Development Director

Health Equity Alliance; Nashville (TN); Hybrid; USD 70,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

The Equity Alliance in Nashville, TN, is seeking a strategic Fundraising Director to lead and grow fundraising across Tennessee. This senior role focuses on grants, major gifts, individual giving, and donor stewardship, with hybrid work and a competitive salary.

You will write grant proposals, cultivate major donors, and build scalable fundraising systems to support our justice-centered programs. You will collaborate with leadership to align fundraising with campaigns, events, and organizational

Qualifications

• Senior, hands-on fundraising leadership with strategic thinking.
• Proven ability to write strong grant proposals and cultivate major donors.
• Experience building scalable fundraising systems and pipelines.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a comprehensive fundraising strategy including grants, major gifts, individual donors, and events.
• Lead grant research, writing, submission, and reporting aligned with priorities.
• Build and manage a major gifts program with donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
• Collaborate with the Director of Strategy to integrate fundraising into events and programs.
• Partner with the Director of Culture and Strategy to embed fundraising into experiences.
• Supervise the Fundraising Coordinator and establish workflows and accountability.
• Maintain donor records and reporting in the CRM.
• Oversee donor communications and impact reporting; track performance for Deputy Director.

Skills

Grant writing

Major gifts

Donor stewardship

CRM management

Fundraising strategy

Tools

CRM (donor CRM)

Job description

The Equity Alliance (501(c)(3)) & The Equity Alliance Fund (501(c)(4))
Location: Nashville, Tennessee (Hybrid)
Salary: $70,000-$75,000
Reports to: Deputy Director & CEO

The Equity Alliance (TEA) and The Equity Alliance Fund (TEAF) are seeking a strategic, values-aligned Fundraising Director to lead and grow our fundraising efforts across Tennessee. This role is responsible for building sustainable revenue streams through grants, major gifts, individual giving and donor stewardship.

At this moment, TEA is shifting from survival and resistance toward renaissance by building durable Black power rooted in economic justice, culture, and self-determination. The Fundraising Director plays a critical role in resourcing that work by building sustainable revenue streams and integrating fundraising seamlessly into our campaigns, events, and organizational culture.

This is a senior, hands-on role for someone who can think strategically while executing day-to-day, write strong grant proposals, cultivate major donors, strengthen individual giving, and build systems that scale. The Fundraising Director partners closely with leadership and program teams to ensure fundraising is relational, aligned, and impact-driven.

Key Responsibilities

Fundraising Strategy & Revenue Growth

• Develop and execute a comprehensive fundraising strategy that includes grants, major gifts, individual donors, and event-based revenue
• Lead grant research, writing, submission, and reporting in alignment with organizational priorities
• Build and manage a major gifts program, including donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship

Collaboration & Integration

• Work closely with the Director of Strategy to ensure fundraising goals are integrated into all major events, programs, and campaigns
• Partner with the Director of Culture and Strategy to embed fundraising into cultural activations and branded experiences
• Support leadership in donor-facing meetings, presentations, and relationship-building

Department Building & Management

• Build out and manage the fundraising infrastructure, systems, and processes
• Supervise the Fundraising Coordinator and provide clear workflows and accountability
• Maintain accurate donor records and reporting in the CRM

Stewardship & Accountability

• Oversee donor communications, acknowledgments, and impact reporting
• Track fundraising performance and provide regular updates to the Deputy Director

Who You Are in This Era

• You understand that fundraising is not extraction. It is redistribution, alignment, and repair.
• You see donors as co-investors in Black futures, not saviors.
• You are fluent in the language of wealth building, systems change, self-governance, and community infrastructure

Soft Skills, Power & Presence

• Charisma rooted in clarity and confidence.
• Social influence that makes people want to belong to this work.
• Swagger that communicates abundance, not scarcity.
• Deep relational intelligence across race, class, and ideology.

How You Move the Work

• Steward individual donors as long-term partners in Black renaissance.
• Manage grants with a relationship-first mindset. Grants as relationships, not transactions.
• Follow up like it's a love language. Trust depends on it.
• Translate TEA's work and values into compelling, values-aligned narratives that funders can feel.
• Work in close partnership with the executive leadership team to grow major gifts that fund scale, sustainability, and innovation.