Director of Development

Organization Summary: Prep for Prep is a premier educational and leadership development program that develops ethical and effective leaders who reflect our society. Prep is approaching its 50th anniversary and setting a bold vision for its future. Prep identifies New York City’s most promising students, prepares them to excel at the nation’s top independent schools, and supports their academic, professional, and personal growth through middle school, high school, college graduation, and beyond.

Learn more at prepforprep.org.

Position Summary: The Director of Development is a member of the organization's Leadership Team and a senior member of the Advancement team. The Advancement team provides services across the entire Prep for Prep organization — supporting staff, amplifying the organization’s brand, and stewarding and strengthening its external relationships. Along with the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Advancement Officer, the Director of Development will craft the strategy and lead efforts to secure philanthropic resources to fuel Prep for Prep’s mission. The role will also prioritize supporting the CEO in engaging a dynamic board to support the organization’s sustainability.

Reporting to the Chief Advancement Officer, the Director oversees a team of five responsible for prospecting, stewarding, and securing financial donors. The Director also collaborates with the Advancement team to engage and leverage the organization’s alumni and partnerships to meet various organizational needs. The Development team also handles development operations, events, administration, and revenue data management across the organization.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Planning & Leadership

• Partner with the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Advancement Officer to develop a comprehensive annual fundraising plan aligned with the organization’s priorities.
• Collaborate with the Chief Executive Officer to establish annual fundraising goals, budgets, and performance metrics.
• Lead, mentor, and develop a development team to perform at a high level.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and results.
• Oversee and strengthen institutional, individual, and event-based fundraising streams to support annual and long-term revenue goals.
• Monitor fundraising performance and pipeline activity, using data and reporting to inform strategy and decision-making.
• Oversee annual giving campaigns.
• Oversee fundraising events, including but not limited to our annual gala, which accounts for a significant portion of annual revenue.
  • Directly manage vendor relationships
  • Develop and oversee additional fundraising events

Donor Cultivation & Stewardship

• Cultivate, solicit, and steward donors capable of making major and leadership-level gifts.
• Develop individualized donor engagement strategies and solicitation plans
• Lead the full donor lifecycle, including identification, cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, and renewal strategies.
• Assure current grant compliance.
• Prepare and oversee a team that prepares proposals, grant agreements, impact reports, and donor communications.
• Ensure exceptional stewardship practices that foster long-term donor relationships and increased giving.
• Support the Prep for Prep Board of Trustees in fundraising and relationship-building efforts.
• Oversee the management of the Prep for Prep Associates Council in fundraising and relationship-building efforts.
• Develop relationships with corporate sponsors and foundation representatives.

Development Operations

• Ensure accurate donor records and prospect management within the CRM database.
• Streamline and strengthen internal systems for gift processing, acknowledgments, reporting, and donor stewardship to ensure an exceptional donor experience.
• Collaborate with Finance and Advancement Operations to support revenue tracking, projections, and reconciliation processes.
• Foster collaboration across advancement teams: development, alumni affairs, professional advancement, and communications.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred.
• 7+ years of fundraising experience, with a demonstrable track record of closing major gifts, and at least 3 years of experience managing a team.
• Proven ability to develop and execute a comprehensive fundraising strategy that achieves ambitious revenue goals.
• Exceptional interpersonal and written communication skills, with the ability to inspire and engage diverse audiences.
• Relentless follow-through: a reputation for making outreach, following up persistently, and never letting a promising lead go cold.
• Experience with Salesforce or comparable CRM for donor tracking, pipeline management, and reporting.

Preferred

• Experience fundraising for educational equity, youth development, or leadership development organizations.
• Familiarity with the New York City philanthropic community, including independent school and alumni networks.
• Established relationships with foundations and individual philanthropists in New York City and/or nationally.
• Experience working with volunteer leadership and engaging board members in fundraising.
• Knowledge of planned giving and endowment fundraising.

Core Competencies

• Tenacity and resilience: does not give up when doors are slow to open
• Relationship-building: warm, authentic, and skilled at cultivating trust over time
• Strategic thinking paired with hands-on execution
• Strong organizational skills and meticulous attention to deadlines and follow-through
• Mission-aligned, equity-centered leadership
• Comfort with data and metrics-driven fundraising

Working Conditions

This is a hybrid position, with three days in the office and two days remote. However, depending on the department’s needs, this role may be required to work in-person more than three days per week. Evening or weekend work may be required around donor events, cultivation activities, and major organizational events.

All employees of the organization should see their roles as: one, contributing to achieving this goal in the highest possible quality, and two, working in conjunction with all other members of the staff. In light of this, the tasks listed above serve as a general framework for this position's responsibilities. Flexibility and continued quality improvement are necessary for this institution and require individuals not to perceive any job description as fixed.

Compensation: $200K

To apply, interested candidates should send their resume and cover letter, with the subject line “Director of Development,” to View email address on click.appcast.io and View email address on click.appcast.io.