Senior Director of Development

Democrats for Education Reform

Senior Director of Development leading fundraising strategy and revenue growth for a nonprofit organization. Collaborating with leadership to enhance donor relations and political engagement.

Posted 6/25/2026full-timeRemote • 🇺🇸 United StatesSenior💰 $150,000 - $170,000 per yearWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Develop and execute a comprehensive annual and multi-year fundraising plan targeting revenue growth from diverse sources, including 501(c)(3) foundations and individual donors, 501(c)(4) contributors, Federal PAC contributions, and political bundling.
Collaborate with the President and senior leadership to ensure fundraising strategies align with DFER's organizational priorities and multi-year growth targets.
Build and steward a robust portfolio of major donors, foundations, political stakeholders, and institutional partners to secure long-term financial support for DFER's work.
Identify and cultivate new donor prospects, expanding DFER's network across both the philanthropic and political funding ecosystems.
Manage, mentor, and develop a development team of one full-time director and two part-time staff, setting clear goals and supporting professional growth.
Create a culture of accountability and high performance within the development function, ensuring the team meets aggressive revenue targets.
Establish and maintain strong systems, workflows, and use of CRM tools to maximize team efficiency and donor relationship tracking.
Lead stewardship of high-net-worth individuals, foundations, and political stakeholders, ensuring donors are engaged, informed, and invested in DFER's mission.
Ensure timely, compelling donor communications including impact reports, grant reports, acknowledgments, and updates.
Oversee the planning and execution of high-profile fundraising events, including donor cultivation events, galas, and candidate fundraisers.
Partner with the Director of Finance & Operations to ensure strong cash flow management, timely financial reporting to donors, and compliance with grant and donor restrictions.
Collaborate with the communications team to align messaging across fundraising materials, ensuring consistency with DFER's national brand and mission narrative.
Track and report on fundraising metrics, pipeline health, and outcomes to the President and Board on a regular basis.
Partner with the President to engage the Board of Directors in fundraising, including board member cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship support.
Prepare and present development reports for Board meetings, providing clear updates on revenue performance, pipeline, and strategy.
Contribute to senior leadership discussions on organizational strategy, resource allocation, and long-term growth planning.
Represent DFER at external conferences, donor convenings, and public forums to advance the organization's mission and expand its philanthropic network.

Requirements

What you’ll need

5 to 9 years of progressive experience in nonprofit development, with a demonstrated track record of meeting or exceeding ambitious fundraising goals.
Experience managing fundraising across multiple entity types (C3, C4, and/or PAC contexts) strongly preferred.
Proven success in individual major gifts, foundation relations, and/or political fundraising.
Experience managing and developing development staff in a fast-paced, matrixed organization.
Background in education, political, or advocacy-focused nonprofit environments strongly preferred.

Benefits

Comp & perks

health, vision, and dental coverage
flexible spending plan
life insurance
short- and long-term disability insurance
401K plan with a match plan
flexible spending/benefits plan
paid family leave
paid time off (vacation, sick time, floating holidays, and all National holidays)

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

fundraisingdonor relationship managementfinancial reportinggrant managementpipeline trackingevent planningmajor giftsfoundation relationspolitical fundraisingCRM tools

Soft Skills

leadershipmentoringcollaborationcommunicationaccountabilitygoal settingstrategic planningnetworkingteam developmentpublic speaking