Senior Director of Development

Position Summary: The Senior Director of Development is a senior fundraising leader responsible for building, strengthening, and expanding philanthropic support for the organization. This role leads a donor-centered development strategy focused on deepening relationships with existing donors, reengaging lapsed donors, identifying and cultivating new donors, and increasing overall contributed revenue. The Senior Director will serve as a visible ambassador for the organization, partnering closely with executive leadership, the Ambassador group, board members, program leaders, and community partners to advance the mission and ensure long-term financial sustainability.

Reports To: Chief Executive Officer

• Develop and execute a comprehensive development strategy that supports annual fundraising goals, long-term revenue growth, donor retention, and donor acquisition.
• Manage and grow a personal portfolio of major donors, prospective donors, corporate partners, foundations, and other philanthropic stakeholders.
• Build trusted, long-term relationships with existing donors through consistent engagement, thoughtful stewardship, personalized communication, and meaningful opportunities for involvement.
• Identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward new donors by using prospect research, community engagement, board referrals, events, campaigns, and strategic partnerships.
• Segment donors by giving history, engagement level, interests, capacity, communication preferences, and connection to the mission to create targeted cultivation and stewardship plans.
• Reengage lapsed donors through intentional outreach, updated impact messaging, and individualized relationship-building strategies.
• Partner with Marketing to develop donor focused campaigns throughout the year.
• Lead all fundraising events in partnership with Marketing including two established events and adding to the event/fundraising portfolio.

• Lead annual giving, major gifts, planned giving, sponsorships, donor campaigns, and special fundraising initiatives designed to increase philanthropic revenue.
• Develop and lead monthly giving campaign commences in January 2027.
• Partner with executive leadership and program teams identify funding priorities and translate organizational needs into compelling donor opportunities.
• Prepare customized proposals, donor presentations, impact reports, appeals, and stewardship materials in collaboration with marketing and communications staff.
• Support campaign planning, including capital campaigns or special project campaigns, as assigned.
• Develop strategies to grow corporate, foundation, family, and individual giving while maintaining a balanced pipeline of current and prospective donors.
• Use data, donor analytics, and fundraising trends to evaluate performance, forecast revenue, and adjust strategies as needed.

• Serve as a senior representative of the organization with donors, volunteers, civic leaders, corporate partners, foundations, and community stakeholders.
• Partners with the CEO, executive leadership, and board members to support donor cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, and ambassador activities.
• Supervise, mentor, and develop development team members or related support staff, as applicable.
• Collaborate with marketing and communications to create integrated donor communication plans, campaign messaging, event materials, and impact storytelling.
• Work closely with finance and operations teams to ensure gift processing, restricted gift tracking, reporting, and donor acknowledgments are accurate and timely.
• Represent the organization at donor meetings, community events, fundraising events, tours, presentations, and networking opportunities.

• Maintain high standards for donor records, contact reports, pipeline tracking, gift documentation, and fundraising activity in the donor database or CRM.
• Establish and monitor key performance indicators related to donor retention, new donor acquisition, major gift pipeline growth, donor engagement, campaign performance, and revenue targets.
• Prepare regular development reports for executive leadership, board committees, and other stakeholders.
• Ensure fundraising practices are ethical, donor-centered, compliant with applicable laws and standards, and aligned with organizational policies.
• Protect donor confidentiality and handle sensitive information with professionalism and discretion.

• Bachelor’s degree and 5 years of non-profit experience.  Experience in the Intellectual and Developmental arena is ideal.
• Experience developing strategic partnerships, communication plans, fundraising/sales campaigns, sponsorship strategies, and stewardship programs.
• Strong relationship-building, presentation, written communication, and public speaking skills.
• Ability to work effectively with executive leaders, board members, volunteers, donors, staff, and community partners.
• Experience using donor databases, CRM systems, fundraising analytics, Microsoft Office, and campaign reporting tools.
• Excellent organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and follow through on commitments.
• High level of professionalism, confidentiality, ethical judgment, and mission alignment.

• Mission-centered mindset with a strong commitment to relationship-based fundraising.
• Strategic thinker who can translate mission, program outcomes, and organizational priorities into compelling philanthropic opportunities.
• Comfortable making direct asks and coaching others to participate in donor cultivation and solicitation.
• Data-informed leader who uses metrics and donor insights to improve fundraising performance.
• Collaborative partner who works across departments to align fundraising, communications, finance, and program priorities.
• Entrepreneurial approach to identifying new donors, partnerships, campaigns, and revenue opportunities.
• Strong emotional intelligence, sound judgment, resilience, and professionalism in donor and stakeholder relationships.

• Increased donor retention and improved engagement among current donors.
• Growth in new donor acquisition and conversion of prospects into active donors.
• Expansion of major gift, corporate, foundation, and planned giving pipelines.
• Achievement of annual fundraising goals and campaign revenue targets.
• Timely, personalized, and accurate donor acknowledgments, stewardship, and impact reporting.
• Stronger board, executive, and volunteer participation in donor cultivation and fundraising activities.
• Improved use of donor data, segmentation, and reporting to guide fundraising decisions.
• Innovate approach to development for the organization including new events, the Ambassador program, new programs and new marketing focused on existing and new donors.

• Attend evening or weekend events, donor meetings, community engagements, and board-related activities as needed.
• Travel locally or regionally for donor cultivation, community engagement, and partnership development, as appropriate.
• Maintain a professional presence and serve as a positive ambassador for the organization’s mission, values, and impact.
• Perform other duties as assigned to support the organization’s development and strategic priorities.

Other Job Details:

• Day Hours: Monday- Friday  8am- 4:30pm
• Starting Salary: $80,000

Lakemary provides competitive compensation and benefit package including medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans; paid time off; and a 401(k)-retirement plan

Certifications:

Lakemary provides training in program specific coursework.

Special Considerations:

Some environments/shifts require same sex staff due to regulatory requirements.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status. EEO

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Statement:

For the last 50 years we have been working to create workplaces that reflect the communities we serve and a place where everyone feels empowered to bring their full, authentic selves to work. We embrace this from our mission.