Director of Development

Colorado "I Have A Dream" Foundation; Denver (CO); Hybrid; USD 85,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Colorado LiftED Foundation is seeking a Director of Development & Engagement to lead its individual-giving engine, foster donor relationships, and drive signature events and campaigns in the Denver metro area.

This growth-oriented role starts non-supervisory, with a plan to expand the team as donor revenue matures, and requires strategic relationship-building, flawless gala execution, and data-driven campaign management to ensure sustained support for youth.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience in development, nonprofit management, communications is required.
• Five to seven years of progressive development experience with ownership of donor cultivation, events, and campaigns.
• Experience with donor management systems (Virtuous, Salesforce, Bloomerang, DonorPerfect, or similar).
• Excellent written and verbal communication with donor-facing language and relationship-building skills.
• Experience directing contractors and volunteers and ability to grow a small team.
• Comfort with spreadsheets, email marketing platforms, and reporting dashboards.

Responsibilities

• Own the individual-giving strategy and pipeline, developing multi-year plans for donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
• Maintain a personal portfolio by cultivating and stewarding donors with high-touch stewardship.
• Prepare the CEO and Senior Director of Development with briefing materials and engagement opportunities.
• Own the Gala and signature events end-to-end, including strategy, budget, execution, and post-event reconciliation.
• Direct contracted and volunteer event capacity and manage a calendar of cultivation moments.
• Own campaign strategy and revenue for Colorado Gives Day, End-of-Year Giving, and new campaigns.

Skills

Donor cultivation

Signature events

Giving campaigns

Budgeting

Donor management systems

Relationship building

Data-driven decisions

Equity & DEI

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

Virtuous

Salesforce

Bloomerang

DonorPerfect

Job description

About the Colorado LiftED Foundation

The Colorado LiftED Foundation is a long-term partner to youth and families in the Denver metro area, offering academic, social, and emotional support so no one has to navigate school and life alone. Since our founding in 1988, we've leveraged proven methods to give youth equal access to the resources they need to succeed — working toward a Colorado where every young person has equal access to educational and career opportunities that ignite their innate potential.

About the Position

The Director of Development & Engagement owns CLF's individual-giving engine — donor relationships, signature events, and year-round giving campaigns that turn community belief into sustained support for youth. Reporting to the Senior Director of Development, the Director sets and executes the strategy for donor cultivation and stewardship, the Annual Gala and signature events, and CLF's giving campaigns (Colorado Gives Day, End-of-Year Giving, and beyond), and owns the revenue those efforts produce.

This is a builder's role with a growth path: in year one it is non-supervisory, with the Director carrying strategy and donor relationships directly, supported by a contracted event coordinator and volunteers, and partnering closely with the CEO, Senior Director of Development, and Development Operations & Communications Manager. The ideal candidate is a strategic relationship-builder who is equally comfortable shaping a multi-year donor plan, running a flawless gala, and reading a campaign dashboard to course-correct mid-stream — someone who treats each donor as a long-term partner whose commitment is meant to outlast any single gift.

This Role Lives All Five CLF Values

• A Seat at the Table — Donor and volunteer experiences authentically include the voices of youth, families, and community.
• An Inch Wide, A Mile Deep — A focused, high-quality donor portfolio beats chasing volume.
• Once a Dreamer, Always a Dreamer — Every donor and volunteer is stewarded with the same long-term commitment CLF brings to youth.
• Whatever It Takes — Relentless, creative follow-through on cultivation, events, and campaigns alike.
• We Not Me — Individual giving is shared organizational infrastructure, not a department off to one side.

Key Responsibilities

Individual-Giving Strategy & Donor Portfolio

• Own the individual-giving strategy and pipeline. Design and execute a multi-year plan for donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship — partnering with the CEO and Senior Director of Development to set cultivation stages and ensure every high-value donor has a clear next step.
• Carry a personal portfolio. Cultivate and steward individual and donor-advised-fund (DAF) donors with high-touch stewardship; standard acknowledgments are generated centrally.
• Make leadership effective in donor moments. Prepare the CEO and Senior Director of Development with briefing materials and deeper-engagement opportunities like site visits and program showcases.

Signature Events & Donor Experience

• Own the Gala and signature events end-to-end. Hold the strategy, budget, and execution — from concept through vendor and venue management and run-of-show, to post-event reconciliation and debrief, so each event outperforms the last.
• Lead contracted and volunteer event capacity. Direct a contracted event coordinator and volunteers, setting scope and holding accountability for execution.
• Design a year-round engagement calendar of cultivation moments — receptions, showcases, board touchpoints — between major events.

Giving Campaigns & Revenue Growth

• Own campaign strategy and revenue. Hold the strategy, segmentation, timeline, and revenue goals for Colorado Gives Day, End-of-Year Giving, and new campaigns you design — tracking performance in real time and adjusting tactics to meet or exceed targets.
• Keep storytelling true. Ensure campaign storytelling authentically reflects the youth, families, and communities CLF serves.

Coaching, Feedback & Growth

• Report up with rigor. Meet weekly with the Senior Director of Development to align priorities and surface risks; engage in quarterly coaching and an annual review.
• Coach down to the capacity you lead. Set clear scope and give growth-oriented feedback to the contracted event coordinator and volunteers.

Growth Path

This role begins as a non-supervisory builder position: the Director carries individual-giving strategy and relationships directly, supported by a contracted event coordinator and volunteers. As individual giving matures into a proven, dependable revenue stream, CLF expects to add development capacity reporting to this role.

Skills & Qualifications

• Five to seven or more years of progressive development experience, with demonstrated ownership of donor cultivation, signature events, and giving campaigns, and a track record of growing individual or annual giving.
• Demonstrated ability to set and meet revenue targets and to own budgets for events and campaigns.
• Proficiency with donor management systems (Virtuous, Salesforce, Bloomerang, DonorPerfect, or similar); direct Virtuous experience preferred.
• Excellent relationship and written-communication skills, with an ear for donor-facing language that is warm, specific, and anchored in mission.
• Experience directing contractors and/or volunteers, with the judgment to build and eventually supervise a small team.
• Comfort with spreadsheets, email-marketing platforms, and reporting dashboards, and the analytical habit of using data to course-correct.
• Deep commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, belonging, and CLF's five core values.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience in development, nonprofit management, communications, or a related field.
• Availability for evening and weekend work tied to the Gala, cultivation events, and campaign deadlines.
• Valid Colorado driver's license and reliable transportation for donor meetings and site visits.
• Must pass a background check consistent with CLF's youth-serving organizational standards.
• Alignment: Demonstrated commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, belonging, and CLF's core values (A Seat at the Table, We Not Me, An Inch Wide A Mile Deep, Once a Dreamer Always a Dreamer, Whatever It Takes).

Compensation & Benefits

• Employment Status: Full-Time (1.0 FTE), Salaried/Exempt.
• Salary Range: $85,000–$100,000, commensurate with experience.
• Benefits: Health, dental, and vision insurance; employer-sponsored retirement plan; paid time off; paid holidays; professional development support.
• Location: Hybrid (Denver metro), with in-person presence required for the Gala, cultivation events, and team collaboration.

AI Disclosure

At CLF, we use tools like Claude.ai as part of how we think, draft, and work. AI can be a genuine asset for organizing your thoughts, working through writer's block, or strengthening how you communicate your ideas. That said, what we're looking for in your application is you — your voice, your reflection, and your real connection to this work. When responses feel like they were generated rather than considered, we lose the very thing we're trying to understand: how you think about relationships, complexity, and mission.

So as you prepare your materials, we ask that AI supplement your thinking, not replace it. If you used AI assistance in drafting your application, we simply ask that you briefly note how in your submission. There's no wrong answer — honesty here is itself a signal of the self-awareness we value in our team.

Additional Information

This description illustrates the job functions and basic duties, including “other duties as assigned”; supervisors may assign additional responsibilities as appropriate. Colorado LiftED Foundation is committed to equal employment opportunity and a non-discriminatory workplace, and welcomes all qualified candidates who share our mission to apply.