Director of Development

About the Position

The Director of Development sets and leads the organization’s overall fundraising strategy, ensuring long-term sustainability. This role oversees all development functions –including individual giving, major gifts, institutional fundraising, campaigns, and donor communications –and manages a development team of three. The Director of Development partners closely with the Executive Director, Board of Directors, and program leadership to cultivate strong relationships with donors and funders.

Reports to: Managing Director

• Develop and implement a comprehensive annual fundraising plan with clear revenue goals.
• Lead long-term fundraising strategy, assessing and cultivating opportunities for growth in individual giving, major gifts, grants, and corporate partnerships.
• Oversee prospect development strategy and prioritization.
• Lead our donor education strategies with deep collaboration with the Executive Director and program and communications team.
• Facilitate fundraising planning and engagement with the Board of Directors.

• Supervise, coach, and support the Individual Giving Manager, Institutional Giving Manager and an Executive Assistant, ensuring effectiveness, alignment, collaboration, and professional growth.
• Foster a results-oriented, inclusive, and collaborative culture.
• Help foster a culture of transparency, trust, and shared ownership across teams.

• Align fundraising priorities with organizational strategy, programmatic goals, and annual planning, partnering closely with department directors across the organization.
• Participate in cross-department leadership meetings and identify opportunities to strengthen collaboration, storytelling, planning, and resource alignment.
• Collaborate with program, finance, and communications teams to source stories, data, and impact information to support fundraising.

• Manage a portfolio of top donors and major gift prospects, cultivating and soliciting gifts.
• Oversee stewardship efforts to ensure a positive experience for every donor and strong donor retention.
• Oversee the development of donor-facing materials and, when needed, create them directly (e.g., pitch decks, invitations, organizational overviews, and reports).
• Oversee and deepen the Board’s engagement in fundraising strategy and donor development, identifying opportunities for and supporting Board members with cultivating and stewarding donors and making strategic introductions and asks.

• Oversee major fundraising campaigns, appeals, donor education strategies, and donor events in partnership with the development team, supporting strategy and concept development, cross-departmental resourcing, and project management oversight.
• Provide oversight for donor communications and storytelling.

• Oversee department infrastructure (CRM, Asana, budget, prospect management tools) to ensure strong development operations, data tracking, reporting, and CRM hygiene.
• Provide oversight and accountability for forecasting, tracking and reporting progress towards revenue goals and other key success metrics (e.g. donor engagement, pipeline development, event and appeal ROI)

• 8+ years of progressive fundraising and development experience, including experience leading and/or managing a comprehensive development program and team, and overseeing an annual operating budget of at least $3m.
• Significant experience in a leadership position that included managing, coaching, and developing a high-performing development team.
• Experience managing across multiple revenue streams, with the ability to think strategically about how major…