, help recruit new directors when timely and design the working structure that makes Board service consequential. Under HCP's non-giving governance model, directors contribute network access, sectoral expertise, advocacy voice, and philanthropic introductions rather than personal capital, and the ED/CCO is responsible for tying those contributions to specific fundraising, advocacy, and sector-relationship goals.

Fundraising and Financial Sustainability:
Design and execute a multi-pronged fundraising strategy focused on foundation grants, individual major donors, and earned revenue. Raise operating and program capital in ways that member organizations experience as additive to the field rather than extractive from it. Managing this perception, and the underlying reality behind it, represents the single sharpest risk to HCP's legitimacy. (A three- year, philanthropically funded campaign will provide a long ramp to sourcing new stable and reliable sources commencing in year four.)

Convening and Sector Engagement:
Design and implement a tiered convening program including regular sector-wide gatherings, thematic working groups, neighborhood round tables, and an annual…