Director of Philanthropy, Major Gifts

Director of Philanthropy, Major Gifts

At Room to Grow, we believe that strong starts in childhood lead to strong outcomes in life, and that parents and caregivers are best equipped to nurture their children's growth and development when they have the support they need to thrive. We partner with families during the critical early years (ages 0-3) through our unique, strengths-based program, working alongside parents to offer consistent, personalized support and resources to meet their child's needs and goals.

Room to Grow is a non-profit organization operating in New York and Boston with a team of 40+ passionate and dedicated team members. Check out our website to learn more about us!

Position Summary

Reporting to the Senior Director of External Engagement, the Director of Philanthropy, Major Gifts leads the strategy and execution of Room to Grow's major giving program. This includes building and strengthening a robust pipeline of individual donors across regional markets, driving revenue performance, and deepening long-term donor engagement in support of organizational goals. This role is designed for a strategic, independent fundraiser capable of navigating complex gift discussions and engaging executive leadership to secure transformative support for Room to Grow.

This is a front-facing role, well suited for someone who thrives in building relationships and making solicitations in a direct, face-to-face manner. The Director will manage a personal portfolio of key major donors, and support the CEO and Board of Directors' fundraising initiatives, collaborating closely with senior leadership to achieve and exceed revenue goals.

A successful candidate will be a seasoned fundraiser and leader who brings enterprise-level relationship-building, thinking, strong financial acumen, and a collaborative working style. They will be comfortable operating at both strategic and executional levels, stewarding top-tier relationships, being accountable for results, and navigating complexity with confidence.

Position Responsibilities

• Lead Room to Grow's major gift ($5K+) strategy and execution in partnership with CEO, currently valued at approximately $1M annually.
• Manage Room to Grow's organization-wide major gifts portfolio of 100 - 125 high-net-worth individuals and family foundations with the capacity to make gifts in the $5K–$100K+ range.
• Exclusively manage a subset of this portfolio, and partner closely with the CEO and Managing Director of Organizational Success (MD) on donor relationships, solicitation strategy, and high-level cultivation and stewardship for their portfolios.
• Own moves-management best practices (identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, stewardship).
• Design and execute personalized stewardship plans to ensure donors are informed of the impact of their philanthropy.
• Build and implement strategies to grow and diversify the individual donor pipeline across regional markets; identify and close funding opportunities that provide a minimum of $100K in new revenue over the first 12 - 18 months.
• Ensure a robust, continually replenished pipeline of major gift prospects across all markets (Boston, New York, and National).
• Serve as an advisor to the CEO on high net worth prospects and board recruitment and engagement, providing insights and recommendations to inform donor strategy.
• Serve as an advisor to the CEO, Board of Directors, and Leadership Councils in individual giving strategy, advancement strategy, and fundraising engagement.
• Support board-level fundraising and peer-to-peer outreach efforts, including leveraging board networks for pipeline development.
• Represent Room to Grow internally and externally with professionalism, passion, and a strong understanding of our mission, values, and impact.
• Raise Room to Grow's profile and impact in NYC through thought leadership, networking, and strategic relationship-building.
• Serve as an external face, spokesperson, and advocate for Room to Grow in the NYC community, ensuring the organization's story, message, program successes, and positions are well articulated to various stakeholders.
• Partner with the Senior Director, External Engagement and…