Director of Development

ABOUT CITY FIRST ENTERPRISES 

City First Enterprises (CFE) is a financial institution working at the intersection of financial innovation and impact investment in the quest for a more equitable economy. CFE’s capital allocation vehicle is a loan fund designed to provide accessible debt capital to entrepreneurs, innovators, and change-makers working in affordable housing, small businesses, education, nonprofits, community facilities, green energy, and commercial real estate in Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia. As a recent sub-awardee of the Green Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), CFE is positioned to make an even stronger move into the green bank space in the upcoming years. Homes by CFE, an initiative of CFE, is a down payment assistance program that provides eligible Black and Latino families with funds for homeownership. 

CFE and Homes by CFE are Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), a designation given by the United States Treasury to organizations expanding economic opportunity in low-income communities by providing access to financial products and services for residents and businesses. 

To learn more, please visit us at www.cfenterprises.org and www.homesbycfe.org. 

THE POSITION   

Reporting to and in partnership with the CEO, the Director of Development will lead fund development as CFE and our affiliates continue to grow. Building on our existing development function and track record, the newly created Director position will work closely with the CEO and leadership team to set annual fundraising goals that contribute to our budgeted needs for core operations, lending, and new programmatic initiatives. The Director will be accountable for designing and executing a comprehensive multi-year strategy to meet these annual goals by increasing and diversifying grant funding, primarily from foundations, federal and local government, corporate philanthropy including financial institutions, and potentially from impact investors. 

This is an exceptional opportunity for a motivated, energetic professional with strong fundraising experience, stellar written and interpersonal communication skills, and excellent attention to detail. The Director of Development will serve as an essential thought partner to the CEO and the organization’s leadership team and will work closely with the Impact and Communications team, who will provide support on data research, grant reporting, client stories, and fundraising materials. 

This position will be based out of our office in Washington, DC. 

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES  

• Work with the CEO and leadership team to set ambitious and achievable multi-year and annual grant revenue goals for operations and lending capital. 
• Develop and execute fundraising strategies to ensure short- and long-term growth in grant revenue leading to achievement of our multi-year budgeted goals.  
• Manage relationships with existing funders and investors, including banks and financial institutions, foundations, the US Treasury CDFI Fund, and individual investors, resulting in renewed and increased grant funding. 
• Research, identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward a growing portfolio of foundation, corporate, and government grant funding prospects. 
• Manage the life cycle of grants from initial inquiries to proposals to final reporting to renewal requests, including creating high-quality, compelling, complex written materials; collaborate with internal staff and external consultants as needed. 
• Maintain an accurate and timely institutional funding pipeline in Salesforce for prospect management, financial forecasting, and deadline management; ensure that all grant deadlines are met. 
• Partner with and equip the Board of Directors, CEO, and other executive staff to deliver and activate fundraising leads. 
• Collaborate with the Impact team to ensure compliance with all grants. 
• Publicly represent CFE’s mission and impact to potential funders at local, regional, and national convenings. 
• Stay informed about industry trends, identifying new opportunities for partnership and revenue generation. 

Requirements

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE 

The ideal candidate will have: 

• Five-plus years of institutional fund development experience, with a track record of setting and achieving strategies to raise $1 million or more per year 
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills 
• Impeccable deadline and project management skills, including coordinating timely inputs from cross-functional teams on complex projects 
• Proven ability to thrive in a fast-paced, independent-learner environment requiring maximum results with minimum oversight 
• Outstanding success in establishing and nurturing effective working relationships with funders, colleagues, board members, and other key stakeholders 
• Strong analytic and strategic-thinking skills, with a demonstrated ability to create, implement, and monitor complex plans, then translate those plans into attainable goals and actionable strategies 
• Familiarity with financial information, including the ability to create and/or evaluate grant budgets  
• Complete proficiency with Microsoft Office applications 
• Demonstrated experience working with donor databases/CRM systems, Salesforce preferred 
• Knowledge of CDFI industry and/or impact investing preferred