Director of Development

Overview

Mass Humanities is a private nonprofit foundation that creates opportunities for the people of Massachusetts to transform their lives and build a more equitable commonwealth. Based in Holyoke, we provide funding, partnerships, and support for organizations serving their neighbors through local programs. Our network includes museums, filmmakers, libraries, and community organizers, and we are committed to uplifting storytellers and public spaces dedicated to the common good.

Since 1974, Mass Humanities has served as one of 56 state and territorial affiliates of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Following the termination of federal funding in 2025, we are redefining how the humanities can benefit more people in Massachusetts. Our key initiatives include the Smithsonian Museum on Main Street partnership, the Expand Massachusetts Stories grantmaking initiative, the Reading Frederick Douglass Together program, and the Clemente Course in the Humanities.

Since 2020, we have delivered $10 million in grants to Massachusetts nonprofits.

The Director of Development will play a defining role in this evolution. This is a rare opportunity to raise transformational support for a vital organization pivoting toward a bold future, with growing partnerships in public media and government, a statewide network of grantees, and a reputation for amplifying underrepresented voices.

The Director of Development is a relationship-centered fundraiser who will help shape the next chapter of Mass Humanities by building and strengthening our base of individual supporters. Reporting directly to the Executive Director, you will cultivate, steward, and grow relationships with donors who believe in the power of storytelling to connect us to our past and to each other through the humanities.

We seek a hard-working, creative, and responsive individual fluent in fundraising and driven to increase resources for the arts and humanities.

This role focuses on identifying and securing mid-level major gifts ($5,000–$50,000), stewarding current supporters and board members, and cultivating new donors through engagement with our leadership and programs across the commonwealth. You will act as a statewide ambassador for Mass Humanities, attending events, making visits, and communicating regularly to connect individuals to the ways the humanities can thrive in Massachusetts.

A thought partner for the Executive Director, the Director of Development supervises a Development Manager (database management, mailings, event production, and board meeting coordination) and a contract grant-writer (identifying, writing, submitting proposals and reporting for corporate and foundation support). The Director of Development is part of the management team alongside the Director of Finance and Administration and the Director of Grants and Programs.

Your typical work week might include attending a Reading Frederick Douglass Together event with a donor and following up on their experiences; crafting an appeal letter; proposing and scheduling meetings between the Executive Director and a prospect; reviewing recent gifts to ensure prompt, thoughtful acknowledgement; cross-checking databases with the Finance Department; leading a board fundraising committee; collaborating with colleagues on a quarterly calendar of events and a suite of original content aimed at attracting audiences, highlighting the power of the humanities, and providing development opportunities.

This is a unique opportunity for an ambitious fundraiser who wants to be part of building something new
: a public humanities infrastructure equipped for the challenges—and possibilities—of this moment.

Donor Cultivation & Stewardship (50%)

• Build and manage a portfolio of donors and prospects with mid-level major gift potential
• Cultivate meaningful relationships that apply storytelling, listening, and shared vision to connect with individual supporters
• Develop personalized cultivation strategies in partnership with the ED that engage donors with Mass Humanities programs and events in their regions
• Steward current donors with compelling messaging that…