Director of Development

OVERVIEW

Start Date: January 4, 2027

Weekly Hours: 40 hours per week

Reports to : Executive Director

Salary: $85,000 - $90,000

Direct Reports:

• Creative Partnerships Lead
• Grantwriters (contractors)
• Volunteers (for events and crowdfunding campaign)

Location: Hybrid based in Bellevue, WA. In-office: M, W, Th

Mission: ZGiRLS equips girls with the tools and perspective they need to be confident, centered and courageous.

Vision: ZGiRLS creates a world where all girls and women live with ZERO self-limitations.

Summary: For the past 12 years, ZGiRLS has helped thousands of girls build the confidence, self-worth, resilience, and mental skills they need to trust themselves and KNOW their value. Now, we’re entering a really exciting stage of growth.

We’ve built new programs that allow us to reach girls in communities across the country, and we’re looking for a Director of Development who is excited to help fuel what comes next.

Our goal is to grow from $1.2M in annual revenue to over $3M+ in the next 12–24 months, while building the relationships, systems, and team that can support a much larger organization over time.

You’ll have a lot of ownership here. You’ll lead ZGiRLS’ fundraising strategy across individual giving, major gifts, monthly giving, corporate partnerships, grants and foundations, and fundraising campaigns and events. You’ll set the fundraising direction, grow the donor base, strengthen our systems, and help shape the development team ZGiRLS needs for its next chapter.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Donor Strategy + Relationships

• Build and lead a thoughtful moves-management strategy that helps donors deepen their relationship with ZGiRLS over time
• Grow our community, monthly, mid-level, and major-giving programs
• Identify donors with potential for deeper engagement and create meaningful cultivation and stewardship plans
• Partner with the Executive Director on major donor strategy, meetings, asks, and follow-up
• Build relationships of your own and confidently make asks at every giving level
• Create a donor stewardship rhythm that helps people feel known, valued, and connected to their impact
• Use our CRM, prospecting tools, and donor data to identify and prioritize opportunities

Revenue Strategy

We want someone who can honor the relationships and fundraising strategies that got ZGiRLS here while also helping us think bigger about what’s possible next. You’ll lead a diversified fundraising strategy across:

• Individual and major giving
• Monthly giving
• Corporate sponsorships and partnerships
• Grants and foundations
• Fundraising campaigns and events

Grants + Corporate Partnerships

• Build and maintain strong relationships with foundations and funders
• Own the grant strategy and pipeline, with support from contract grant writers
• Lead corporate partnership strategy and manage our Creative Partnerships Lead in executing it
• Identify new mission-aligned funding and partnership opportunities

Fundraising Campaigns + Storytelling

Fundraising at ZGiRLS is deeply rooted in storytelling and connection. You’ll own the strategy and direction for our fundraising campaigns, including:

• Setting the goals, timeline, messaging, and strategy for each campaign
• Building an annual campaign calendar across year-end giving, crowdfunding, events, and donor stewardship
• Managing donor communications, including appeals, impact updates, and stewardship touchpoints
• Shaping stories, copy, and creative that help donors understand what we do and why it matters
• Tracking results and using what we learn to strengthen future campaigns

Annual Event

Our annual event is no longer a traditional gala. We’re intentionally building something more accessible, community-focused, experiential, and rooted in who ZGiRLS is today. You’ll lead the event from concept to follow-up, including:

• Fundraising strategy and revenue goals
• Guest experience
• Sponsorships and pledge commitments
• Venue, vendors, run-of-show, materials, and timeline
• Invitations and donor communications
• Volunteer coordination
• Post-event stewardship and follow-up
• Activate the Executive Director and Board as hosts, askers, and connectors

Crowdfunding Campaign

You’ll lead our annual crowdfunding campaign and the community of people fundraising alongside us. That includes:

• Recruiting and onboarding fundraising champions
• Building the campaign framework, toolkit, messaging, and materials
• Coaching fundraisers throughout the campaign
• Creating an energizing, collaborative team experience
• Helping bring our broader community into the campaign
• Tracking progress and celebrating wins along the way

Board Partnership

• Partner closely with the Board Development Committee Chair
• Give board members clear, meaningful ways to participate in fundraising
• Provide useful reporting on goals, pipeline, and progress
• Help activate the relationships and networks within our board

Team Leadership & Growth

Initially, this role will manage our Creative Partnerships Lead, contract grant writers, and fundraising/event volunteers. As ZGiRLS grows, you’ll also help shape the development team we need for the next stage, including identifying where we need more capacity and helping build that team over time.

What Success Looks Like

Ultimately, fundraising growth means tens of thousands of girls get access to tools they need to believe in and trust themselves for the rest of their lives. Over the first 12–24 months, we want to see:

• Strong progress toward $3M+ in annual revenue
• Growth across multiple fundraising channels
• A healthy and growing pipeline of individual and major donors
• A clear moves-management and stewardship system
• Strong relationships with donors, foundations, and corporate partners
• An engaged Board Development Committee
• A development function with the systems and team needed to scale
• A successful annual event and crowdfunding campaign that meet their goals and grow over time

Who We're Looking For

You’ve led fundraising strategy and campaigns within a growing nonprofit and understand what it takes to help an organization move into its next stage. You like connecting people to a mission, building relationships, telling great stories, and helping people understand how their generosity can make a real difference.

You’re someone who:

• Brings optimism, energy, and an entrepreneurial mindset
• Is an exceptional writer and storyteller
• Builds authentic relationships easily
• Is comfortable talking about money and making meaningful asks
• Can think strategically while also moving work forward
• Understands donor cultivation, stewardship, and moves management
• Has experience working across multiple fundraising channels
• Enjoys building systems, teams, and processes
• Is a thoughtful, collaborative manager
• Thrives working closely with a small, ambitious team
• Believes deeply in what is possible for girls and for ZGiRLS

Experience in sales, marketing, or sports is a plus.

Most importantly, we want someone who looks at where ZGiRLS is going and thinks, I want to help build that.

Our Values

• STRENGTH - We cultivate inner strength by embracing personal growth and embodying the ZGiRLS Curriculum™. We are willing to tackle uncomfortable conversations, rumble on tough decisions, and talk about our emotions.
• SPORTS - We celebrate athleticism in all its forms. We believe that sports are for everyone and we appreciate our bodies for what they do.
• ENERGY - We live with an optimistic, resilient mindset and are aware of how our emotions impact our energy. Our attitudes are inspiring and genuine.
• BELONGING - We create space for diverse perspectives and experiences, actively celebrating each other's unique strengths and differences.
• CHALLENGES - We view challenges as opportunities for growth and maintain our composure through setbacks. We choose courage over comfort by facing challenges instead of avoiding them.
• TEAM - We communicate our needs and capabilities without judgment. We take ownership of our work responsibilities and understand how our actions affect the team.

About ZGiRLS

ZGiRLS is a nonprofit organization helping middle school girls build confidence, self-worth, resilience, and the mental skills they need to trust themselves and KNOW their value. Through our programs, girls learn how to navigate challenges, advocate for themselves, do things scared, recover from setbacks, and recognize the strength that is already inside them. Our vision is simple and ambitious: a world where girls and women live with ZERO self-limitations.