Development Director: Major Gifts & Growth Architect

Diversecharters; St. Louis, Northern (MO, KY); Hybrid; USD 95,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

City Garden Montessori School in St. Louis, MO, seeks a Director of Development to lead fundraising, donor relations, and strategic advancement while collaborating with the CEO and Board. This on-site role may include remote work by agreement with the supervisor.

The candidate should have a track record of securing major gifts and managing development staff, with a passion for Montessori education and educational equity.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of progressive fundraising experience and ideally some experience directly managing development staff.
• Demonstrated success securing 4-5 figure major gifts.
• Energized by heavy discovery and prospecting work.
• Strong relationship-building and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication abilities.
• Experience working with donor databases and fundraising CRM systems.
• Passion for educational equity and Montessori education.

Responsibilities

• Manage a portfolio of approximately 50–75 major donor and prospect relationships.
• Develop and implement individualized cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship plans.
• Conduct donor meetings, site visits, and stewardship activities throughout the year.
• Prepare and lead major (4-5 figure) gift solicitations in partnership with the CEO and Board members.
• Identify opportunities to increase donor retention and upgrade giving levels.
• Proactively conduct discovery work to uncover new individual prospects.
• Develop and execute the annual fundraising plan.
• Establish annual fundraising goals and key performance indicators.
• Monitor fundraising performance and adjust strategies as needed.
• Build a sustainable pipeline of major gift prospects.
• Oversee foundation and corporate fundraising strategy.
• Develop relationships with key institutional funders.
• Collaborate on grant proposals, reports, and stewardship activities.
• Ensure timely submission of all grant and sponsorship opportunities.
• Support Board fundraising efforts and engagement.
• Build a development committee to assist with donor identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
• Provide coaching and tools to help Board members manage donor relationships.
• Partner with volunteer leaders and ambassadors to expand City Garden’s network.
• Supervise and support the Development & Communications Manager.
• Foster strong systems, accountability, and collaboration across advancement functions.
• Work closely with school leadership to identify compelling stories and funding opportunities.

Skills

Fundraising

Donor relations

Communication

Prospect research

Relationship management

Tools

Fundraising CRM

Donor databases

Job description

City Garden Montessori School in St. Louis, MO, seeks a Director of Development to lead fundraising, donor relations, and strategic advancement while collaborating with the CEO and Board. This on-site role may include remote work by agreement with the supervisor.

The candidate should have a track record of securing major gifts and managing development staff, with a passion for Montessori education and educational equity.