Director of Development

Position summary

The Director of Development leads Tennis Outreach Programs’ (TOPs) fundraising strategy and execution, with primary responsibility for building a high-performing major gifts program and driving disciplined implementation of a $10M capital campaign. This role partners closely with Marymoor Project Team Manager, TOPs Board of Directors, campaign leadership, campaign counsel to secure leadership gifts, strengthen annual giving and stewardship, professionalize development operations (CRM, reporting, and processes), and expand institutional funding to support long-term sustainability.

Reporting relationships & key partners

• Reports to: Director of Operations

• Direct reports: Fundraising & Events Manager

• Key internal partners: Program leadership, Founder, finance/operations

• Key external partners: Board of Directors, campaign leadership marketing/communications contractor, campaign counsel, donors/prospects, foundations, corporate and public funders

Key Responsibilities

1. Lead the $10M capital campaign strategy and execution

• Manage the campaign plan across phases (quiet phase → leadership gifts → major gifts → community phase), benchmarks, and the prospect-by-prospect work plan.

• Within the current plan and strategy, manage the campaign “engine”: moves management, solicitation tracking, proposal pipeline, gift documentation, and weekly/monthly accountability.

• Partner closely with Director of Operations, Project Manager, campaign chair, campaign committee, and campaign counsel to drive early leadership and major gifts and maintain momentum.

2. Build and run a high-performing major gifts program

• Create and manage a qualified portfolio of 50-75 major donor and institutional funder prospects, with clear visit/ask goals.

• Design cultivation/solicitation strategies for top tier donor prospects and re-engagement plans for high-capacity lapsed/low-connection prospects.

• Coach and equip board and volunteer leaders to make introductions, join visits, and solicit – and turning “willingness” into defined roles and follow-through.

3. Upgrade annual fundraising performance through conversion, retention, segmentation, and year-round solicitation

• Implement a donor retention strategy: new donor welcome journey (first 90 days), lapsed donor reactivation, and quarterly stewardship touchpoints.

• Oversee a multi-appeal annual calendar (not “one ask at year end”) that leverages moments without collapsing them into one combined ask.

• Create segmented messaging and upgrade pathways (e.g., systematically move $500 donors toward $1-5K giving).

4. Professionalize development operations (CRM, reporting, SOPs) to enable scalable growth

• Fix and standardize DonorPerfect usage: coding, data entry rules, activity tracking, pipeline stages, and reporting cadence.

• Produce a monthly development dashboard for leadership/board: retention, upgrades, pipeline movement, asks pending, grants pipeline status, and progress vs. campaign benchmarks.

• Document and maintain standard operation procedures for gift processing, acknowledgements, moves management, reporting, and stewardship so execution is consistent and survivable.

5. Build institutional and public funding capacity aligned to campaign and sustainability

In consultation with institutional funding counsel:

• Manage a robust grants pipeline (the report cites 60+ opportunities) across capital, program, and general operating support.

• Coordinate grant readiness: timelines, cultivation, decision cycles, and alignment with project plans.

• Ensure proposals are backed by clearer impact data (see next responsibility).

6. Strengthen the case for support, messaging clarity, and donor-facing communication

• Finalize and continuously improve the campaign case for support – centered on capacity expansion + youth impact, and clearly distinguishing TOPs vs. ETC, and philanthropy vs. program fees.

• Build audience-specific narratives (broad community vs. mid-level vs. major/corporate).

7. Enhance and strengthen donor communications content to include clearer calls to action, donor experience, and stronger donor focused website content. Lead impact measurement/storytelling needed to unlock major gifts and grants

• Partner with program leadership to define a small set of credible youth outcome metrics (academic/social-emotional/physical & mental health), then integrate them into:

• Annual impact report

• Campaign materials and proposals

• Donor reporting during the campaign

• Stewardship content that improves retention and upgrades

8. Staff/volunteer campaign leadership development and accountability

• In partnership with Marymoor Project Manager and Campaign Counsel, coordinate the campaign leadership workflows: campaign cabinet/committee, ambassador roles, corporate connectors, other campaign volunteers.

• Support the board in achieving campaign-specific expectations (personally meaningful gift + specific prospect introduction/visit/solicitation commitments).

• Support volunteers with scripts, briefing materials, and a clear cadence for assignments and follow-up.

Job Requirements

Required qualifications

• Demonstrated success leading major gifts fundraising, including donor discovery, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.

• Experience planning and executing complex fundraising initiatives (e.g., a multi-year campaign or comparable large-scale initiative) with strong project management and follow-through.

• Ability to partner effectively with senior leadership and board/volunteer leaders to set clear expectations, prepare for donor interactions, and drive accountability.

• Demonstrated experience managing and developing a small team of direct reports, including setting clear expectations, providing coaching and feedback, supporting professional growth, and holding team members accountable for results.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to translate program impact into donor-facing narratives and proposals.

• Data and systems fluency: ability to maintain a clean CRM, run reports/dashboards, and use moves-management discipline to guide decisions.

• Commitment to the organization’s mission and values, with cultural competence and the ability to build trusting relationships across communities.

Preferred qualifications

• Prior experience on a successful $5M+ capital campaign, including committee/cabinet support and donor strategy.

• Experience strengthening annual giving systems (segmentation, retention, upgrade pathways, multi-appeal calendars).

• Grant writing and institutional fundraising experience across private foundations, corporate giving, and public funding.

• Experience with DonorPerfect (or comparable nonprofit CRMs) and building SOPs for gift processing, acknowledgements, reporting, and stewardship.

Examples of Success in the first 6–12 months 

• Campaign plan is operationalized with clear phases, benchmarks, and a prospect work plan; campaign committee cadence is established and functioning.

• A qualified major gifts portfolio is built and actively managed with documented strategies, consistent donor visits, and clear next actions.

• A monthly development dashboard is implemented & used for leadership/board decision-making (pipeline movement, retention, grants, progress to goal).

• DonorPerfect data standards are implemented; SOPs for gift processing, acknowledgements, and activity tracking are documented and followed.

• Annual fundraising calendar and donor retention plan are implemented (welcome journey, lapsed reactivation, stewardship touchpoints).

• Oversee the successful cultivation and management of the institutional grants pipeline, serving as the organization's primary representative with current and prospective funders.