Chief Development Officer

WEPOWER; St. Louis (MO); On-site; USD 110,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive Health Insurance

403b Plan

Paid Time Off

Paid Parental Leave

Child Care Stipend

Cell Phone Reimbursement

Wellness Stipend

Job summary

WEPOWER, based in St. Louis, is seeking a Development Director to lead our fundraising strategy and donor engagement. You will build multi-year plans focused on institutional grants and major gifts, track progress against budgets, and forecast outcomes with the CEO and board.

You will cultivate high-net-worth donors, manage donor research, and ensure timely grant reporting in EveryAction, while developing a high-performing development team to advance WEPOWER’s mission for community empowerment.

Qualifications

• Experience fundraising for nonprofits and securing grants/major gifts.
• Ability to set fundraising growth goals and track progress.
• Strong storytelling to convey mission and impact.
• Proven donor research and engagement skills.

Responsibilities

• Build and optimize fundraising plans with a focus on institutional grants and major gifts.
• Track and analyze development data to assess progress and meet budget projections.
• Forecast progress toward fundraising goals and pivot as needed.
• Cultivate and steward donor partnerships to grow the donor base.
• Use donor research tools to identify, pitch, and close prospective donors.
• Ensure donor engagement tracking and reporting in EveryAction.
• Create compelling fundraising materials highlighting WEPOWER’s impact.
• Collaborate with the CEO to manage the Board’s Development Committee.
• Leverage partners in funder meetings and coach them on presenting work.
• Own project management and systems for donor reporting and grant tracking.
• Build a high-performing development team and ensure timely grant submissions.

Skills

Fundraising strategy

Donor relations

Grant writing

Major gifts

Data analysis

Project management

Board collaboration

Storytelling

EveryAction CRM

Tools

EveryAction CRM

Job description

Location: St. Louis or willing to relocate

About WEPOWER:

WEPOWER is building a team full of dreamers and doers. In our first five years, WEPOWER has activated nearly 400 community leaders, won a historic ballot measure that guarantees millions in public funding annually for early childhood, supported 100 Black and Latinx-owned businesses with access to capital, coaching, and connections, and launched a one-of-a-kind investment fund. We envision a future where systems are accountable to powerful communities that have been historically oppressed and nurture our freedom, well-being, dreams, and joy. We are building a powerful movement led by everyday people, and we have bold plans to get us there. Join us!

Our team is:

Fun

Focused

Values-driven

Community-centered

Creative: Lots of brainstorming and imagining what’s possible and then chasing each possibility until it is reality!

Responsibilities:

Build and optimize comprehensive fundraising plans, especially with a focus on institutional grants and major gifts, in partnership with the Chief Executive Officer

Track and analyze development data to set and assess progress towards ambitious yet achievable goals and benchmarks that align with annual budget projections

Consistently forecast progress toward fundraising goals and pivot when necessary to achieve annual goals

Cultivate, develop, and steward strong, trusting partnerships with donors to increase and retain the donor base.

Use donor research tools to identify, pitch, and close prospective donors

Ensure consistent cultivation, follow-up, and reports for ongoing donor engagement by efficiently tracking and monitoring donor activity in EveryAction

Work closely with staff to create compelling, effective, and reusable fundraising materials that clearly explain WEPOWER’s impact and vision

Work with the CEO to manage the Board’s Development Committee effectively to increase fundraising opportunities

Leverage the expertise of partners and teammates effectively in funder meetings by coaching them on how to represent their work effectively

Own the project management and systems for relationship management and funder reporting, ensuring grant requirements are met and tracked against the budget

Build a high-performing development team, ensuring quality submission of grants and grant reports

The ideal candidate will have:

A background in fundraising for nonprofits with demonstrated success cultivating and securing grants and/or major gifts for annual budgets of $3M or more

A track record of securing major gifts from high net-worth donors

Strong examples of setting, adjusting, and achieving fundraising growth goals

Experience communicating and amplifying compelling stories that drive people to commit to the mission and vision of the organization

Excellent relationship-building skills with a deep understanding and comfort with cultivating authentic relationships with funders or donors

A clear approach for donor research to identify new opportunities and tailor pitches accordingly

An analytical mindset with a track record of using data to identify what is working and what isn’t working

Deep commitment to racial equity, with self-awareness around privilege, bias, and oppression

Experience developing donor management systems with a CRM, ensuring compliance with external and internal requirements with high attention to detail (WEPOWER uses EveryAction)

Experience working with a board of directors to drive fundraising outcomes

More Information:

Reports to: Charli Cooksey, CEO

Manages: Development consultants to start, with potential to hire full-time staff

Travel: Up to 15% of the time

Salary: $110,000-$120,000 annually. This is a full-time exempt position.

Benefits include:

Comprehensive Health Insurance: medical, dental, vision benefits and affordable family coverage

403b Plan: To save for retirement

Paid Time Off: 10 days of vacation, 8 sick days, 2 weeks off at the end of December, and 8 holidays each year.

Paid Parental Leave: New parents get this time to spend with their family - 10 weeks if you've been here a year or more

Child Care Stipend: Stipend to support childcare for children aged 0 to 5.

Cell Phone Reimbursement Benefits: Up to $50/month reimbursement for use of personal cell phone

Wellness Stipend: Up to $50/month reimbursement for spending on physical and mental health needs

Process:

The interview process for this role will include a 5-step process which we expect to take ~1 month after the application deadline.

WEPOWER is committed to the inclusion of all individuals, so if there is any reasonable accommodation we can provide for you for interviewing or any other element of this hiring process, please let us know.

This is a full-time exempt position. WEPOWER is an equal opportunity employer. WEPOWER prohibits unlawful discrimination against any employee or applicant for employment based on race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, age, national origin, genetic characteristics, disability, status as a special disabled veteran or veteran, marital status, sexual orientation, sexual identity or any other basis prohibited by law.