Managing Director of Development, Roosevelt Institute

The Roosevelt Institute takes on today’s greatest public policy challenges by advancing bold, cutting-edge research and policy ideas. We believe that the future of the American economy and our democracy depends on a new way of thinking about markets and government—and have successfully engaged with policymakers and the media to inform and shape public debate. Too few people hold too much economic and political power today, and we know that a stronger society is possible if we rectify this imbalance between private actors and the public.

With a commitment to restructuring markets, transforming corporations, reviving democratic institutions, and reimagining the role of government, our work moves our nation toward a more resilient, equitable, and green future.

The Roosevelt Institute is a think tank, a student network, and the nonprofit partner to the Franklin

D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum that, together, are learning from the past and working to redefine our collective future. Focusing on corporate and public power, labor and wages, and the economics of race and gender inequality, the Roosevelt Institute unifies experts, invests in young leaders, and advances progressive policies that bring the legacy of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt into the 21st century.

Reporting directly to the Chief Development Officer, the Managing Director of Development (MD) will lead fundraising strategy for the Roosevelt Institute’s think tank and people development programs as well as Roosevelt Forward, with a primary focus on building a robust major individual giving program and a secondary focus on providing strategic oversight of institutional/foundation fundraising.

Roosevelt has strong, long-standing foundation relationships but has not yet built a dedicated individual giving function, and the organization is in the final stages of rolling out a new strategic plan. This role will leverage that new strategic plan to build an individual giving program largely from the ground up, in service of a three-to-five-year goal of growing individual giving from a portfolio of 5 percent of annual income to 25 percent or close to $5 million annually and diversifying the organization’s revenue base.

The MD will partner closely with the Chief Development Officer in shaping the program’s direction and design, will personally cultivate their own portfolio of major individual donors and prospects, and will lead the development team in executing that shared vision.

Responsibilities include:

managing and continuously building a robust pipeline of donors and prospects to support the organization’s work; cultivating and managing relationships with funders; managing the team toward excellent grant writing, project management, and stewardship; partnering with organizational leadership and program staff on new program development and strategy; and other related activities. The MD will oversee a team of four staff: director of foundation relations, donor engagement manager, grants manager, and development associate.

This is a full-time, nonunionized, people management role.

• In partnership with the Chief Development Officer, shape the strategic design of expanding Roosevelt’s major individual giving program—then manage its execution and build its infrastructure, including prospect research, moves management, solicitation, and stewardship, to ensure strong systems and practices.
• Manage the overall fundraising pipeline for both the Roosevelt Institute (c3) and Roosevelt Forward a (c4), including advising on strategy, tracking progress toward goals, and leveraging data to inform decisions, employing a combination of strategic thinking and tactical…