Director of Development

Director of Development Neighbor to Neighbor | Raleigh, NC | Full-Time

About Neighbor to Neighbor

N2N has spent 30 years in Raleigh proving that proximity changes everything. Our students grow academically three times faster than the national average. Our social enterprises create meaningful employment at living wages. Our housing model builds wealth, not just affordability. Our community keeps showing up.

Now we're building the infrastructure to go further. N2N is transitioning into an integrated, multi-pillar mobility organization — Education, Employment, and Housing — working toward a Raleigh where poverty no longer determines a family's trajectory.

We need a development leader who can hold major donor relationships with depth and discipline, build scalable fundraising systems, and unlock crossover partnerships between our philanthropic partners and our social enterprises. This is a growth and refinement play — not a blank-slate build or a maintenance role.

Why This Position Exists

N2N's 10-year target is to double the Wake County economic mobility average. The Director of Development will free our Managing Director to lead strategically, build systems that outlast any single relationship, and grow a funding engine that scales with the organization.

What You'll Own

This role is 40% strategic, 35% operational, 25% tactical. You think long-term but live in disciplined weekly action. You own outcomes — not just activity.

Major Gifts & Donor Strategy

• Build and manage a portfolio of 50–75 major donor relationships
• Create individualized cultivation plans for all $5K+ donors with documented next steps
• Execute 15–20 meaningful donor touches per month — genuine relationship, not mass email
• Identify and pursue five- and six-figure gift opportunities with strategic intentionality
• Design upgrade pathways for mid-level donors

Corporate Partnerships

• Build a tiered corporate sponsorship structure scaling from 40 to 80+ partners
• Design and execute the corporate → Neighbor Enterprises crossover strategy — turning philanthropic partners into commercial clients
• Secure 3–5 new corporate partnerships annually generating both donations and enterprise revenue

Systems & Infrastructure

• Own CRM health: segmentation, touchpoint tracking, pipeline reporting, and accuracy
• Produce monthly 12-month pipeline forecasts for leadership and board
• Oversee grant identification and coordinate grant writing strategy
• Align communications calendar with fundraising priorities

Board & Organizational Alignment

• Activate board members in fundraising — introductions, asks, and stewardship
• Design and execute the annual development plan aligned to organizational budget
• Contribute to the leadership team (L10) as the accountable voice of development

Who You Are

We need someone highly self-directed, comfortable operating solo, and disciplined enough to translate strategy into weekly action without a team pushing them.

Experience

• 7–10+ years in major gifts fundraising with demonstrated year-over-year revenue growth
• Proven experience managing a $1M+ fundraising portfolio
• Track record closing five- and six-figure gifts
• Experience designing and executing corporate partnership strategies
• CRM fluency and experience as a solo revenue leader in a growing organization

How You Work

• You operate like a revenue leader — you own outcomes, not just activities
• You are relational and high-EQ, but also structured and metrics-driven
• You translate mission impact into compelling donor narratives with authenticity and precision
• You challenge legacy practices with data and earn trust without ego

Values That Must Be True

Proximity — You choose to be close to the people N2N serves. That relational depth is what creates long-term giving.

Transgressive Love — You cross socioeconomic, cultural, and racial lines with ease — building trust with a corporate VP in the morning and a family in Southeast Raleigh in the afternoon.

Grit — You stay in relationships through the long arc of cultivation. Stewardship is not optional; it is the work.

Joy — You celebrate donors, milestones, and students genuinely. Delight and dignity in this function reflect the organization's soul.

The Offer

• Competitive nonprofit salary commensurate with 7–10+ years of experience
• Full-time, salaried | Reports to Managing Director | Based in Southeast Raleigh
• Works alongside comms staff, Managing Director on donor strategy, and Executive Director on budget and financial planning

What Makes N2N Different

• You lead the development function — full ownership, not support
• The corporate → enterprise crossover is unlike anything in a traditional nonprofit development role
• A 10-year target worth believing in: doubling economic mobility in Wake County
• An EOS-operating organization: structured, accountable, moving with intention
• 30 years of real, documented impact backing every donor relationship you build

• Employer sponsored health insurance
• 401k matching
• PTO
• Flexible schedule