Executive Director

About InvestED

InvestED is a trusted nonprofit that partners with public schools across Washington to provide immediate financial support to students facing barriers to attendance, participation and success. For more than 60 years, InvestED has worked alongside educators to ensure students can attend school consistently, participate fully and stay on track to graduate.

Founded in 1963, InvestED began with a simple act of generosity — helping a student afford a winter coat. Today, that same spirit of responsiveness and trust reaches more than 47,000 students each year across approximately 700 schools. InvestED works through a network of nearly 2,000 educators who know their students best and are empowered to act quickly when needs arise.

InvestED funds are used to remove real-world obstacles that interfere with learning and belonging — from clothing, school supplies and transportation to activity fees, health and hygiene needs, graduation expenses and college application costs. With no paperwork or red tape, InvestED enables educators to respond immediately and with dignity, ensuring students can attend school regularly and take part fully in school life.

InvestED’s model is intentionally simple, flexible and grounded in trust, allowing resources to reach students quickly when they need them most.

Position Overview

The Executive Director is InvestED’s chief organizational and relationship leader, responsible for advancing the organization’s impact, strengthening partnerships across Washington and ensuring long-term financial sustainability.

This is a highly visible, externally focused leadership role. A significant portion of the Executive Director’s time will be dedicated to fundraising and relationship development, serving as InvestED’s primary ambassador to donors, foundations, corporate partners and community leaders. The Executive Director personally leads major donor and strategic partner relationships, communicates InvestED’s impact and value and builds the trust that fuels sustained philanthropic investment.

InvestED is at an important inflection point. With a strong 60-year foundation and broad statewide reach, the organization has an annual budget of approximately $835,000 and is positioned to move from stability to growth. The Board has set a strategic goal of growing annual fundraising to $1M or more over the next 3-5 years, expanding reach to 50,000+ students and building the diversified funding base to sustain that growth for the long term.

The Board seeks a leader who brings a transformation mindset — someone who can thoughtfully evolve how InvestED raises funds, leverages data, strengthens partnerships and executes programs while preserving the trust-based model that defines the organization.

In addition to external leadership, the Executive Director provides clear organizational direction, setting priorities, aligning strategy with execution and developing a small, committed team to deliver results. The role requires balancing relationship-driven fundraising with intentional internal leadership to ensure InvestED’s programs, operations and culture remain strong and adaptable as the organization grows and evolves.

This is an exciting moment to join InvestED. The organization has a proven strategic foundation and a trusted model with broad reach. The next Executive Director has a compelling opportunity to accelerate growth, deepen community partnerships and shape InvestED’s next chapter of impact for students across Washington.

Key Responsibilities

Fundraising and External Relationships

• Serve as InvestED’s primary ambassador to donors, foundations, corporate partners and community leaders across Washington.
• Lead and modernize fundraising strategies and priorities with a focus on relationship-based giving, diversified revenue streams – including expansion of corporate sponsorships, foundation grants, major donors, planned giving and other emerging funding models – to build long-term sustainability.
• Identify and pursue grant opportunities from foundations and public sources, building relationships with program officers, and ensuring strong stewardship of existing grants.
• Identify and pursue new growth opportunities, partnerships and funding models that expand InvestED’s reach and resilience.
• Elevate InvestED’s visibility, brand and case for support across philanthropic and community audiences.
• Personally cultivate, solicit and steward major donor and strategic partner relationships.
• Partner with the Board of Directors to strengthen board engagement in fundraising, external outreach and stewardship of donors.
• Develop and implement strategies to deepen donor relationships, grow philanthropic revenue and scale InvestED’s reach and impact across Washington.
• Represent InvestED publicly through meetings, events and presentations.

Organizational Leadership and Staff Development

• Lead, support and develop a highperforming staff team
• beginning with 2
• 3 direct reports.
• Create a culture of trust, accountability, continuous improvement, thoughtful innovation and professional growth that empowers staff to take ownership of their work.
• Set clear expectations, delegate effectively and provide coaching and feedback to support staff success.
• Oversee hiring, performance management and staff development in alignment with organizational goals.

Strategy, Transformation, Operations and Financial Stewardship

• Lead the development of InvestED’s transformation strategy – defining the roadmap to grow fundraising to $1M+, deepen program impact and position the organization for its next chapter – then translate that strategy into focused priorities, executable plans and measurable outcomes in partnership with the Board.
• Oversee program delivery in partnership with school districts and the program team.
• Oversee organizational operations, systems and processes to ensure efficiency and effectiveness.
• Leverage data, performance insights and emerging technology – including AI tools – to refine program strategy, improve operational efficiency and demonstrate impact to stakeholders.
• Enhance reporting, impact measurement and data-informed decision-making while maintaining InvestED’s flexible, trust-based model.
• Manage the organization’s budget and financial performance in partnership with the Board Treasurer and Finance Committee.
• Ensure compliance with nonprofit regulations, policies and reporting requirements.
• Evaluate and strengthen internal systems and infrastructure to support operational excellence and long-term sustainability.

Board Partnership and Governance

• Serve as a trusted partner to the Board of Directors, supporting effective governance and decision-making.
• Provide timely, accurate information to support board oversight and strategic direction.
• Support board members in understanding and fulfilling their roles in fundraising, governance, fiscal/budget oversight and organizational leadership.
• Assist with board development and leadership transitions as needed.

Qualifications and Attributes

• 5-7 years of progressive leadership experience, including relationship-based development, management of staff and organizational or program-level responsibility is preferred.
• Demonstrated success in fundraising and relationship-based development, including major donors, foundations or strategic partnerships.
• A self-directed, entrepreneurial mindset with a genuine drive to grow organizational impact and a bias toward action.
• The ability to articulate a compelling vision for InvestED’s future and inspire donors, partners and staff around it.
• Experience leading organizational growth, change initiatives or operational transformation.
• A strategic, forward-looking mindset with the ability to translate vision into disciplined execution.
• Strong strategic thinking skills paired with the ability to prioritize, filter ideas and execute effectively.
• Ability to build systems and infrastructure that support scale without sacrificing mission integrity.
• Comfort with and curiosity about emerging technologies, including AI tools that can enhance fundraising, communications and program operations.
• Prior experience working effectively with a Board of Directors is preferred.
• Experience leading and developing teams with a leadership style grounded in clarity, trust and accountability.
• Financial literacy and comfort managing budgets and organizational operations. Prior ownership of P&L for an organization or group/team preferred.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
• Marketing and communications instincts, including the ability to articulate InvestED’s story compellingly across audiences.
• Ability to represent InvestED externally through community events, presentations and other public facing interactions.
• Familiarity with Washington’s education, nonprofit or philanthropic community is valued.
• Authentic commitment to InvestED’s mission and to advancing opportunity and belonging to students.

Location and Work Environment

InvestED currently operates in a hybrid work model. InvestED’s office is in Renton with staff working in-office at least one day per week. The Executive Director is expected to maintain a consistent in-person presence with staff during designated office days and to travel regularly within Washington for donor, partner and community engagement. The Executive Director must reside in the Central Puget Sound region.

Compensation and Benefits

• Salary range of $140,000–$170,000 commensurate with experience.
• Employer-sponsored medical, dental and vision coverage.
• Paid time off includes vacation, sick time, all federal holidays and December 24 – January 1.
• Three percent employer-matched retirement plan with eligibility beginning on the first day of employment.

Search Process

The Ostara Group is leading this search on behalf of InvestED’s Board of Directors. To apply, please submit your resume and cover letter to andrea@ostaragroup.com by March 30, 2026. Applications will be reviewed confidentially on a rolling basis. For more information about InvestED, visit invested.org.

Employer-sponsored medical, dental and vision coverage.

Paid time off includes vacation, sick time, all federal holidays and December 24 – January 1.

Three percent employer-matched retirement plan with eligibility beginning on the first day of employment.