Vice President of Development

FGA

3d•$175,000 - $240,000•Remote

About The Position

The Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) is hiring a Vice President of Development to lead our fundraising team and grow the donor partnerships that fuel our work. In this role, you’ll get the opportunity to work side by side with Tarren Bragdon—FGA’s CEO and a pioneer of the 7-Figure Fundraising model with his brother Trevor—to execute the next chapter of FGA’s fundraising growth. FGA has grown rapidly over its 15-year history and now ranks among the top five percent of non-profits in the US by revenue, but it has a major opportunity for continued growth in the next few years. This is a new role, with a two-part focus: 1) Partner with Tarren to expand our fundraising capacity for the next chapter of FGA’s growth, and 2) Help plan and execute FGA’s vision as part of the Leadership Team. Tarren currently drives our major donor partnerships, supported by a small, talented team that finds new prospects and cultivates foundation partners. Individuals provide 70 percent of FGA’s funding, so we created this role to make you Tarren’s partner in driving the fundraising strategy, deepening current donor relationships, and building new ones. You will also join FGA’s Leadership Team: the CEO, the COO, and the other three department leads. That team sets strategy and vision for the whole organization, so you will help shape FGA, not just Development. You will thrive here if you are a leader with deep experience creating and executing strategy, developing talent, and building strong peer relationships through good times and bad. Two things set this development role apart from many other fundraising jobs: You get to sell a big vision, and you get to report on real outcomes to donors. FGA doesn’t fundraise around lots of small projects, we describe a big vision to prospective donors that they buy into. And we deliver the results—our scorecard is winning, not whining, and we’ve won a lot. Thousands of laws have been changed thanks to our work, and you’ll get to share those wins with our donors. This is a full-time, remote role. You’ll travel frequently, especially to Florida, and across the country for donor meetings, conferences, and partner events.

Requirements

Seven or more years of experience in major gifts fundraising, relationship-driven sales, or business development, with a track record of closing major gifts.
Willingness to have tough conversations in order to solve issues and build trust.
Awareness of your strengths and weaknesses, and seeking out complementary skills and growth to mitigate weaknesses.
Agreement that embracing the realities of politics is necessary to change public policy.
Comfort creating your own structure for work, such as setting work hours, your own priorities, and creating clarity and a work plan from a broad goal.
Full support of FGA’s mission and belief that lives are improved through work, not welfare, and that free markets create more freedom and opportunity than government control.
Ability to build genuine, long-term relationships and have natural instincts for relationship-oriented sales.
Ability to earn trust by listening, understanding others’ perspectives and motivations, and turning connections into lasting partnerships.
Ability to read the room and navigate big personalities with ease.
Ability to execute relentlessly, be tenacious, persistent, and organized.
Ability to break a strategic plan into concrete steps needed to win, then work those steps until the job is done.
Ability to rally the team behind the plan but also lead by example.
Ability to turn a high-level vision, opportunity, or strategic instruction into a clear, actionable plan.
Ability to stay disciplined about stepping back from day-to-day work to spot opportunities and obstacles before they arrive.
Ability to delegate to, equip, and build up others, and enjoy seeing them succeed.
Ability to navigate uncertainty and risk comfortably, mitigating them but moving forward despite them when necessary.

Nice To Haves

Experience working with Tarren Bragdon or Trevor Bragdon.
Experience with the 7-Figure Fundraising model.
Experience in a non-profit that ranks among the top five percent of US non-profits by revenue.
Experience in a new role with a two-part focus on expanding fundraising capacity and planning/executing organizational vision.
Experience partnering with a CEO on fundraising strategy, deepening current donor relationships, and building new ones.
Experience as part of a Leadership Team setting strategy and vision for an organization.
Experience selling a big vision to donors.
Experience reporting on real outcomes to donors.
Experience with Salesforce, Basecamp, and AI tools.

Responsibilities

Lead and Build the Development Team: Set clear expectations, give regular feedback, and conduct quarterly, annual, and salary reviews with every member of your team. Grow the team’s capacity by hiring staff and contractors who are the right fit, then build a job-specific onboarding and training plan for each new hire.
Execute FGA’s Fundraising Strategy: Work with the CEO to build long-term strategies for growing FGA’s high-dollar donor partnerships, starting with a customized communication plan and ask for every $50,000+ donor. Help every FGA team understand why donors value our work, and partner with them to produce the content that keeps donors informed and excited about their investment.
Open Doors with New Prospects: Lead the team’s outreach to prospective partners, especially individuals, by managing the prospect pipeline, attending donor events, and pursuing third-party connections. Serve as one of FGA’s primary ambassadors to donors and prospects, earning referrals from current donors and following up on every lead the CEO brings in.
Make the Critical Closes: Build a tailored strategy for each major donor and make first-time, renewal, and increase asks in person, by phone, and virtually. Develop FGA’s seasonal donor pitches with the CEO, and deliver your own personalized pitch to six-figure prospects.
Own Development Data and Protocols: Make sure you and your team use Salesforce, Basecamp, and AI tools consistently to manage donor strategies, moves management, and follow-ups. Deliver a quarterly analysis of donor and prospect engagement to the Leadership Team that sharpens FGA’s fundraising strategy.