Director of Development

Job Summary

United Parish in Brookline is a progressive Christian community recognized for its vibrant worship, deep ties to the community, and commitment to global justice. In recent years, United Parish has formed UPLIFT (United Parish Leading Into Future Transformation) - a congregation-wide process of discernment, strategic reflection, and planning to faithfully meet this moment. Through UPLIFT, the church is clarifying its mission priorities, assessing its organizational and financial systems, and building the leadership capacity and sustainable funding needed to support its growing impact in the wider community.

As part of this intentional next chapter, United Parish seeks its first Director of Development to lead and grow a comprehensive fundraising program rooted in faith, relationship-building, and shared vision. This newly created role reflects thoughtful financial and organizational planning and a clear commitment to aligning resources with mission. Working closely with clergy, staff, and volunteer leadership, the Director of Development will help cultivate a culture of generosity and expand United Parish’s base of support - engaging new donors and strengthening relationships both within the congregation and across the broader community.

United Parish has been called “the heartbeat of Brookline” and is known by many as the “church with the rainbow chairs,” referencing the Adirondack chairs on our lawn along Harvard Street. Through Thrifty Threads, an affordable thrift shop, the church promotes sustainability and economic accessibility, while hosting the Brookline Food Pantry ensures thousands of neighbors have reliable access to healthy food with dignity and care. The building itself functions as a true community hub, with 35 organizations regularly using the space and more than 1,000 people passing through in any given week for support services, arts, education, recovery groups, and civic life. Each year, United Parish also brings the wider community together by hosting a free community Thanksgiving Dinner, offering hospitality, connection, and belonging to all.

The Director of Development will be responsible for all aspects of fundraising, including annual giving, donor relations and stewardship, grant funding, major and planned giving, events and communications that support fundraising goals. Currently, United Parish generates approximately $600,000 in annual philanthropic support; our annual budget is $1.3M. The Director of Development will be responsible for significantly increasing the annual giving while also playing a lead role in creating a strategic vision to plan and implement an upcoming $6million+ comprehensive capital campaign. United Parish is well-positioned for this next phase of growth, having recently been awarded a $250,000 matching grant for restoration of its steeple from a competitive national funder, an $800,000 Community Preservation Act grant toward the steeple project, and funding from the Commonwealth Nonprofit Security Grant Program, all three recognizing the church’s community impact, historic stewardship, and bold vision for the future.

This position is ideal for a strategic, relational, and entrepreneurial fundraiser who understands giving as a spiritual practice and is excited to build systems, partnerships, and momentum in a progressive faith community.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a comprehensive, multi-year development plan that includes annual and planned giving with emphasis on new donor acquisition.
• Partner with the Senior Pastor and volunteer leadership to lead goal-setting for fundraising efforts aligned with United Parish’s mission and strategic priorities, integrating theological framing of generosity and stewardship.
• Lead planning and execution of fundraising campaigns, including an upcoming comprehensive campaign. Draft gift agreements and suggest gift recognition policies to the church leadership.
• Actively cultivate, solicit, and steward relationships with current and prospective individual and institutional donors.
• Develop compelling cases for support and fundraising narratives that connect donor generosity to the church’s ministry and impact.
• Establish metrics, evaluation frameworks, and reporting systems to track fundraising performance, donor engagement, and progress toward goals.
• Design and implement a donor stewardship framework that celebrates generosity and demonstrates impact.
• Represent United Parish in the neighborhood and broader community to deepen existing relationships, cultivate new partnerships and expand philanthropic support.
• Research institutional funding opportunities and lead grant proposal development from concept through submission, including budgets, outcomes, and reporting.
• Develop and execute a communications strategy that advances fundraising goals, grounded in authentic storytelling to highlight ministry impact and community life. Create donor-facing communications such as impact reports, newsletters, case statements, appeals, and multimedia content.
• Collaborate with staff and Communications Ministry Team to ensure consistent messaging that reflects United Parish’s values and resonates with diverse audiences.
• Build and manage efficient development systems, processes, and infrastructure to support sustainable growth, including overseeing donor database/CRM, gift processing, and data integrity.
• Train, support, and mobilize staff and lay leaders in development and stewardship efforts. Serve as primary staff liaison to the Stewardship Ministry Team; engage with other ministry teams as requested by the Senior Pastor.

Minimum Qualifications

• At least five years of fundraising experience, demonstrating a growth in strategic leadership and experience managing volunteers
• Bachelor’s degree
• Proven track record of increasing philanthropic revenue, including major gifts and institutional funding
• Demonstrated success designing and implementing fundraising strategies and campaigns
• Experience building development infrastructure, systems, and processes
• Proficiency with fundraising databases, CRM systems, and analytics tools
• Strong grant writing experience with documented success securing institutional support
• Experience working with or volunteering in a faith community; familiarity with progressive Christianity preferred but not required
• Comfort working with individuals of many backgrounds and lived experiences
• Ability and willingness to work a flexible schedule, including at least 2 evening meetings per month, occasional Sunday worship service, and some weekend and holiday community events including twice yearly All Parish Meetings.
• Ability to travel locally and occasionally long distance, including some overnight travel
• Proof of vaccination in accordance with United Parish policies
• Successful CORI clearance required as a condition of employment
• Fluency in written and spoken English

Essential Skills and Competencies

• Ability to connect philanthropy with spiritual practice and effectively communicate the meaning of giving in faith-based contexts
• Strategic and systems thinking with the ability to translate vision into actionable plans
• Entrepreneurial mindset and comfort building new programs and processes
• Robust project management skills with attention to detail and follow-through
• Team-building and volunteer engagement expertise
• Exceptional interpersonal and leadership skills
• Self-starter with the ability to work independently and collaboratively
• Strong communication skills with the ability to craft compelling written and verbal narratives
• Knowledge of fundraising ethics, best practices, and current trends in philanthropy