Development Manager

Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP-DC) Washington, DC Metro Area Chapter; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 73,000 - 76,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Transit stipend

401(k) with employer contributions

Job summary

Future Caucus seeks a Development Manager in Washington, DC, with a hybrid work arrangement. This role owns the institutional grants lifecycle, from prospect research to reporting, and leads grant writing to support annual fundraising goals of over $6MM.

The position reports to the Senior Director of Strategic Growth and Impact and requires collaboration across teams to align funder interests with organizational priorities.

Qualifications

• Minimum 4 years in a similar role with multi-year, 6- to 7-figure grants.
• Exceptional writing and storytelling with donor-focused communications.
• Strong organizational skills with multiple deadlines and cross-team input.
• Excellent interpersonal judgment when communicating mission and activities with diverse audiences.

Responsibilities

• Manage day-to-day grant operations and calendar; improve systems for clarity and scalability.
• Lead preparation, writing, and submission of grant proposals and reports; coordinate with program and finance teams.

Skills

Grant writing & storytelling

Stakeholder management

Donor research

Project management

CRM usage

Deadline-driven

Tools

Impala

iWave

GuideStar

EveryAction

Job description

Development Manager

Future Caucus - Washington, DC

Employment Details

Full-time

Salary: $72,750.00 - $76,200.00 Annually

Location: Hybrid in Washington, DC

Reports to: Maloreigh Todd, Senior Director, Strategic Growth & Impact

Anticipated Start: November 2026

About The Role

The Development Manager sits on our growing development team and will own Future Caucus's institutional grants management and serve as a lead writer for our fundraising efforts. This person will manage the full lifecycle of our institutional grants, from prospect research and proposal development through reporting, renewal, and stewardship, while building the systems and processes that allow our fundraising operation to scale. The Development Manager reports directly to the Senior Director of Strategic Growth and Impact, working closely to align funding opportunities with organizational priorities, develop institutional fundraising strategies, and ensure compliance with funder requirements.

The individual in this position will play a key role in supporting the organization's long-term sustainability and impact, powering annual fundraising goals of over $6MM. Experience managing a portfolio and grant cycle with 6-7 figure grant commitments is required.

We’re looking for someone who gets genuinely excited about turning a great idea into a great case for support. You are an exceptional writer who can take a complicated program, an ambitious strategy, or a pile of inputs from across an organization and find the story in it—then make that story clear, compelling, and hard to say no to. You’re also the person who knows exactly when the report is due, what’s still missing, and who needs a nudge to get it over the finish line.

We don't see development as simply writing grants or keeping a fundraising calendar; it's about understanding where the organization is going, seeing how a funder's interests intersect with that vision, and building the relationships and arguments that bring the two together. We’re looking for someone who wants to learn that whole craft: a strong writer and meticulous operator today, with the curiosity, judgment, and relational instincts to grow into a top development leader as Future Caucus grows.

About Future Caucus

Future Caucus has an audacious mission: activate young leaders to bridge the partisan divide and transform American politics. Future Caucus is a national, nonpartisan organization dedicated to supporting the next generation of elected leaders. We provide the resources, networking, and capacity-building opportunities for these policymakers to forge productive partnerships on critical national issues.

In 2013, Future Caucus organized the nation’s first and only caucus for young members of Congress, the Congressional Future Caucus, to build coalitions on future-oriented challenges. Future Caucus also scaled this model into 36 state legislatures, each with a Future Caucus consisting of young, high-potential legislators, and has now engaged more than 2,100 young legislators nationwide. In 2025, Future Caucus' President & CEO was named to the TIME100 Next list.

Responsibilities

• Manage day-to-day grant operations, including managing the grants calendar, coordinating internal stakeholders to complete development deliverables on set timelines, and continuously improving systems for clarity, scalability, and efficiency
• Lead the preparation, writing, and submission of high-quality grant proposals, reports, and donor-facing materials, collaborating with internal program and finance teams to align deliverables with organizational priorities and funder interests
• Use proactive fundraising approaches to identify and cultivate new institutional funders through creative prospecting, partnerships, and market intelligence
• Support renewal and expansion of existing institutional funding relationships, with a focus on increasing gift size and multi-year commitments over time
• Partner with Sr. Director of Strategic Growth & Impact to support the President & CEO and other senior leadership on strategy for top-tier donor relationship management and multi-year gift opportunities
• Analyze the institutional funding pipeline and grant portfolio to surface opportunities, risks, upcoming funding gaps, and trends that should inform fundraising strategy
• Perform other related duties as needed

Requirements

ABOUT YOU

• A minimum of 4 years' experience in a role with similar responsibilities, with a proven track record of managing and securing multi-year, 6-figure and 7-figure grants
• Exceptional writing and storytelling skills; ability to create compelling donor-focused and executive communications with minimal supervision
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, including demonstrated ability to manage multiple simultaneous deadlines while garnering cross-team input
• Strong interpersonal judgement when communicating our mission, ethos, and activities with a range of audiences (e.g. stakeholders, funders) in writing and in person
• Proven ability to conduct independent donor research using tools like Impala, iWave, or Guidestar to identify and qualify donor leads
• Experience working in a deadline-driven, fast-paced environment
• Self-motivated individual known for getting things done and figuring things out that are new to them
• Experience with EveryAction, or a similar donor-focused CRM
• Sincere commitment to the Future Caucus mission of working across partisan lines

OUR VALUES

In 2020, Future Caucus Unveiled a Set Of Organizational Value Statements Developed Collaboratively By Our Team. This Ethos Represents What We Believe In At Future Caucus, And What We Have Worked To Establish During The Last Eleven Years. These Are The Values We Have Set For Ourselves, And What We See Come To Life Through Our Legislators In Our Network, Partners, And Supporters

• Listen First: communicate openly and respectfully - make room for others at the table
• Say "We": there is no "I" in Future Caucus - welcome diversity; it makes us stronger
• Build Trust: Integrity in our relationships is fundamental - be reliable and follow through
• Empower Others: Be empathetic - practice transparency and collaborate openly
• Break Barriers: Climb it, go through it, or work around it - limits are challenges to overcome
• Innovate Freely: Disruption leads to creative solutions - forge a new path forward

LOCATION

Future Caucus is currently in a hybrid work environment, candidates must be located in the Washington, D.C. metro area, or be willing to relocate. We have a preference for those already located in the DMV.

Benefits

Salary for this position is $72,750 - $76,200. Highly competitive benefits are provided, including transit stipend, 401(k) with employer contributions, generous