Director of Philanthropy, Major Gifts

Room To Grow • New York, NY

8d • $100,000 - $110,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

About Room to Grow
At Room to Grow, we believe that strong starts in childhood lead to strong outcomes in life, and that parents and caregivers are best equipped to nurture their children’s growth and development when they have the support they need to thrive. We partner with families during the critical early years (ages 0-3) through our unique, strengths-based program, working alongside parents to offer consistent, personalized support and resources to meet their child’s needs and goals.
Room to Grow is a non-profit organization operating in New York and Boston with a team of 40+ passionate and dedicated team members. Check out our website to learn more about us!

Requirements

• Strong alignment with Room to Grow’s mission, vision, and values.
• Senior-level experience in advancement, development, or revenue roles, with a track record of driving fundraising strategy and results.
• Proven success as a frontline fundraiser, securing and stewarding gifts in the $5K - $100K+ range.
• Experience partnering with executive leaders and supporting Board in fundraising efforts.
• Demonstrated ability to navigate through complexity and drive accountability.
• Strong collaboration skills, including working with staff, board members, volunteers, and constituents in fundraising efforts.
• Deep understanding of advancement operations, including pipeline management, performance tracking, and CRM systems (Salesforce preferred).
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills with diverse stakeholders.
• Familiarity with NYC philanthropic market required.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, results-oriented environment with sound judgment and adaptability.
• Willingness to travel domestically (5–10%) and work occasional evenings/weekends as needed.

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with high net worth individuals' philanthropic vehicles - DAFs, family foundations, private foundations, LLCs, etc. a plus.
• Experience with ambassador, influencer, or celebrity engagement a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead Room to Grow’s major gift ($5K+) strategy and execution in partnership with CEO, currently valued at approximately $1M annually.
• Manage Room to Grow's organization-wide major gifts portfolio of 100 - 125 high-net-worth individuals and family foundations with the capacity to make gifts in the $5K–$100K+ range.
• Exclusively manage a subset of this portfolio, and partner closely with the CEO and Managing Director of Organizational Success (MD) on donor relationships, solicitation strategy, and high-level cultivation and stewardship for their portfolios.
• Own moves-management best practices (identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, stewardship).
• Design and execute personalized stewardship plans to ensure donors are informed of the impact of their philanthropy.
• Build and implement strategies to grow and diversify the individual donor pipeline across regional markets; identify and close funding opportunities that provide a minimum of $100K in new revenue over the first 12 - 18 months.
• Ensure a robust, continually replenished pipeline of major gift prospects across all markets (Boston, New York, and National).
• Serve as an advisor to the CEO on high net worth prospects and board recruitment and engagement, providing insights and recommendations to inform donor strategy.
• Serve as an advisor to the CEO, Board of Directors, and Leadership Councils in individual giving strategy, advancement strategy, and fundraising engagement.
• Support board-level fundraising and peer-to-peer outreach efforts, including leveraging board networks for pipeline development.
• Represent Room to Grow internally and externally with professionalism, passion, and a strong understanding of our mission, values, and impact.
• Raise Room to Grow’s profile and impact in NYC through thought leadership, networking, and strategic relationship-building.
• Serve as an external face, spokesperson, and advocate for Room to Grow in the NYC community, ensuring the organization’s story, message, program successes, and positions are well articulated to various stakeholders.
• Partner with the Senior Director, External Engagement and Finance to support revenue forecasting, goal setting, and performance tracking for major gifts.
• Carry personal annual revenue and activity goals (visits, solicitations, stewardship touches) and report progress transparently to the Senior Director, External Engagement.
• Collaborate with the Programs and Brand & Communications teams to build a library of donor-facing stewardship materials for the major gift discipline, including proposal templates and outreach materials.
• Collaborate with the Events & Donor Experiences team to ensure major gifts strategy is aligned with mid-level and general giving activities.
• Collaborate with cross-functional partners to align fundraising efforts toward shared revenue priorities; serve as a trusted sounding board across departments.

Benefits

• 8+ weeks of paid time off per year (holidays, vacation, sick time, personal/self-care time)
• Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance, Health FSA, Dependent Care FSA
• 403(b) retirement savings with matching program
• Wellness reimbursement up to $250 per year

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed