Development Director

Role Description 

JOB TITLE	REPORTS TO	LOCATION
Development Director	President & CEO	Detroit, MI

Description and Primary Responsibilities 

The Children’s Foundation is seeking a Development Director to work with organizational stakeholders – internal and external – to build and execute a thoughtful strategy to grow the Foundation’s assets by (1) helping donors achieve their charitable goals around children; and (2) building flexible, permanent, community capital for kids.  

With a rich philanthropic history spanning decades, the Children’s Foundation is coming off two particularly successful fundraising years in 2023 and 2024, when it increased its endowed assets by more than $25 million. The Children’s Foundation is now looking to launch an ambitious plan to take the organization to a new level of impact and scale over the next 10 years.   

The right candidate first and foremost cares deeply about children across the state of Michigan. They are also highly motivated by the opportunity this role presents to build and grow an institution. While previous fundraising experience is a plus, we are open to candidates who have other relevant experience working with individuals and families around financial and philanthropic goals. The right candidate will excel in developing authentic relationships, working with donors to bring resources to children who need them the most.  

Some of the key responsibilities of this role are: 

• Assess current fundraising strategies to scale best practices and efficiently allocate Foundation resources. They will also be asked to maximize current fundraising practices (annual appeals, events, third-party fundraisers, etc.), as well as create new and innovative approaches to working with donors seeking to realize the power philanthropy has to make a positive impact on the lives of children. 
• Partner with President & CEO to cultivate key relationships, including with Board of Trustee members and other individual/family donors. Manage your own portfolio of high-capacity donors.  
• Work in partnership with the two other members of the Development team, and the entire staff, to implement a thoughtful plan to steward donors.  This includes implementing proven practices, as well as developing new, creative stewardship programs.   
• Build knowledge around complex charitable donations, including endowment giving, gifts of non-monetary assets, estate gifts, and planned gifts. Use this knowledge to inform strategy to increase the pipeline of these types of gifts for the Foundation. 
• Work with Development and Finance teams to leverage donor database, prospect research, fundraising reporting, and gift processing. Help ensure the Foundation is an effective fundraising operation and compliant with policies and procedures.  
• Be a valued member of the Foundation team. Work across all departments (Impact, Finance, Strategy, and Operations) to align revenue strategies with other functions at the Foundation. Help nurture an organizational culture that is inclusive, innovative, and fun. Take on other duties as assigned.  

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Include:  

• 10+ years of relevant experience. 
• Deep commitment to the Foundation’s mission and vision and diversity, equity, and inclusion.  
• Relevant business development experience. Ability to build authentic relationships based on trust with diverse audiences.  A successful track-record of major gift fundraising and/or experience working as a trusted advisor to high-net-worth individuals and families.  
• Ability to think creatively and generate new ways for donors to feel and understand the impact of their giving.  
• Experience being a part of successful fundraising campaign is a plus.  
• Excellent communication skills to effectively listen and lead others in a positive way.  
• Ability to think strategically and plan tactically.  High-level of emotional intelligence, discretion, and problem-solving ability.    
• A hands-on, seasoned, collaborative leader who has integrity, a customer-service orientation, strong communication skills, exceptional attention to detail & project management skills, and thrives in a dynamic & entrepreneurial environment. 
• Experience serving as a trusted advisor to the CEO and Board of a multi-departmental organization. 
• Strong analytical skills and experience operationalizing a strategic vision.  
• Experience with CRM systems and databases.  

  

Compensation 

Starting Base Salary:  $120,000 

Interested candidates should send resume and a short statement of interest to [email protected].

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The Children’s Foundation is proud of its diverse workplace and is an E.E.O employer. The Children’s Foundation provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.