Director, Development & Donor Relations

Job Description

Job Description

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is seeking an energetic, mission-driven, highly organized candidate to fill the Full-Time position of Director of Development and Donor Relations.

The Director is responsible for developing and managing all aspects of fundraising to sustain and enhance NAEYC’s services and impact on behalf of its members and the early childhood profession. To achieve that, the Director will foster and maintain strategic partnerships, cultivate a diverse donor pipeline, and execute fundraising strategies and initiatives that include major gifts, grant solicitation, planned giving, fundraising campaigns and special events to increase revenues of at least $3 Million annually.

Reporting to the Chief Communications Officer, the Director will collaborate closely with Executive and Leadership Team members, as well as key volunteers including the Governing Board to best position NAEYC’s priorities to grow and expand philanthropic revenue from foundations, corporations, individuals, and other entities. The ideal candidate is goal-oriented and team-oriented, has experience closing five, six and seven-figure gifts and developing cultivation and stewardship strategies responsive to different donor type needs while aligning with the organization’s mission and values. The vision for this role is to strengthen the fundraising capacity of the organization, capitalizing on NAEYC’s centennial commemoration, and preparing NAEYC to take the next step in implementing a more sophisticated fundraising strategy.

The Director will be excited by working in a fast-paced environment, managing multiple priorities, and identifying innovative ways of increasing loyal contributions. The successful candidate will consider big-picture questions as well as analytic data as we build a deeper culture of philanthropy. This is a new position at NAEYC and as such will develop and document new processes, procedures, and best practices for the development team, staff, and volunteers.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Understand the strategic direction and vision of the organization to create and implement a comprehensive development plan that meets annual revenue goals and advances NAEYC’s long-term priorities
• Cultivate and steward existing and new relationships with foundations, corporations, and individual donors
• Establish a process to identify and oversee grant opportunities, including preparation of proposals and reports
• Direct the development of a sponsorship program that provides companies the opportunity to invest in NAEYC beyond exhibits and ads (managed elsewhere), and lead the sponsor pipeline development process, helping key NAEYC leaders conduct outreach
• Develop and oversee fundraising appeals to individuals on a cadence throughout the year that fits NAEYC’s audiences
• Develop and oversee a planned giving program, helping donors realize their charitable goals in support of NAEYC’s mission
• Plan and execute stewardship process that ensures all NAEYC donor types feel a strong connection to the organization and want to renew their grant, gifts, or sponsorships; this includes generating donor communications, newsletters, and impact reports
• Actively engage with staff, governing board and affiliate leadership to ensure an ongoing understanding of funding needs and to build capacity to meet those needs through philanthropic activities
• Collaborate with Communications and Marketing staff on designing and developing campaign related materials and generating clear and consistent communications to promote development efforts
• Monitor and analyze fundraising data to evaluate performance and adjust strategies as needed
• Work closely with staff across the organization in support of development initiatives - providing guidance, mentorship and support as needed
• Stay up to date on fundraising trends and the nonprofit community
• Other duties as required to advance the organization’s goals and objectives

Management

The Director of Development reports to the Chief Communications Officer and directly supervises the Grants and Development Specialist and external contractors.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in business management, public administration, marketing, communications, or related field required
• 7+ years fundraising, development, and grant writing experience
• Experience developing multi-year, multi-million funding grant proposals
• Proven track record of meeting fundraising goals and securing major gifts
• Knowledge of board governance and skill in cultivating volunteer engagement in fundraising efforts
• Experience with fundraising and donor/funding opportunity research for individual, corporate and foundation giving
• Proficiency with fundraising software such as Salesforce, as well as experience with donor databases and online fundraising platforms
• Experience working in non-profit organizations and with non-profit fundraising techniques
• Certified Fundraising Executive credential preferred
• Membership in fundraising professional associations preferred

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Demonstrated ability to influence and engage a wide range of people and to build long term relationships
• Proven ability to develop cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies that expand a donor base and increase revenue
• Prior leadership or supervisory experience, with the ability to provide direction, coordinate work, and partner collaboratively with colleagues across departments and levels of the organization
• Exhibits a "roll up their sleeves" mentality, with the ability to pivot easily between strategic and tactical
• Proven history and ability to deliver results and play a leading role as a change agent in scaling the organization’s grant and development programs
• Exceptional communication skills (both verbal and written), including presentation skills
• Demonstrated ability to manage multi-faceted projects and a capacity to perform well independently in a fluid, dynamic environment
• Strong analytical, strategic planning, time management, and organizational skills
• Excellent research skills
• English and a second language preferred
• Equity mindset
• Donor and service mentality

Hybrid

Indicates that this role is based in the DC Metro Region and is required to physically be on-site in the DC office at least one day a week due to the needs of the organization. Employees are expected to be in the office on Wednesdays unless otherwise determined by immediate supervisor and department leadership.

Required Travel

Indicates that this role will be expected to travel as required by business needs. This role has a travel requirement of 15%.

Compensation and Benefits

Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience. The salary range for this role is $130,000-$160,000 with a generous benefits package.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY - NAEYC is dedicated to providing equal opportunities to all individuals regardless of race, color, religion, ethnic or national origin, gender, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, family responsibilities, political affiliation, matriculation, genetic information, disability, or protected veterans status, or any other factor that is a prohibited consideration under applicable laws and regulations.