Director of Development
La Vida Scholars
Lynn, MA
About The Organization Partnering with families, La Vida Scholars equips low-income, high-achieving students with access to resources and opportunities to enter top colleges and graduate with minimal to no debt. For more information, you can learn more at About The Role La Vida Scholars (LVS) seeks a Director of Development (DoD). Reporting to and closely partnering with the Executive Director, the DoD is responsible for leading fundraising and external relations to sustain and grow LVS’s annual budget. The current budget is approximately $1.7 million and expected to grow to more than $2.5M in the coming years as we implement our strategic vision. The DoD plays a vital role in La Vida Scholars’ success by leading the development team to secure new revenues, retain and maximize current funders, and diversify funding sources. The DoD will set and implement the annual and multi-year fundraising strategy and lead the development team. Leveraging the Executive Director and the organization’s Board of Directors, the DoD will cultivate, solicit, and steward the organization’s top funders and prospects to secure transformative investments in La Vida Scholars’ mission and strategic vision. As a member of the Leadership Team, the DoD will contribute to setting and achieving the organization’s strategic direction to safeguard its long-term viability, while managing and encouraging staff excellence. The DoD will partner closely with program staff to maintain close alignment between programmatic goals and development efforts, ensuring the mission dictates the funding strategy and not vice versa. In overseeing the development department, the DoD will manage two direct reports, including an Associate for Development & Communications and a contract grant writer. The DoD must be a team-oriented leader and extremely personable with internal and external constituents, demonstrating exceptional judgment and discretion. This is an exciting opportunity for someone eager to leverage their fundraising and strategic skills to amplify LVS’s impact on the region’s youth. This is a full-time, hybrid position, providing the option to work both remotely and in LVS’s office in Lynn. The DoD will be supplied with a laptop and monitor, must have reliable internet, and must have reliable access to a vehicle or be able to commute to our programs in Lynn and Chelsea and to donors and prospects without issue. Core Responsibilities
- Raise the philanthropic resources necessary to support and grow LVS programs and initiatives.
- Manage a portfolio of individual, corporate and foundation prospects and donors who have the potential to provide significant charitable gifts to the organization. Cultivate, solicit and close annual, major gift and multi-year contributions. Achieve revenue goals;
- Identify, cultivate and engage new funding prospects to support the organization;
- Develop and lead grant strategy, maintaining regular correspondence with foundations, donors, and board members with a long-term relationship approach;
- Serve as a passionate proponent of the organization and its mission;
- Appropriately represent the organization, its board and staff leadership to donors, prospects and the community at large.
- Implement a comprehensive fundraising strategy and program.
- Implement fundraising strategies and programs, including a special emphasis on major and leadership giving, corporate partnerships, foundation relations initiatives, and deferred and planned giving;
- Increase the organization’s support from individuals, corporations, foundations and other sources;
- Provide leadership, strategic direction, management and coordination for all aspects of LVS’s development efforts;
- Prepare the annual and multi-year fundraising plan(s) in collaboration with the Executive Director for presentation to the Board of Directors;
- Provide detailed reports about the fundraising progress to the Executive Director and Board of Directors on a regular basis;
- Oversee donor stewardship and recognition programs, as well as all annual giving programs;
- Lead all special fundraising campaigns, including concluding LVS’s capital campaign to capitalize the move to new offices in Lynn and LVS’s annual Laptop Campaign, ensuring all participating students have a laptop to support their educational success;
- Develop and implement event strategy and oversee annual fundraising events;
- Ensure that appropriate systems and procedures are in place to support the program’s future fundraising goals.
- Work collaboratively with volunteer and staff leadership to enhance their fundraising skills and to support their revenue generating efforts.
- Partner with the Executive Director to deploy his time and attention to leverage the greatest revenue generating opportunities. Coordinate fundraising efforts of the Executive Director, the development committee of the Board of Directors, and other key fundraising team members;
- Work effectively with the Board of Director to leverage their talents, resources and ideas to enhance fundraising activities; enhance board members’ ability to identify fundraising opportunities and encourage their ongoing participation as donors and solicitors;
- Support the development and management of LVS’s Development Committee and Leadership Council. Recruit, manage and motivate volunteer leaders to advance the organization’s goals. Recruit and motivate community and business volunteers to increase philanthropic attainment;
- Lead, manage, mentor and inspire the development team. Supervise and support the growth of the Development Associate and contract grant writer; strategically grow staffing capacity as growth in resources allow. Create working environment that is rewarding to staff and volunteers.
- Build strong relationships and work collaboratively with the education team’s leadership and staff; understand LVS’s college access and success programs;
- Lead staff and volunteers to institutionalize philanthropy and fund development within the organization. Foster a culture of philanthropy within the organization. Assure that the organization’s culture, systems and procedures support fund development and vice versa.
- Serve as a member of LVS’s Leadership Team to advance the organization’s goals.
- First and foremost, maintain focus on achievement of the organization-wide goals, and build and implement the comprehensive fundraising program to support achievement of the goals set forth in LVS’s annual and long-term strategic plan;
- Provide counsel and guidance to the Executive Director and members of the leadership team to incorporate the development perspective;
- Embrace a culture focused on strong vertical and horizontal communication lines throughout the organization;
- Serve as a proactive problem solver;
- Ensure that philanthropy and fund development are carried out in accordance with the organization’s mission, vision and values;
- Help establish performance measures, monitor results and help the Executive Director, development committee and board evaluate the effectiveness of the organization’s fund development program. Monitor all donor information; provide and present statistical analysis to board and senior leaders as needed.
- Strong mission-alignment and passion for empowering young people from underserved communities, for advancing philanthropy and for embracing nonprofit work;
- 5-plus years of professional experience in a nonprofit organization; demonstrated success in leading a similar-sized or larger development function (and creating and managing relationships with multiple donor sources);
- Ability to thrive in an inclusive organizational culture that attracts and retains diverse talent. Experience working effectively in a team environment with diverse staff and other diverse stakeholders. Reliable with a high level of maturity and sound judgment. Flexible and comfortable with ambiguity;
- Management experience required. Strong aptitude for relationship and project management across all levels of the organization; high degree of organizational astuteness and leadership skills; Demonstrated experience in managing people and budgets;
- Leads with humility, and learns and grows from mistakes; willingness to participate in and contribute to a real-time feedback culture;
- Knowledge and experience with technology and CRM systems;
- A record of measurable results in organizing and implementing such activities as: major gifts, annual funds, corporate and foundation giving, planned giving, direct response and special events;
- Demonstrated ability to work effectively with and quickly gain the respect and support of various constituencies, including board and staff members, donors, foundation and civic leaders; experience recruiting and organizing volunteers;
- A solid understanding of nonprofit/for-profit fiscal management, principles and best practices;
- Creative, resilient, and strategic in approach;
- A track record as an effective communicator; highly developed skills in writing and speaking; competence at crafting proposals, donor correspondence and other kinds of materials; receptive and responsive to feedback; the ability to communicate the program’s mission and interests to a broad audience;
- Ability to give and receive feedback as a tool for growth;
- Flexible and adaptable style; a leader who can positively impact both strategic and tactical fundraising initiatives;
- Strong organizational and time management skills with exceptional attention to detail;
- The ability to work independently and as a team player, to work effectively virtually, while managing a balance of in-person meetings, now and in the future; ability to take initiative, and to manage multiple tasks and projects at a time;
- Outstanding customer service skills;
- Works well under pressure to meet deadlines.
Posted 2025-07-26
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