Vice President of Development

Overview

The Vice President of Development is a member of the South Shore YMCA’s leadership team and serves as the Association’s strategic leader for all philanthropic, mission advancement, and external engagement efforts. This role leads a comprehensive advancement program—including annual giving, major and planned gifts, capital campaigns, endowment, grants, and signature fundraising events—to drive sustainable revenue growth and deepen community impact.

Working closely with the President & CEO, Board of Directors, Association leadership, and Development staff, the VP of Development creates and executes short- and long-term strategies that align fundraising priorities with the Association’s strategic plan and evolving community needs. The VP of Development strengthens donor relationships, expands philanthropic partnerships, fosters a culture of philanthropy across the Association, and ensures high-quality stewardship, systems, and communications that reflect the YMCA’s mission and values.

The South Shore YMCA is one of the strongest fundraising YMCA’s in the country raising nearly $5M in annual donations for 2025. The South Shore YMCA also just completed a successful $12.5M Capital Campaign with intentions to launch another soon. Our next Vice President of Development will build on these successes.

Our mission and core values are brought to life by our culture. At the South Shore Y, we strive to live our cause of strengthening communities with purpose and intentionality every day. We are welcoming: we are open to all. We are a place where you can belong and make a difference. We are genuine: we value you and embrace your individuality.

We are hopeful: we believe in you and your potential to become a catalyst in the world. We are nurturing: we support you in your journey to develop your full potential. We are determined: above all else, we are on a relentless quest to make our community stronger beginning with you.

Members / customers are the heart of our organization. They are the reason we exist. Members are the most important visitors we have, whether they visit by mail, phone, online, or in person. They are not statistics and always deserve our respect. Behind safety, no matter what we are hired to do, satisfying members’ needs and wants is everyone’s first and most important responsibility.

• Strategic Development Leadership
• Develop and implement an Association-wide Development and Mission Advancement plan aligned with the YMCA strategic plan.
• Establish annual fundraising goals, multi-year targets, timelines, and metrics for annual, capital, endowment, planned giving, and grants.
• Partner with senior leaders to align fundraising priorities with program and community needs and develop compelling cases for support.
• Major Gifts, Planned Giving & Endowment
• Lead a major gifts strategy, including identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of high-capacity donors.
• Manage a portfolio of major and transformational donors and support donor engagement by the President & CEO and Board.
• Grow planned giving and endowment strategies, including donor education and long-term legacy stewardship.
• Annual Campaign Leadership
• Oversee the Association’s Annual Campaign, ensuring branch and Association-wide participation, donor retention, and year-over-year growth.
• Strengthen donor pipelines and expand engagement through targeted outreach, stewardship, and giving programs.
• Ensure donors receive timely acknowledgments and clear reporting on impact.
• Capital Campaign Leadership
• Provide leadership for all capital campaign strategy, planning, execution, and stewardship.
• Ensure campaign structure, prospect strategy, communications, and volunteer engagement are positioned for success.
• Support leadership and accountability across campaign committees and implementation teams.
• Grants & Institutional Giving
• Direct and oversee all grant activities, including research, writing, submission, tracking, compliance, and reporting.
• Coordinate foundation, corporate, and government grant opportunities aligned with mission advancement priorities.
• Ensure accurate reporting…