Development Director

City Year•New Orleans, LA

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

At City Year, we believe in the power of young people to transform schools and communities through service. The Development Director (DD) leads fundraising and external engagement efforts for City Year New Orleans and plays a key role in sustaining and growing support for our work in schools and communities. Reporting directly to the Executive Director, the Development Director is responsible for developing and executing fundraising strategies across corporate, foundation, government, and individual giving streams. This role manages a multi-faceted annual fundraising portfolio that supports several hundred thousand dollars in private and public revenue annually. City Year New Orleans is a small, collaborative site, and this role is currently the only site-based development position. Because of that, this role combines strategic fundraising leadership with hands-on execution and day-to-day development operations. The DD works closely with the Executive Director, Board members, national development colleagues, contracted grant-writing support, and staff across the organization to advance fundraising goals and strengthen community relationships. This role is ideal for someone who enjoys balancing relationship-building, project management, strategy, and hands-on execution in a fast-paced nonprofit environment. The strongest candidates will be highly organized, self-directed, entrepreneurial, and excited to help strengthen opportunities and outcomes for young people in New Orleans.

Requirements

5+ years of experience in fundraising, development, nonprofit partnerships, communications, external affairs, or related work
Demonstrated success building and stewarding donor or partner relationships
Strong organizational and project management skills
Strong writing, communication, and storytelling skills
High proficiency with Microsoft suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
Ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment
Experience working collaboratively across teams and with external stakeholders
Comfort with donor databases, reporting systems, and development operations
Comfort navigating change and adapting strategy in a dynamic nonprofit environment
A proactive, solutions-oriented mindset
Passion for youth development, community partnership, and helping students and schools thrive

Nice To Haves

Experience with grant writing, donor stewardship, fundraising events, CRM systems, or nonprofit communications is strongly preferred

Responsibilities

Develop and execute an annual fundraising strategy aligned to site goals and priorities
Manage and grow a portfolio of corporate, foundation, government, and individual donors
Identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward current and prospective supporters
Partner closely with the Executive Director and Board members on donor strategy, outreach, and relationship management
Build and maintain a strong fundraising pipeline and track progress toward revenue goals
Coordinate donor meetings, school visits, stewardship efforts, and community engagement opportunities
Collaborate with City Year national and regional colleagues to maximize funding opportunities and leverage shared resources
Coordinate grant submissions and reporting in partnership with national grant support staff and contracted grant-writing support
Manage multiple concurrent fundraising projects, deadlines, reports, and donor communications throughout the fiscal year
Support planning and execution of fundraising and donor engagement events
Partner with staff and national communications resources to support donor messaging, newsletters, impact storytelling, and external communications
Help strengthen City Year New Orleans’ visibility and community partnerships
Serve as project manager and lead point on all cultivation and fundraising events (approx. 2-3 per year)
Lead all development related social media campaigns (primarily Instagram/ LinkedIn)
Maintain accurate donor records, pipeline tracking, reporting, and engagement activity within City Year’s CRM systems (Salesforce)
Coordinate gift processing, acknowledgements, stewardship communications, and donor follow-up
Prepare donor reports, pipeline updates, board materials, and fundraising progress updates
Support annual development planning, forecasting, and pipeline reviews
Identify opportunities to improve systems, workflows, and organizational efficiency
Partner with the Executive Director and Board leadership to support board fundraising engagement and Development Committee goals
Support preparation for quarterly board meetings and ongoing board communication related to fundraising progress and priorities
Collaborate with program and operations staff to gather stories, photos, data, and updates that support fundraising and communications efforts
Serve as a member of the site leadership team and contribute to broader organizational planning and priorities