Director of Development

The Director of Development role is responsible for aspects of fundraising activities for the Ummatics Institute. This includes 12 regional events yearly at which the CEO or senior leadership makes the case for support. Around those events, the director owns everything else: identifying the right people in each city, recruiting and managing local hosts, running smaller follow-up gatherings, one-on-one follow ups, and virtual touchpoints between visits, stewarding donors through commitment and renewal, and reporting on the pipeline.

This is a full-time, dedicated position. The director's responsibility is to ensure that the appropriate people are brought together, that relationships are substantive both before and after the events, and that no element of the process is left unattended.

Donor network and events

• Build and execute the annual calendar of ~12 events across new and existing cities
• Identify the top prospective donors in each new city and cultivate a meaningful number of relationships per city by year end, through follow-up gatherings, one-on-ones, and virtual contact between events
• Ensure every event is intimate, relationship-driven, and consistent with Ummatics' vision and values

Local hosts

• Recruit, contract, and manage local hosts in each city (mission-aligned individuals who open their networks and handle on-the-ground logistics)
• Evaluate host performance against event quality and relationship-building outcomes
• Engage outside speakers or high-profile figures where they strengthen an event

Operations and stewardship

• Own scheduling, travel, materials, confirmations, reminders, thank-yous, and CRM records
• Track pipeline, attendance, commitments, and donor progression; own the multi-year retention strategy for first-year donors
• Give input on the quarterly donor newsletter (produced by the COO's team) so it speaks to what donors are asking about, and use each issue as a prompt for follow-up conversations

Strategy and reporting

• Work with the CEO to refine donor targeting, positioning, case for support, and talking points ahead of each city launch
• Carry an annual fundraising goal for the portfolio of cities and donors assigned to the role, set with the CEO at the start of each fiscal year
• Report monthly on events held, donors cultivated, commitments secured, pipeline status, and cost of fundraising
• Review results quarterly and adjust the approach

• Alignment with Islamic ethics, Umma-centric thinking, and Ummatics' vision
• 3+ years in fundraising, donor relations, or community development
• Proven track record organizing intimate cultivation events (living room fundraisers or similar) and building relationships with high-capacity donors
• Strong project management; able to track many details across concurrent events and distributed hosts
• Works independently with minimal supervision and handles confidential donor relationships with discretion
• Comfortable with 25-30% travel across US cities
• Lives in and authorized to work in the United States

• Health insurance
• Unlimited PTO

• Drive Meaningful Impact: Directly contribute to the execution of intellectually stimulating and community-empowering spaces that foster connection and growth.
• Build Professional
  
  Competencies:
  
  Gain hands-on experience in large-scale event management, operations, and public coordination.
• Expand Your Network: Connect directly with thinkers, changemakers, professionals, and dedicated community members who share your vision.
• Collaborative Culture: Work alongside a passionate, purpose-driven team dedicated to excellence and teamwork.