Development Director

Breakthrough Houston; Houston (TX); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance (employer-sponsored)

Dental and vision benefits

401(k) with 5% employer match

Generous paid time off

Job summary

Breakthrough Houston is seeking a dynamic Development professional in Houston with a hybrid work model. The role focuses on owning donor cultivation, storytelling, and stewardship, building impactful relationships with mid-level and major donors, and leading flagship events.

You will manage portfolios, identify new donors, and collaborate across teams to advance Breakthrough’s mission—equity and opportunity in education—through strategic fundraising and partnerships.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in externally facing, relationship-driven work in fundraising, sales, partnerships, client relations, or similar roles
• A track record of building relationships that led to measurable results: gifts, sales, partnerships, or revenue
• Experience carrying a goal and meeting it, whether revenue, sales, enrollment, or a campaign target
• Confidence in building relationships with senior leaders and decision-makers
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience

Responsibilities

• Own and manage a portfolio of mid-level and major individual donors, with cultivation plans and moves management in Salesforce
• Identify and cultivate new donors through events, board and volunteer introductions, and research
• Grow the number of donors giving $1,000+ and upgrade annual donors to higher levels of giving
• Own the fundraising goal for flagship events and the sponsor, table, auction, and individual-gift strategy behind it
• Recruit and work with event co-chairs and committees; manage the fundraising timeline, sponsor benefits, and day-of fundraising program
• Source new event sponsors, table buyers, auction items, and individual and corporate donors, and renew prior-year supporters
• Coordinate with program staff and event vendors so the fundraising program, auction, and guest experience support giving
• Conduct post-event stewardship and a debrief so each event builds on the last
• Support corporate partnerships with research, proposals, stewardship, and reporting

Skills

Relationship building

Storytelling

Resilience

Follow-through

Partnership

Persuasion

Community ties

Results ownership

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience

Tools

Salesforce

Job description

Start date: January 2027 (anticipated)

Location: Houston—Hybrid work model

Reports to: Senior Director of Development

Starting salary: $90,000–$110,000 annually

Benefits:

We offer competitive benefits including, but not limited to:

• employer-sponsored health insurance plans with 100% of employee-only and employee+dependents premiums covered by Breakthrough Houston
• supplemental benefits (including dental and vision)
• a 401(k) plan with a 5% employer match
• a generous paid time-off policy

Most importantly, we offer the opportunity to work with an amazing, diverse group of kind, dedicated, and fun people!

Our Mission: We equip students who demonstrate remarkable promise and financial need to discover what’s possible, access and attain a college degree, and build lives of choice and purpose.

Equity is central to Breakthrough’s mission, and equity is one of our organization’s core values. We are committed to intentionally creating diverse communities and work to ensure that all identities—particularly Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and those who have been historically marginalized—are represented and supported. We strive to see the identities of the communities we serve reflected across all levels of our team.

Our Background + Our Program: Founded in 1995 with a handful of teachers and a small class of 7th graders, Breakthrough Houston makes a bold ten-year commitment to students with remarkable promise and financial need—from middle school through college graduation. A college degree opens the door to economic mobility and a life of choice and purpose, and to a stronger Houston: homegrown talent, mobility that lasts across generations, and leaders rooted in the communities they serve.

BTH comprises three programs: the Middle School Program, the College Bound Program, and the College Completion Program. Together, they serve about 900 students from 30+ school districts, in Houston and at colleges nationwide. Through summer and school-year programming, every student receives four things across all ten years, tuition-free: academic support, 1:1 advising, career-connected learning, and community and belonging. Our summer program runs at three middle school sites: St. John’s School, our Connect Community site in Sharpstown/Gulfton, and The Awty International School.

Additionally, our Teacher Training Program supports aspiring teachers through an innovative near-peer model. Each summer, 100+ high school graduates and college students join us as AmeriCorps Teaching Fellows. They teach our middle school classes and gain 100+ hours of classroom experience, with intensive coaching and mentoring from professional educators.

Now we’re ready to grow. Our 2030 strategic plan will bring more students into the program and open a fourth site. For three decades we’ve been one of Houston’s best-kept secrets, and we’re ready to become a recognized partner and leader. This role is central to making that happen.

The Role

This role is at the center of Breakthrough Houston’s growth. You’ll join a three-person development team alongside the Executive Director and Senior Director of Development, and you’ll build the engine behind our individual giving: the stories, narrative, and cultivation touchpoints that let each of us be personal and hands-on with every donor. You’ll inspire confidence, so every supporter knows their investment is seen, valued, and changing students’ lives. That same engine will cultivate our broader base of supporters, so donors at every level feel connected to our students and want to give more over time. You’ll also manage your own portfolio of mid-level and major donors, lead the fundraising behind our two flagship events, and support our corporate partnerships. If you want real ownership, visible impact, and a front-row seat to an organization on the rise, this is the role.

What It Takes

Great fundraisers come from many places: development offices, sales, banking, hospitality, teaching, programs, organizing, the arts, and beyond. These are the skills that matter most:

• Results ownership. You treat a goal as yours and work backward to hit it, whether that was a quota, a budget, or an enrollment target.
• Relationship building. You earn trust with people of every background and deepen it over time, whether you’ve managed clients, worked with families, built partnerships, or kept customers coming back.
• Storytelling. You make people feel something and want to act. You’ve written, taught, presented, or performed, and you tell our students’ stories with dignity, as stories of strength and promise.
• Resilience. You hear “no” and keep going. Maybe you’ve made cold calls, gone to auditions, pitched investors, or knocked on doors.
• Follow-through. You keep many projects and deadlines moving at once, and people know they can count on you.
• Partnership. You make the people around you better. You’ve prepped a leader for a big meeting, coached a teammate, or made sure the follow-up actually happened.
• Persuasion. You move people from interest to commitment, whether you’ve closed deals, recruited a team, or rallied a community.
• Community ties. You’re connected to Houston’s business, civic, or community life, or you’re eager to build those connections.

The Work

Individual Giving Engine

• Build and run the cultivation and stewardship engine that equips the Executive Director, Senior Director of Development, and you to give every donor tailored, personal attention
• Develop the stories, narrative, and impact content behind our donor touchpoints, with student success stories and photos at the center
• Design a stewardship calendar of cultivation touchpoints matched to each donor’s level and interests
• Cultivate and upgrade our broader base of donors through segmented communications and timely, personal touches
• Serve as the development point of contact for our marketing partner, supplying the stories behind our social media
• Prepare donor briefings and materials for the Executive Director’s meetings

Your Portfolio

• Manage a portfolio of mid-level and major individual donors, with cultivation plans and moves management in Salesforce
• Identify and cultivate new donors through events, board and volunteer introductions, and research
• Grow the number of donors giving $1,000+ and upgrade annual donors to higher levels of giving

Flagship Events

• Own the fundraising goal for the fall and spring flagship events (about $300K each) and the sponsor, table, auction, and individual-gift strategy behind it
• Recruit and work with event co-chairs and committees; manage the fundraising timeline, sponsor benefits, and day-of fundraising program
• Source new event sponsors, table buyers, auction items, and individual and corporate donors, and renew prior-year supporters
• Work with the event co-chairs to set the fundraising plan, assign prospect outreach, and keep the committee on track toward the goal
• Coordinate with program staff and event vendors so the fundraising program, auction, and guest experience support giving
• Conduct post-event stewardship and a debrief so each event builds on the last

Corporate Partnerships

• Support the Senior Director of Development’s corporate partnerships with research, proposals, stewardship, and reporting
• Support corporate volunteer and student engagement opportunities that deepen partnerships and lead to larger gifts
• Secure event sponsors, coordinating with the Senior Director of Development

Operations and Data

• Keep Salesforce records complete and accurate across the team’s portfolios
• Report revenue, pipeline, and event results against goals
• Maintain the timelines and systems that keep our fundraising on track

Qualifications

What You’ll Need

• 5+ years in externally facing, relationship-driven work in fundraising, sales, partnerships, client relations, or similar roles
• A track record of building relationships that led to measurable results: gifts, sales, partnerships, or revenue
• Experience carrying a goal and meeting it, whether revenue, sales, enrollment, or a campaign target
• Confidence in building relationships with senior leaders and decision-makers
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience

Nice to Have, but Not Required

• Fundraising experience, including securing five-figure gifts
• Experience working with boards, committees, or volunteer leaders
• Existing relationships in Houston’s business, civic, or philanthropic communities
• Experience in education, college access, or youth-serving organizations
• Experience with Salesforce or another CRM

Thinking of Applying?

Research shows that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. If you are excited about the role and see a connection with what we are looking for, but don’t meet every single requirement, we’d encourage you to apply anyway.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, BTH is committed to providing employment opportunities to all individuals and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, marital status, veteran status, pregnancy, or any other basis prohibited by applicable law.