**This position is open to candidates in Las Vegas, NV and Denver, CO.

You are energetic and visionary, have a passion for helping children and families thrive, and the idea of growing and expanding an organization’s positive impact gets you fired up. You know how to build relationships that stick and partnerships that power big ideas. Your extensive experience has made you an expert in developing, leading, and executing multi-faceted fundraising campaigns. The credibility you have is rooted in your proven track record of generating revenue, fluency with strategic and financial plans, and ability to connect people to ideas that move them to action. You are a compelling communicator one-on-one and in larger groups. You have personally secured six figure gifts, foundation grants and/or public funding, and have coached teammates as they grow their fundraising and partnership skillsets. You enjoy managing teams and helping partners within and outside of your organization succeed. You are values-led in work and life and your personal values align with Raise the Future’s vision, mission, and values, so this is a perfect place for you to step into a leadership role.

Raise the Future is powered by the belief that every child deserves to have a caring, capable adult by their side. When our work is done, the foster care system will be empty, and homes and hearts will be full. Our mission centers on children and youth who are in, or at risk of entering, the foster care system. We work directly with those children and youth and with adults in caregiving roles to create the opportunities and skill sets needed to make lasting connections.

Raise the Future’s team is nearly 100 strong and growing. We are headquartered in Colorado with employees across the country and offices in Denver, Las Vegas, and Salt Lake City. The Development Team includes the Vice President and 8 other teammates responsible for philanthropic services, government affairs, grant management and communications.

Programmatically, we deliver several evidence-based programs, including Wendy’s Wonderful Kids®, developed by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, and a family support program built around Trust-Based Relational Intervention® developed by the Karyn Purvis Institute for Child Development at Texas Christian University. In addition to our direct service work, we provide capacity-building to child welfare systems nationally through AdoptUSKids, a collaborative funded by the US Children’s Bureau.

Our revenue is approximately $9M, 50% from public sources (federal, state, and local) and 50% from private sources (foundations and individuals).

Five values guide us in all we do:

Embrace Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging.

Value You.

Foster Relationships.

Strengthen Partnerships.

Raise the Bar.

We have an exciting plan to amplify and accelerate our work and the Director of Development will be a key player in continuing an evolution to meet those goals.

Reporting to the Vice President of Development, the Director of Development is a key member of the Development team and is responsible for fundraising $1 Million annually within an established territory to support the mission of Raise the Future by developing strategies for the identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of major donors and event sponsors. The position is responsible for managing a portfolio of existing and prospective individuals, foundation, and corporate donors, developing individual strategies that will maximize giving. This includes completing proposals, reports, contracts, memorandums of agreement, and/or using planned giving instruments. The Director of Development will also be responsible for mentoring and managing members of the Development team.

The ideal candidate will appreciate and align with our five core organizational values: Value You. Foster Relationships. Strengthen Partnerships. Embrace DEIB. Raise the Bar.

The Director of Development, alongside the Vice President of Development, develop revenue goals, tracking progress closely to ensure that targets are met, and strategies re-examined when necessary to ensure achievement of goals.

Financial and Data Responsibilities:

• Acts as primary relationship manager for individual, foundation, and corporate prospects of $10,000 or more/year.
• Works to identify and prioritize high-level prospects within established territory by:

• Conducting prospect research and strategy - using strategies and resources to identify new potential major donors.
• Conducting prospect predisposition planning.
• Conducting prospect visit strategy and planning, including engaging other members of the team, as needed.
• Visiting with prospects in person and virtually, making asks.
• Managing prospect follow-up activities, coordinating with the team as needed.
• Managing and tracking relationship processes and revenue forecasts for donors and prospects in portfolio using donor database.

• Overseeevent consultants hired in Colorado to execute the organization’s fundraising events in Colorado,including the solicitation of event sponsorships, event materials, event logistics, recognition, and follow up plan.
• Manages the relationship of donor portfolio for prospects in Colorado and Nevada, ensuring that donors experience high-quality interactions that foster long-term engagement and investment. Develop methods to convey the impact of gifts and ensure that donors are kept up to date on key developments in Raise the Future’s priorities.
• Writes solicitation letters, proposals, donor recognition pieces for publications, and other materials as needed.

Contributing Member of the Development Team:

• Participates in team fundraising for funding opportunities across Organization.
• Participates in – and seek out – opportunities to learn about the projects and communities served by Raise the Future.
• Builds relationships with organizational leadership and prepares senior leadership for key solicitation meetings.
• Leads sponsorship strategies for key fundraising events in established territory, including recruiting and managing volunteer committees, as needed.
• Works collaboratively with stakeholders on select fundraising events and major donor strategies, assisting with logistics for special events as needed.

• Represents Raise the Future in community events in fundraising territory, as needed, including televised interviews and public speaking opportunities.
• Develops and manages expense budgets for donor strategies, tracking adherence to budgeted spending limits.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• Supervising/mentors other members of the Development Team. Carry out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with policies and applicable laws. Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning, and directing work; appraising performance including recommending and implementing personnel actions such as promotions and dismissals; oversight of administrative elements such as approving PTO, timecards, etc.; support, coaching and recognition of employees; addressing complaints; and resolving problems.

Individual Contributor:

• Meet Individual Fundraising Goals: Manage a pipeline of around 30 individual, foundation, and corporate prospects that contribute $500,000 - $1M annually.

Minimum Qualifications for Position

• Bachelor’s degree in business, Sales, Development, or related field.
• 5-10 years’ experience in sales, business development, government relations, non-profit fundraising, or related field.
• Demonstrated knowledge of Microsoft Office, Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, the Internet, Zoom and various database applications.
• A proven track record in and deep understanding of all aspects of a complex, successful revenue strategy, with skill and experience in major gifts development and event management.
• A passion for relationship development and management – wanting to build strong, enduring relationships with donors, partners, and staff.
• Proven ability to organize and manage multiple tasks simultaneously, with the ability to work independently and collaboratively and to adapt to changing priorities.
• Have dependable transportation and meet organizational insurance requirements.
• 25% travel.
• Ability and willingness to travel with flexibility to work evenings and occasional weekends.

Preferred Knowledge and Skills

• Leadership/Management: Ability to lead others in the development of strategic, long-range plans. Ability to create and communicate a vision and plan, accept ownership, take initiative, and assume responsibility. Exceptional mentoring/coaching skills. Develops solutions and ideas that add value. Takes the initiative to get the right people involved and to resolve matters quickly and effectively. Strong collaboration skills and the ability to work with staff at all levels and functions within the organization. Leads the team in creating an environment that promotes trust, collaboration, and partnership between departments, partners, and donors.
• Decision-Making/Problem-Solving/Analysis: Ability to make sound and timely decisions and involve others appropriately in decision-making. Demonstrates strong analytical skills, including an ability to provide solutions to compliance issues. Good understanding of the impact of business decisions. Excellent problem-solving skills – able to think through likely causes of problems before referring them to others.
• Adaptability: Ability to be flexible and work within the system. Able and willing to take on and learn additional and different responsibilities. Effectively manages pressure, maintains composure, and is not easily frustrated. Works effectively in ambiguous situations. Must be able to adapt to a continually evolving environment and thrive in an autonomous and deadline-oriented workplace. Demonstrates consistently positive attitude toward change.
• Communication: Able to effectively communicate (verbally, written, and interpersonally) with poise and professionalism. Ability to effectively tell the story of Raise the Future and be bold in asking for support for our mission – and isn’t afraid of failure. Ability to interact effectively with others and exercise good judgment when engaging with people in sensitive situations. Expresses disagreement professionally.
• Ability to Maintain Confidentiality: This position requires direct access to and management of confidential employee, client, and organizational data. It is imperative that confidentiality is applied at all times when handling this information.

Working Conditions and Physical Requirements

This position works in a typical office environment, mostly an indoor office environment with windows, with office equipment noise and may include frequent interruptions. This position also may be required to meet with stakeholders, prospects, and donors in other settings outside the office. A considerable time is spent sitting at a desk using a computer terminal and telephone and attending meetings with others. Air and ground travel is also required.

Salary range is $70,000 - 80,000.