Director of Philanthropy

About Breakthrough Central Texas

Breakthrough is the leading college access and success non profit in Central Texas. For more than 20 years, we have partnered with thousands of middle and high school students who aspire to be the first in their family to graduate with a degree or certificate. We make a radical, long-term commitment to students, to and through college, unlocking the power of education and a lifetime of opportunity. We support the whole student with personalized services, work closely with community partners, campuses, and employers, and advocate for our students with lawmakers. Breakthrough students attend 60+ public schools and persist at nearly 100 colleges and universities. The result is that nearly 60% of Breakthrough students graduate from college, compared to 15% of low-income students in our region. Our work has resulted in more than 350 college graduates, with nearly 3,500 on their way, positively impacting families for generations, our region’s educational access, and the Central Texas economy.

Why Work at Breakthrough Central Texas

By working for Breakthrough Central Texas, you will help hundreds of students achieve their dreams of success and receive the high-quality education they deserve. Breakthrough is an organization committed to its students and recognizes that our greatest resource to support them is our dedicated and talented staff. If you believe all young people deserve the opportunity to achieve postsecondary success and you desire to work at an organization committed to its employees and building the strongest team culture anywhere, then join us!

About the Director of Philanthropy Role

The Director of Philanthropy is a key member of Breakthrough’s high-functioning Development & Communications team, responsible for leading and growing the major gifts program. This role focuses on building authentic relationships with individuals and families to inspire transformational giving that advances educational equity. With a portfolio of high-capacity donors and prospects, the Director will secure gifts of $5,000 to $1M+, in coordination with the rest of the individual giving team, seniors leaders, and volunteers, driving year-over-year growth and supporting the successful completion of our $30M Pathways to Opportunity Campaign, now in its public phase.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead Major Gifts Strategy: Lead development and implementation of comprehensive major giving program that fuels organizational priorities, aligns with community-centric values, embraces innovation, supports continuous growth in giving and donors, and prioritizes retention.
• Build Donor Relationships: Cultivate and steward a portfolio of 150-200 donors and prospects through personalized engagement plans that foster generosity and connection.
• Secure Transformational Gifts: Make direct solicitations and partner with fellow staff, board trustees, and volunteers to close annual and leadership gifts of $5,000-$1M+ in support of a current, annual individual giving goal of $5M with anticipated year-over-year growth.
• Campaign Leadership: Collaborate with senior leaders, campaign committee, and campaign consultants to complete the $30M Pathways to Opportunity Campaign, and provide leadership in the development and execution of future campaigns as needed.
• Volunteer Management: Manage campaign committees, including meeting preparation, follow-up, and support to effectively activate volunteer fundraisers; help identify and recruit future volunteer fundraising leaders.
• Planned Giving: Provide vision and direction for Breakthrough’s emerging planned giving program.
• Donor Experience: Design inspiring experiences, events, recognition, and gratitude that meaningfully connect current and prospective major donors to our mission and impact.
• Content Creation: Develop compelling written content for case statements, proposals, reports, gift agreements, and other key documents to support goals of the major gifts program.
• Data & Reporting: Manage major gift systems, track progress, and report on key metrics with precision and accountability.
• Program Participation: Attend programmatic and student/family-facing events to deepen knowledge, connect across teams, and engage external stakeholders.
• Team Leadership: Collaborate closely with other members of the Individual Giving Team, seeking opportunities for alignment and innovation as a leader on the team.
• Department Leadership: Serve on the Development and Communications leadership team, supporting team strategy development and implementation, fostering a positive department culture, and organizational culture of philanthropy.

About You

You are a mission-driven champion committed to closing the opportunity gap and increasing social and economic mobility through education. A proven high performer and self-starter with a demonstrated track record of inspiring generosity and securing major gifts from individuals and families, you thrive on building authentic relationships that advance a transformational mission. You energize others, communicate inclusively, embrace feedback and collaboration, and persevere toward ambitious goals with creativity and resourcefulness. You also bring experience and demonstrated capacity in the following areas:

• Fundraising Experience: at least 5-7 years of direct fundraising experience, including major gifts (required), multi-million dollar campaigns (preferred), and planned giving (preferred).
• Major Gifts Expertise: Demonstrated aptitude in developing and following through on strategies to engage prospective and current donors in the cycle of cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
• Relationship Building & Activating Others: Emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills to connect authentically with people in one-on-one and meeting/group settings, identify donor motivations, cultivate trust, and motivate internal and external stakeholders to take action.
• Knowledge of Philanthropy Trends: Strong understanding of current trends and best practices in charitable giving and community-centric fundraising; familiarity with the Central Texas philanthropic landscape preferred.
• Student-Centered Impact Orientation: Commitment to aligning fundraising strategy with measurable outcomes that support student success.
• Inclusive Communication: Ability to craft clear, compelling messages (written and spoken) that communicate Breakthrough’s mission, programs, theory of change, and strategic priorities with strength-based framing and cultural humility.
• Strategic Thinking & Managing Complexity: Sound judgment, adaptability, and a bias toward action in ambiguous situations.
• Continuous Learning & Collaboration: Growth mindset, openness to feedback, and ability to work effectively within and across teams to achieve shared goals.
• Operational Excellence: Strong organizational and project management skills, meticulous attention to detail, follow-through, and resourcefulness in prioritizing time and leveraging networks for impact.
• Tech-Savvy and Adaptable: Proficient with donor databases (Virtuous preferred), prospect research tools, Microsoft Office and Google Workspace; comfortable learning and adopting new technologies to enhance efficiency and donor engagement.

Reporting Relationships

The Director of Philanthropy is a full-time position that reports to the Senior Director of Development. This role does not currently supervise direct reports but is part of a growing team with potential to add staff in future years.

Location

Hybrid position requiring in-office collaboration at least 3 days per week. (Austin, TX)

Compensation & Benefits

• Competitive annual salary between $81,000-$102,000, based on experience and qualifications
• Health, dental and vision insurance; Breakthrough pays 100% of employee only premiums
• Life insurance
• Matching 401K retirement plan
• Thirty days of annualized PTO
• Generous leave policy

Breakthrough Central Texas is committed to a policy of equal treatment and opportunity in every aspect of its relations with its applicants, staff members, and families, without regard to race, color, ethnicity, religion, gender identity and gender expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, marital status, military status, pregnancy, or parenthood. People of diverse backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply.