Director of Development

Overview

The Director of Development (DoD) at Ralston College is a pivotal leadership role focused on fundraising and donor engagement in alignment with our mission to revive and reinvent the traditional university. As a groundbreaking institution challenging the current norms of higher education, Ralston College is committed to an intensive exploration of the Humanities in a community that values friendship and freedom of thought.

Tasked with advancing a comprehensive fundraising roadmap aligned with the College's strategic plan, the DoD will devise and execute effective strategies, engage with individuals, foundations, and philanthropic partners, and collaborate closely with the President to implement cultivation and solicitation plans.

The Director of Development is responsible for a wide range of fundraising activities including but not limited to:

• In conjunction with the President and development team, formulating effective goals, objectives, strategies, activities, cultivation pipelines, and benchmarks for a comprehensive fundraising program aligned with the College’s strategic plan.
• Supervising Development team members, leading hiring and onboarding efforts, and cultivating a supportive, results-oriented team environment.
• Articulating a persuasive case for support to connect donors, new and existing, with the College's mission, vision, values, and strategic goals.
• Identifying, cultivating, stewarding, and soliciting individuals, foundations, and philanthropic partners.
• Scheduling and attending donor meetings for the President as appropriate.
• Drafting various communication materials, including proposals, letters, grant applications, appeals, reports, newsletters, event invitations, and more.
• Collaborating with the President and CFO to create budgets and financial narratives for new programs.
• Developing special events, including online conversations, dinners, workshops, podcasts, and travel programs to engage potential and current donors.
• Ensuring the accuracy and timeliness of the gift acknowledgment process and distribution of gifts receipts and appropriate expressions of gratitude.
• Managing, optimizing, and leveraging Salesforce to implement prospective identification, research, and engagement programs to ensure effective management of donor relationships and strategic outreach initiatives.
• Overseeing and contributing to the writing of quarterly and annual reports.
• Overseeing audience building and data integrity projects and conducting weekly and monthly QA audit reports.
• Monitoring, tracking, and reporting on fundraising progress while establishing useful metrics for analysis.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by the incumbent; they do not purport to describe all functions. The incumbent may be assigned other duties, and the essential functions may change from time to time as necessary.

• A Bachelor’s degree is required, a Master’s degree preferred.
• Minimum 5 years of broad development experience with a proven track record in securing six-and seven-figure gifts from individuals, foundations, and other partners.
• Experience in building and growing pipelines of cultivation at all levels of giving.
• Determined professional with significant experience in building successful relationships and achieving established fundraising goals.
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills, specifically in fundraising, including proposals, solicitations, case statements, digital campaigns, and gift acknowledgment letters.
• Strong organizational and administrative skills, with a demonstrated ability to establish effective systems fostering collaboration and improving efficiency.
• Effective interpersonal skills, keen attention to detail, and a creative and positive attitude.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple assignments with minimal supervision, meeting strict deadlines with an outcomes-oriented approach.
• Initiative to analyze, monitor, evaluate, and advance strategic fundraising plans.
• Knowledge of prospect management tools and donor database management.
• Proficiency in Google Workspace, Microsoft Office…