Director of Development, Lydia Patterson Institute

October 12, 2026

Lydia Patterson Institute is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of any status protected by applicable law.

Lydia Patterson Institute (LPI) seeks an experienced, results-oriented Director of Development to expand philanthropic support through major gifts, United Methodist Church relationships, strategic partnerships, and long-term giving. Founded in 1913, LPI is a Christian educational ministry of The United Methodist Church, serving students in grades 7–12 from the El Paso–Ciudad Juárez border region and preparing leaders for the church and society.

With an annual operating budget of approximately $3 million and substantial reliance on charitable giving, LPI requires a development professional who can personally cultivate, solicit, and steward significant gifts; build a sustainable donor pipeline; secure current and future-year commitments; and advance the Institute’s long-term financial stability. This is a fundraising leadership position measured by both meaningful development activity and financial results.

• Manage a portfolio of qualified donor and major-gift prospects, each with appropriate cultivation strategies and next steps.
• Personally identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward donors; conduct substantive conversations, visits, and direct financial asks.
• Secure major, recurring, and multi-year gifts; increase support from existing donors; and reengage lapsed donors.
• Develop new qualified prospects through introductions from trustees, alumni, clergy, donors, and community leaders.
• Advance opportunities from initial contact through solicitation, commitment, and stewardship, with timely documented follow-up.

• Build and expand financial relationships with congregations, pastors, bishops, annual conferences, church foundations, agencies, and lay leaders.
• Increase the number of supporting churches and the level of congregational and individual giving, including recurring, special, and multi-year commitments.
• Visit churches, participate in appropriate United Methodist gatherings, and reactivate relationships with former supporters.

• Cultivate foundation, corporate, business, and institutional funding relationships aligned with LPI’s mission and priorities.
• Collaborate with the Grant Writer and President on significant foundation and strategic funding opportunities.
• Encourage visits by churches and prospective supporters; engage high-potential visitors and turn promising visits into sustained donor relationships through timely follow-up.

The Director is not responsible for hosting visiting groups or managing visit logistics; these functions are handled through administrative support.

• Develop prospects for estate, legacy, planned, challenge, and endowment gifts, including support for existing LPI endowments.
• Identify and cultivate transformational-gift prospects and contribute to the long-term institutional vision of a $100 million Support Fund.

The Director will collaborate with the President to develop an approved Annual Development Plan establishing revenue objectives, major-gift strategies, priorities, timelines, and performance benchmarks. The Director is expected to evaluate results and implement strategic adjustments when needed. The numerical benchmarks below are minimum expectations, not limits on performance; higher expectations may be established through Lydia Patterson Institute is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate…