Development Director

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Governors Action Alliance (GovAct) is a fiscally sponsored nonprofit nonpartisan initiative that helps Governors work across state lines to champion fundamental freedoms and improve people's lives. GovAct serves as a centralized platform for collaboration across Governors’ Offices—incubating, launching, and supporting alliances of Governors. These alliances share cutting-edge policy and legal approaches to some of the most challenging and critical issues we face, from reproductive freedom, democracy, public safety, and public health.

Currently, GovAct supports the Reproductive Freedom Alliance, Governors Safeguarding Democracy, the Governors Public Health Alliance, and other Governor-led initiatives and collaborations. Specifically, GovAct helps:

• Build capacity and expertise by connecting experts across Governors' Offices and organizations, tailoring best practices, model policies, and legislation, and advancing other legal and policy innovations for Governors to advance bold policies;
• Develop innovative ideas for collaboration by breaking out of silos and advancing creative initiatives;
• Advance affirmative agendas for Governors to maximize their powers to protect fundamental freedoms and counteract federal overreach; and
• Partner with other nonprofit organizations and other stakeholders.

More information about GovAct can be found at www.GovActAlliance.org.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Reporting to and working closely with GovAct’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the Development Director will serve as a core member of GovAct’s Senior Leadership Team and a mission-driven architect of its growth. They will oversee systems and strategy to ensure successful execution of all development operations – advising GovAct’s CEO and its alliances on programmatic opportunities and alignment with funder interests. This leader will shape and expand our fundraising strategy, systems, and partnerships – advancing the organization’s long-term sustainability through the cultivation of new funders and the thoughtful stewardship of existing relationships.

The Development Director will also play a key role in supporting the fundraising capacity of GovAct’s alliances, helping build shared systems, materials, and coordinated strategies to advance collective fundraising success.

Depending on experience and organizational needs, the Development Director may also manage and engage with partners directly, complementing the CEO and alliance leadership in cultivating and stewarding funders and partners across the GovAct network.

The Development Director will bring a strategic lens, deep development expertise, and ideally, existing relationships within the philanthropic landscape aligned with GovAct’s work. This individual will be a trusted advisor and collaborator – someone who can inspire confidence in GovAct’s mission, serve as a thought partner to senior leadership, and mobilize the resources necessary to advance impact at scale. This is a rare opportunity to help shape and sustain one of the most innovative cross-state initiatives in the country, supporting governors in protecting democracy, freedom, and public health.

While a seasoned development professional, this leader must thrive in a start-up environment and be eager to support GovAct’s rapid growth and broad portfolio of work across alliances and initiatives.

This role will require some travel to attend in-person meetings and functions and might require after-hours/weekend work. The role is remote, but with an opportunity for hybrid if working in the San Francisco Bay Area or Washington, D.C.

Responsibilities:

Fundraising Strategy & Leadership

• Develop and implement GovAct’s multi-year fundraising strategy and annual goals, including revenue projections, fundraising benchmarks, and growth targets.
• Oversee all aspects of the development function, including donor cultivation and stewardship, grant writing and reporting, and donor engagement planning.
• Partner with the CEO and Alliance leadership to align fundraising priorities with programmatic goals and identify opportunities for joint cultivation and stewardship.
• Establish and oversee systems for pipeline management, donor segmentation, and relationship tracking across GovAct and its alliances.
• Provide regular reports and analyses on fundraising progress, projected revenue, and funding trends to inform leadership decisions.
• Serve as a strategic advisor to senior leadership on funder alignment, messaging, and program positioning.

Donor Cultivation, Stewardship & Relationship Management

• Lead efforts to identify, research, cultivate, and steward major donors, foundations, and institutional partners.
• Partner closely with the CEO and Alliance leadership on direct donor engagement –including preparation for meetings, calls, and funder convenings – and ensuring consistent follow-up and communication.
• Where appropriate and requested, manage and engage philanthropic partners directly, serving as a relationship manager for a portfolio of key funders.
• Maintain and strengthen funder relationships through high-quality touchpoints such as tailored communications, briefings, acknowledgments, and impact reports.
• Represent GovAct externally as appropriate, deepening relationships with key funders and philanthropic networks.

Alliance Support

• Support the fundraising efforts of GovAct’s alliances, helping develop proposals, talking points, budgets, and stewardship materials that align with each alliance’s strategy and priorities.
• Build shared fundraising tools, templates, and systems that can be used consistently across alliances to ensure alignment and efficiency.
• Advise Alliance leadership and staff on best practices for donor cultivation, relationship management, and reporting.
• Partner with alliances on cross-cutting development opportunities that might benefit multiple initiatives.

Development Systems & Operations

• Oversee all development operations, including CRM management, pipeline tracking, prospect research, and revenue forecasting.
• Manage the creation of compelling donor-facing materials including proposals, reports, slide decks, and correspondence.
• Ensure accurate and consistent documentation of donor interactions and progress in CRM systems.
• Lead the operationalization of development best practices for funder engagement, research, and relationship management.
• Recruit and manage a small team of staff and consultants responsible for development operations, systems, and materials.

QUALIFICATIONS OF THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

While no one candidate will embody all the qualifications enumerated below, success in this role will require an experienced development professional who possess many of the following professional and personal abilities, attributes, and experiences:

Experience

• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in fundraising and development, ideally in organizations raising in the tens of millions annually.
• Demonstrated success designing and implementing effective fundraising strategies and systems.
• Experience managing and mentoring a team, with a track record of building capacity and operational excellence.

Skills

• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to tailor content for diverse funder audiences and equip leadership to communicate effectively.
• Strong strategic thinking and project management abilities; able to manage up and prioritize competing demands in a fast-paced environment.
• Comfort operating in a high-growth, entrepreneurial culture and enthusiasm for GovAct’s mission.

Knowledge

• Deep understanding of development operations, systems, and processes required to support an expanding organization.
• Strong command of Airtable, Asana, or other project management and CRM platforms, as well as Microsoft Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, and related tools.

Qualities

• Demonstrated ability to operate with a high degree of urgency, self-motivation, focus on goals, and commitment to high-quality work;
• Skilled communicator and listener;
• Strong relationship-building and collaboration skills;
• Keen attention to detail and able to exercise discretion.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree required.

VALUES AND LEADERSHIP ATTRIBUTES

To effectively meet this critical startup moment, successful candidates will also bring relevant and diverse lived and professional experiences to the build of the organization and will align with key founding values of GovAct including:

• Belief in the power of government and governors’ offices in particular to advance bold, affirmative agendas that protect fundamental rights and defend the Constitution.
• Strong, hands-on work ethic needed to support fast-paced start-up growth and development of a sustainable organization.
• Political adeptness, sound judgment, and experience handling sensitive information needed to gain trust and work effectively across governors’ offices.
• Collaboration, communication, and relationship skills needed to operate effectively across a complex and matrixed network of stakeholders and teams.
• Resiliency, optimism, and solutions orientation needed to advance a joyful approach to the work, remain responsive rather than reactive, and support progress when meeting difficult challenges.
• Commitment and demonstrated ability to work effectively and build alignment across lines of difference.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

The salary range for this position is $160,000 - $180,000 annually based on experience. GovAct provides all employees 12 paid holidays and 30 paid days off. GovAct provides an excellent benefits plan, including parental leave, medical, dental, vision, short-term, and long-term disability; wellness, technology, and professional development stipend; and a robust 401K program.

The salary range for this position is $160,000 - $180,000 annually based on experience. GovAct provides all employees 12 paid holidays and 30 paid days off. GovAct provides an excellent benefits plan, including parental leave, medical, dental, vision, short-term, and long-term disability; wellness, technology, and professional development stipend; and a robust 401K program.