Development Director

City Year; New Orleans (LA); On-site; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical coverage

Dental coverage

401(k) plan

Job summary

City Year in New Orleans seeks a Development Director to lead fundraising efforts and build community partnerships. This role requires strategic leadership and hands-on execution, managing diverse fundraising streams while collaborating closely with the Executive Director.

The candidate should have over 5 years of relevant experience in fundraising and donor relations, alongside outstanding project management skills. The successful applicant will ensure sustained support for City Year’s critical work in schools through effective community engagement.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in fundraising or related work.
• Demonstrated success building and stewarding donor relationships.
• Strong writing and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute annual fundraising strategy.
• Manage a portfolio of corporate, foundation, and individual donors.
• Support planning and execution of fundraising events.

Skills

Fundraising

Project Management

Communication

Donor Relations

Organizational Skills

Tools

Salesforce CRM

Microsoft Office

Job description

Position Overview

At City Year, we believe in the power of young people to transform schools and communities through service. The Development Director (DD) leads fundraising and external engagement efforts for City Year New Orleans and plays a key role in sustaining and growing support for our work in schools and communities. Reporting directly to the Executive Director, the Development Director is responsible for developing and executing fundraising strategies across corporate, foundation, government, and individual giving streams. This role manages a multi‑faced annual fundraising portfolio that supports several hundred thousand dollars in private and public revenue annually. City Year New Orleans is a small, collaborative site, and this role is currently the only site‑based development position. Because of that, this role combines strategic fundraising leadership with hands‑on execution and day‑to‑day development operations.

What You’ll Do

Fundraising & Donor Engagement

• Develop and execute an annual fundraising strategy aligned to site goals and priorities.
• Manage and grow a portfolio of corporate, foundation, government, and individual donors.
• Identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward current and prospective supporters.
• Partner closely with the Executive Director and Board members on donor strategy, outreach, and relationship management.
• Build and maintain a strong fundraising pipeline and track progress toward revenue goals.
• Coordinate donor meetings, school visits, stewardship efforts, and community engagement opportunities.
• Collaborate with City Year national and regional colleagues to maximize funding opportunities and leverage shared resources.

Grants, Communications & Events

• Coordinate grant submissions and reporting in partnership with national grant support staff and contracted grant‑writing support.
• Manage multiple concurrent fundraising projects, deadlines, reports, and donor communications throughout the fiscal year.
• Support planning and execution of fundraising and donor engagement events.
• Partner with staff and national communications resources to support donor messaging, newsletters, impact storytelling, and external communications.
• Help strengthen City Year New Orleans’ visibility and community partnerships.
• Serve as project manager and lead point on all cultivation and fundraising events (approx. 2‑3 per year).
• Lead all development related social media campaigns (primarily Instagram/LinkedIn).

Development Operations & Stewardship

• Maintain accurate donor records, pipeline tracking, reporting, and engagement activity within City Year’s CRM systems (Salesforce).
• Coordinate gift processing, acknowledgements, stewardship communications, and donor follow‑up.
• Prepare donor reports, pipeline updates, board materials, and fundraising progress updates.
• Support annual development planning, forecasting, and pipeline reviews.
• Identify opportunities to improve systems, workflows, and organizational efficiency.

Board & Cross‑Functional Partnership

• Partner with the Executive Director and Board leadership to support board fundraising engagement and Development Committee goals.
• Support preparation for quarterly board meetings and ongoing board communication related to fundraising progress and priorities.
• Collaborate with program and operations staff to gather stories, photos, data, and updates that support fundraising and communications efforts.
• Serve as a member of the site leadership team and contribute to broader organizational planning and priorities.

Who You Are

You are a strong relationship‑builder and project manager who can balance big‑picture thinking with strong follow‑through and attention to detail. You are comfortable managing multiple priorities, building systems, and working both independently and collaboratively. You enjoy connecting with people, telling compelling stories, and helping move work forward.

The strongest candidates will bring

• 5+ years of experience in fundraising, development, nonprofit partnerships, communications, external affairs, or related work.
• Demonstrated success building and stewarding donor or partner relationships.
• Strong organizational and project management skills.
• Strong writing, communication, and storytelling skills.
• High proficiency with Microsoft suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines in a fast‑paced environment.
• Experience working collaboratively across teams and with external stakeholders.
• Comfort with donor databases, reporting systems, and development operations.
• Comfort navigating change and adapting strategy in a dynamic nonprofit environment.
• A proactive, solutions‑oriented mindset.
• Passion for youth development, community partnership, and helping students and schools thrive.
• Experience with grant writing, donor stewardship, fundraising events, CRM systems, or nonprofit communications is strongly preferred.

What Success Looks Like

• Meeting annual fundraising goals across multiple revenue streams.
• Building strong long‑term relationships with donors and community partners.
• Maintaining organized and effective development systems and processes.
• Strengthening donor stewardship and engagement efforts.
• Increasing community awareness and investment in City Year New Orleans.
• Supporting sustainable fundraising growth and long‑term organizational impact.

Benefits

Full‑time employees will be eligible for all benefits including vacation, sick days and organization holidays. You may participate in all benefit programs that City Year establishes and makes available to eligible employees, under (and subject to all provisions of) the plan documents that govern those programs. Currently, City Year offers medical, dental, vision, life, accidental death and dismemberment and disability coverage, Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA), and other benefits including 401(k) plan(s) pursuant to the terms and conditions of company policy and the 401(k) plan document. Employment at City Year is at‑will. City Year does not sponsor work authorization visas.

Equal Opportunity Employer

As an equal‑opportunity employer, City Year is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified 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, parental status, genetic information or characteristics, or any other basis prohibited by applicable law. Fair Labor Standards Act Family and Medical Leave Act Learn more at www.cityyear.org, City Year’s Facebook page, on X (formerly Twitter), and LinkedIn.