Director of Development - Vida

THE ORGANIZATION Vida is a not-for-profit organization based in Appleton, Wisconsin. Founded in 1983, Vida has grown to now provide free, confidential, and compassionate medical care, parent support services, material support, and maternity housing for men, women, and families across the Fox Valley and beyond. Vida’s main objective is to walk with women and men through trials and tribulations by offering hope, compassion, and education.

Vida firmly believes women and men should be empowered and equipped to make life-affirming decisions. We continue to expand our services so that no woman or man feels alone and unsupported when facing challenges related to their sexual health, unexpected pregnancy, or parenting young children under difficult circumstances.

• Develop and execute a comprehensive annual development plan with clear goals, strategies, timelines, responsibilities, and performance measures for major gifts, events, and grants.
• Own contributed-revenue performance and provide timely forecasts, pipeline updates, and progress reports to the Executive Director and Board.
• Build a diversified and sustainable fundraising program that balances near-term revenue needs with long-term donor development.
• Evaluate fundraising results, donor trends, and return on investment, and adjust strategies to improve performance.
• Partner with the Executive Director, organizational leaders, and Board members to align fundraising priorities with strategic and programmatic needs.

• Build and actively manage a portfolio of current and prospective major donors, leading the full donor cycle from identification and qualification through cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, and renewal.
• Conduct direct, personalized conversations and solicitations with major donors and prospects, involving the Executive Director, Board members, and other leaders when appropriate.
• Create individualized engagement and stewardship plans that connect donors with the organization's mission, programs, outcomes, and funding priorities.
• Strengthen the major-gift pipeline through research, referrals, networking, and consistent relationship-building.
• Ensure timely donor acknowledgment, recognition, reporting, and follow-up.

• Provide strategic leadership and overall accountability for all fundraising events, including revenue goals, sponsorship strategy, donor engagement, budgets, timelines, and post-event evaluation.
• Direct and coordinate staff and volunteers who support day-to-day event planning and execution, establishing clear roles, expectations, and deadlines.
• Cultivate and solicit event sponsors, corporate partners, table hosts, and other supporters.
• Ensure events advance broader donor relationships and serve as effective cultivation, stewardship, and fundraising opportunities.
• Assess each event's financial and relationship-building impact and recommend changes as appropriate.

• Own the organization's grant strategy, calendar, pipeline, and results across foundation, corporate, and government funding opportunities, as applicable.
• Manage the external grant-writing firm, providing priorities, program information, budgets, outcomes, and other materials needed to prepare strong proposals and reports.
• Review and approve proposals, applications, and grant reports before submission in partnership with the Executive Director and relevant staff.
• Maintain relationships with foundation and institutional funders and identify new grant opportunities aligned with organizational priorities.
• Coordinate with program and finance staff to ensure grant commitments, reporting requirements, budgets, and deadlines are met.