Chief Executive Officer

Founders First Community Development Corporation (FFCDC); Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 150,000 - 250,000; Full time

Job summary

Founders First Community Development Corporation (FFCDC) is seeking a visionary CEO to rebuild fundraising across philanthropic, corporate, government, and individual donors, and to lead a governance restructuring for its affiliated for-profit entity while expanding FFCDC's impact across the Mid-Atlantic and nationally.

Reporting to the Board, the CEO will partner to refine a strategic vision for economic mobility and equitable growth, cultivate a transparent culture, ensure shared services

Responsibilities

• Rebuild and diversify fundraising across philanthropy, corporate, government, and individual donors.
• Lead the governance restructuring for the affiliated for-profit entity.
• Expand FFCDC's impact across the Mid-Atlantic and nationally.
• Partner with the Board to refine and execute a strategic vision advancing economic mobility and equitable growth.
• Foster a transparent, collaborative culture rooted in accountability and inclusion.
• Ensure operational separation and documentation of shared services with affiliated entities.

Skills

Fundraising leadership

Strategic planning

Governance

Donor cultivation

Stakeholder relations

Team leadership

Job description

Reporting to the Board of Directors, the CEO will rebuild and diversify fundraising (philanthropic, corporate, government, and individual), complete a governance restructuring to ensureclean compliance with FFCDC's affiliated for-profit entity, and lead FFCDC's expansion across the Mid-Atlantic and nationally.

Mission & Strategic Leadership

• Partner with the Board to refine and execute a strategic vision advancing economic mobility and equitable growth.
• Build and sustain a transparent, collaborative culture rooted in accountability and inclusion.
• Maintain clear operational separation and documentation of shared services with affiliated for-profit entitiess

Fundraising & Resource Development

• Lead diversified fundraising across philanthropy, corporate partnerships, government grants, and individual donors.
• Personally cultivate, solicit, and steward a portfolio of major individual donors alongside institutional funders.
• Strengthen relationships with Mid-Atlantic and national funders to support expansion and sustainability.
• Develop robust systems to track restricted/unrestricted revenue and ensure compliance.

Financial Management & Governance

• Oversee budgets, audits, and reporting with full transparency to the Board and funders.
• Ensure related-party transactions are independently reviewed, benchmarked, and documented.
• Establish cost controls for capped expenses and defined deliverables on affiliate contracts.

Program Excellence, Governance & External Relations

• Oversee impactful training and capacity-building programs with data-driven evaluation.
• Support the Board in fulfilling fiduciary duties and effective governance.
• Serve as national spokesperson and ambassador, engaging philanthropic, policy, and corporate partners.

People & Organizational Leadership

• Lead, develop, and retain a distributed staff of approximately 15–20.
• Build management capacity and succession depth across the leadership team.
• Guide the organization through change with clarity and steadiness.