Director of Development

Organizational Overview

Breakthrough Greater Boston (BTGB) is transforming urban education for students and teachers. Through six years of intensive, tuition-free, out of school time programming, Breakthrough changes students' academic trajectories and supports them along the path to four-year college. Simultaneously, BTGB builds the next generation of teachers through competitive recruitment, research-based training, and coaching from master teachers. An independent 501c3 nonprofit, Breakthrough Greater Boston is part of a national educational movement called The Breakthrough Collaborative, which consists of 38 sites across the country. After 20 years of success and demonstrable outcomes in Cambridge, BTGB has embarked on a significant program expansion that is bringing its model to Boston.

Position Background and Overview

Breakthrough Greater Boston is currently seeking a driven, strategic development professional to join our team as Development Director. Reporting directly to and working closely with the Executive Director, the Development Director will play a critical role in the growth of this dynamic and high-impact organization by spearheading and overseeing all efforts related to fundraising. The position will manage a Development Associate, as well as interns and volunteers.

The right candidate will be organized, detail-focused, self-directed and have excellent people skills that seamlessly translate to all of BTGB's stakeholder segments. S/he will be able to demonstrate his/her capacity to cultivate donor relationships, secure support and partner with board members on their fundraising efforts.

Responsibilities

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Develop and implement a comprehensive, innovative fundraising plan to include prospect research, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship action steps
• Oversee the execution of a three-year $4M campaign to support the expansion of BTGB
• Build and maintain strong, positive relationships with existing and prospective corporate, foundation, and individual funding sources
• Oversee the preparation of the high-quality grant proposals, reports, mailings, and acknowledgements required to support ongoing fundraising activities
• Oversee a donor relations data system that ensures appropriate and timely coding and acknowledgement of donors and reporting for all stakeholders
• Oversee strategy, planning and execution of Breakthrough's three annual events: Springfest in April (fundraiser), Celebration in August (student and family event), and Breakthroughs in Education in December (content-based cultivation event)
• Spearhead marketing and communications calendar and efforts; overseeing development of high-quality, effective and consistent materials including website, social media, public relations
• Establish specific fundraising goals and metrics within overall fundraising plans. Prepare detailed reports of activity and progress towards goals for review by Executive Director and Board of Directors on a regular basis.
• Develop and maintain systems to ensure accountability and help evaluate the effectiveness of the organization's fundraising development program
• Nurture a growing volunteer program; creating and promoting volunteer opportunities, organizing volunteer events, deepening relationships with and acknowledging volunteers
• Enhance the culture of philanthropy throughout the organization; building board and staff fundraising knowledge, skills and effectiveness.
• Strategically leverage the time of the Executive Director and Board to meet aggressive fundraising targets; support and develop the capacity of the Board to achieve development goals
• Directly supervise the Development Associate (responsible for grants, database, website updates, event support) and any Development Interns.

Qualifications

• Significant experience and demonstrated success raising funds for growing nonprofit organizations; campaign experience strongly preferred
• Experience growing the donor base of an organization; successful track record of raising at least $2M annually
• Substantial experience implementing fundraising plans and cultivating relationships for all funding streams including high net worth individuals, foundations and corporations
• Strong work ethic; ability to lead by example and work effectively in a small, non-profit environment.
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills; demonstrated ability to conceptualize and describe funding needs in a way that is compelling to donors and prospects
• Demonstrated strategic and analytical skills combined with a flexible and entrepreneurial spirit and ability to execute within a resource-constrained environment
• Ability to make decisions independently combined with an ability to work collaboratively
• Capability to thrive and take initiative in a success-driven environment with a commitment to a high standard of excellence, responsibility and accountability
• Demonstrated passion for the mission, vision and values of BTGB; comfort and willingness to actively participate in the community; experience in educational settings a plus
• Bachelors degree or equivalent experience required; Masters degree preferred
• Fluency in Spanish and/or Haitian Creole a plus
• Candidates of color and those from low-income backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply