Director of Development & Donor Experience
About The Position
Found Village is seeking a strategic, relationship-driven development leader to build and lead its next-generation development engine. This role will focus on establishing the infrastructure, systems, and donor experience necessary to support fundraising and scale the organization. The Director will be responsible for creating disciplined, data-informed, and scalable fundraising infrastructure, coordinating strategy, strengthening the donor journey, and building a sustainable revenue engine. Over time, the role will expand to include grants, financial reporting, and other fundraising activities. The initial focus will be on people leadership, systems, structure, supervision, team building, and cross-functional coordination, with team members managing individual donor portfolios. As the development function matures, the Director's scope will broaden.
Requirements
- 7-12+ years of experience in development, fundraising, or revenue leadership.
- Experience supporting capital campaigns or other major fundraising initiatives.
- Strong systems thinking and demonstrated ability to build and manage donor pipelines.
- High relational intelligence with strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
- Ability to move comfortably between strategic leadership and hands-on execution.
- Nonprofit fundraising or development experience, including building or improving a development function, team, or fundraising systems.
- Strong leadership, organizational, and operational skills, with the ability to cultivate donor relationships and create an effective donor experience.
- Comfort with grants and the expectation that grant responsibilities will eventually fall under the development team.
- A mission-driven approach and a clear personal connection to the organization’s purpose.
- Resilience and the ability to sustain effectiveness during demanding or busy periods.
- An organized, consistent, conscientious, and detail-attentive work style.
- A proactive communication style, with a willingness to ask for clarity and respectfully challenge ideas when needed.
- Ability to work effectively with a fast-moving, visionary leader.
- A thoughtful approach to career decisions and the ability to explain what they are moving toward professionally.
Responsibilities
- Develop and operationalize funding strategies aligned with Found Village’s strategic priorities.
- Build and manage a multi-year revenue engine across major gifts, mid-level donors, and recurring support.
- Design and maintain donor pipeline systems, prospect strategies, and campaign tracking infrastructure.
- Define donor segments and create intentional pathways for engagement.
- Design a high-quality donor experience across all touchpoints, including stewardship frameworks, communication flows, and engagement cadence.
- Lead CRM strategy, donor reporting, and pipeline visibility systems.
- Facilitate weekly revenue and prospect movement meetings and monitor conversion, pipeline health, and donor retention.
- Supervise Development Operations staff and help scale the development function over time.
- Partner closely with executive leadership on top-tier donor strategy while building a culture of disciplined execution, relational trust, and accountability.
- Build and lead the organization’s fundraising and development function, including dependable systems, structure, and database-entry capabilities.
- Strengthen donor, volunteer, and community partnership engagement through consistent donor-experience processes and related events.
- Hire, develop, and supervise two additional development team members, creating a team of approximately three people.
- Coordinate closely with marketing on donor communications and engagement.
- Support donor-facing communications and interactions without initially managing an individual donor portfolio; team members reporting to the Director will manage individual donor portfolios.
- Gradually assume responsibility for grants, financial reporting, and the broader development function currently managed by Katie.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
Education Level
No Education Listed
