Development Director - South Carolina

Reading Partners is changing the education landscape. We are a leader in working to solve the literacy crisis in our country by leveraging community volunteers in under-resourced schools. Our diverse and expansive volunteer base provides one-on-one tutoring to students twice weekly, and our program is proven to help children master the reading fundamentals they need to unlock their potential as successful, happy and confident readers in school and in life. Our people are our heartbeat and our greatest resource; we are all passionately rallied around our mission to help children become lifelong learners by empowering communities to provide individualized instruction that works. Join our stellar team leading the charge to deepen our impact and expand our service. Watch this video to learn more about Reading Partners.

The high level:

The Development Director (DD) is part of a team of fundraisers and relationship builders working together to support Reading Partners’ strategic growth plan. The Development Director’s main roles are to create and implement the overarching regional fundraising strategy, lead cultivation and stewardship of many high-level external relationships, and lead, develop, and mobilize a local development team to achieve ambitious fundraising goals. The Development Director directly manages the Development Manager who directly manages the Development Special Projects Associate. Reporting to the Executive Director, the Development Director creatively develops, leads, and drives ambitious fundraising strategy, board management in close partnership with the Executive Director, and new fundraising generation. As a trusted advisor and strategic thought partner to the Executive Director, the Development Director is a senior leader in the region who catalyzes regional growth as a resource mobilizer, as a fundraising and external relations expert, and as a savvy people leader and relationship builder.

What you’ll do:

Each year, create, lead, and drive overarching fundraising strategy, operational plans, and all revenue activities to meet or exceed fundraising goals for the region.

Fundraising strategy development and execution:

• Create and execute a comprehensive fundraising plan to meet annual revenue goals.
• Identify and analyze funding trends to strategically position Reading Partners for long-term sustainability.
• Maintain high renewal rates across all funding streams.
• Identify opportunities and execute renewal upgrades with existing donors.
• Plan and execute fundraising events and campaigns, including donor recognition events, galas, and community fundraisers.
• Collaborate with event committees and volunteers to maximize event success and donor engagement.

Build new funding relationships and cultivate pipelines:

• Identify, cultivate, and solicit new individual, corporate, and foundation donors.
• Identify new funding sources to replace opportunities that are ending and increase revenue to meet budget expenses. 
• Develop and implement strategies to engage corporate partners through sponsorships, employee giving programs, and in-kind donations.
• Create customized proposals and presentations to secure corporate support.
• Manage corporate partnerships, ensuring mutual benefit and recognition.
• Own, develop, and implement innovative strategies to increase individual giving, particularly with major donors over the $1K threshold.
• Develop an annual Individual Engagement and Investment Plan (IEIP) with each board member to identify their annual personal gift and strategy for engaging their networks in fundraising and volunteering.
• Use wealth screening tools to identify current and new stakeholders to cultivate into potential donors.
• Identify donors with family funds to prospect as innovation investors, growth, and/or planned giving donors.
• Cultivate relationships with foundation leaders, communicating regularly to remain aware of new or changing funding opportunities.
• Develop and implement strategies to raise 30% of upcoming fiscal year revenue in the previous fiscal year.

Draft and submit state and federal grants:

• Track and report on the progress of submitted grants, maintaining accurate records and documentation.
• Research and identify relevant state and federal grant opportunities.
• Write, submit, and manage grant proposals, ensuring compliance with all requirements and deadlines.
• Track and report on the progress of submitted grants, maintaining accurate records and documentation.

Drive regional collaboration, regional external relations, and local brand to drive fundraising outcomes:

• Work with board members and the Executive Director to create and implement cultivation strategies for major donors to build progressive and multi-year giving.
• Collaborate with the advisory board to develop and implement fundraising strategies and initiatives.
• Provide the advisory board with regular updates on fundraising activities, progress, and outcomes.
• Leverage the advisory board's networks and expertise to identify and cultivate new funding opportunities.
• Support the advisory board in their fundraising efforts, providing necessary materials and guidance.
• Work closely with the executive team, program staff, and board members to align fundraising efforts with organizational goals.
• Represent Reading Partners South Carolina at community events, conferences, and networking opportunities to raise awareness and build connections.

Lead the development operations strategy for the region and manage a growing development team:

• Monitor and report on fundraising progress, adjusting strategies as necessary to achieve financial targets.
• Maintain accurate donor records and manage fundraising databases.
• Prepare and present regular reports on fundraising activities, progress, and outcomes to the executive team and advisory board.
• Develop and manage the fundraising budget, ensuring cost-effective use of resources.
• Lead team to execute their responsibilities with excellence and creativity, by providing clear and compelling strategies, coaching and constructive feedback
• Lead Development Manager to manage a diverse portfolio (Individual giving, corporate and foundation giving, government grants, etc.), local vendor management, building management and in-kind relationships
• Drive streamlined development operations and event planning, ensuring deadlines are met and deliverables are of the highest quality
• Build, grow, and maintain strong collaborative relationships across the Reading Partners network, encouraging their active participation in REDI and other cross-functional groups, as well as local professional groups to help expand their skills and networks

Other duties as needed.

How you’ll do it:

Strategic Planning:

• Demonstrate an ability to devise innovative regional strategic fundraising plans, create action steps, and mobilize many stakeholders to achieve fundraising goals. Build sustainable plans to maximize market opportunities, meet goals and significantly grow funding. In addition, leverage systems, people, and resources to drive processes and track progress against goals to report on progress to senior leadership and board. Execute work in a highly organized, analytical, and data-informed manner.

External Relations & Communication

• Demonstrate advanced experience in external relations, board management and communication, and strategic stewardship and cultivation of donors. Deliver convincing messaging and demonstrate a genuine joy in connecting with donors, and all external stakeholders that reflects Reading Partners’ culture and values.
• Serve as an ambassador of Reading Partners. Quickly establish credibility when promoting Reading Partners to external audiences. Demonstrate a high degree of comfort with donors, corporations, and prospects.

New Revenue Generation

• Demonstrate a strong track record in driving development efforts in rapidly growing organizations, particularly in South Carolina. Demonstrate ability to hit fundraising goals, generate new funding sources, and run sophisticated corporate and individual giving campaigns.  Demonstrate cultivation success. Show a strong ability to not only drive strategy internally but also to heavily participate in external relationship building and fundraising.

People Leadership

• Positively collaborate with, and lead an internal team to meet and exceed aggressive fundraising goals. Consistently coach, grow, and create stretch assignments to grow future fundraising leaders from within.

About you!

You’ll be successful in this role if you:

• Have 7+ years of increasing responsibility in a development or related role
• Have successfully led small-to-large development teams team for 3-4 years, preferably in a nonprofit organization
• Demonstrated interest in youth development, education, and/or social responsibility
• Are an exceptional and persuasive communicator in writing and verbally
• Are achievement-oriented and have a demonstrated track record of developing strategy and achieving ambitious fundraising goals
• Have budget development and grant financial reporting experience
• Demonstrate a deep belief in our mission, and commitment to race, equity, diversity, and inclusion, and root your work in our core values
• Ability to prove eligibility to work legally in the U.S.

Bonus Points if you:

• Hold a Bachelor’s degree in nonprofit management, business, communications, marketing or equivalent experience
• Are an AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, or other national service alum/alumna
• Have experience working in launch or growth phases of organizations
• Have a high degree of comfort with Salesforce or other fundraising database
• Have experience working in education or literacy

At Reading Partners, we respect and honor the diversity in our workforce, and we are an Equal Opportunity Employer.