Director of Development

Back to the Bible; Kansas City (MO); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Back to the Bible is seeking an experienced Director of Development to design and run a full fundraising operation that accelerates momentum and expands the donor base. You will build strategy, systems, and rhythms in collaboration with a major gifts officer and the leadership team.

The role covers annual giving, digital fundraising, donor cultivation, and portfolio management, with travel to meet supporters.

Qualifications

• Five or more years of progressive fundraising experience.
• Experience in annual giving, direct response, or digital fundraising.
• Experience cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding individual donors.
• Strong data and analysis skills with working CRM.
• Excellent written and verbal communication.
• Strong project management and proactive goal achievement.
• Willingness to travel for donor meetings and events.
• Bachelor's degree in a related field or equivalent experience.

Responsibilities

• Annual Giving, Digital, and Direct Response
• Design and run the annual giving calendar, including print appeals, newsletters, and email campaigns
• Build the ministry's digital fundraising program and convert viewers, listeners, and readers into donors
• Develop and execute a monthly donor acquisition strategy alongside the development team
• Create a donor journey and appreciation strategy that measurably improves retention
• Identify lapsing donors and design reactivation campaigns
• Carry and manage a portfolio of donors, upgrading those with capacity to give more
• Visit donors in person where appropriate and strategic
• Partner with the Executive Director and major gifts officer on cultivation and solicitation strategy
• Use Virtuous CRM to segment audiences, track activity, and evaluate fundraising performance
• Establish metrics and reporting rhythms for each fundraising channel
• Report progress to the Executive Director and leadership
• Collaborate with content and marketing to produce fundraising materials

Skills

Fundraising strategy

Annual giving

Donor relationships

Digital fundraising

Data analysis

CRM proficiency

Communication

Project management

Travel willingness

Education

Bachelor's degree in nonprofit management / related field

Tools

Virtuous CRM

Job description

About Back to the Bible

Back to the Bible is an 87-year-old ministry that exists to help everyone, everywhere know, love, and be transformed by God's Word. Founded in 1939, the organization served as a radio ministry through 2020 before entering a new chapter built around digital biblical content and Bible engagement research.

The ministry does two things well: producing daily biblical content and conducting transformative research at the Center for Scripture Absorption. Since 2025 it has experienced renewed momentum, growing its YouTube audience to more than 130,000 subscribers, and the CSA undertaking research projects on a global scale. The organization is moving quickly and changing fast.

About the Role

Back to the Bible is looking for an experienced fundraising leader to build the strategy, systems, and rhythm behind a development operation entering a season of renewed momentum. Over the past year the ministry has stabilized and rebuilt its operations & focused heavily on renewing & expanding its donor base. The Director of Development will take that foundation and operationalize it.

The ministry carries a rich legacy and a large existing donor base. Roughly one third of revenue comes from planned and estate gifts, one third from major donors, and one third from general donors. Appeals and newsletters already generate a strong response and have real room to perform better. Digital fundraising is largely untapped beyond a monthly email appeal and a digital newsletter, even as the ministry's digital audience grows rapidly.

This role is split roughly in half. One half is designing and running the annual giving program: appeals, newsletters, monthly donor acquisition, digital fundraising, donor journey and appreciation, and reactivation of lapsing donors. The other half is direct donor work: carrying a portfolio, upgrading donors with the capacity to give more, and meeting with supporters in person where it is strategic.

The Executive Director remains highly active in fundraising, particularly in new major donor cultivation. The Director of Development will work alongside a major gifts officer and a donor relations coordinator and will partner closely with the Directional Leadership Team on organizational fundraising priorities.

The central priority is converting a fast-growing audience into donors and strengthening the donors the ministry already has, so that revenue relies less on unpredictable estate gifts.

Key Responsibilities

• Annual Giving, Digital, and Direct Response
• Design and run the annual giving calendar, including print appeals, newsletters, and email campaigns
• Build the ministry's digital fundraising program and convert viewers, listeners, and readers into donors
• Develop and execute a monthly donor acquisition strategy alongside the development team w/ the goal of growing recurring revenue
• Create a donor journey and appreciation strategy that measurably improves retention
• Identify lapsing donors and design reactivation campaigns
  

Donor Portfolio and Major Gifts

• Carry and manage a portfolio of donors, with a particular focus on upgrading donors who have the capacity to give more
• Identify and qualify new prospects using wealth screening and data analysis
• Cultivate, solicit, and steward gifts, tailoring outreach to each donor's connection to the mission
• Visit donors in person where appropriate and strategic
• Partner with the Executive Director and major gifts officer on cultivation and solicitation strategy
  

Fundraising Operations, Data, and Reporting

• Use Virtuous CRM to segment audiences, track activity, and evaluate fundraising performance
• Establish metrics and reporting rhythms for each fundraising channel
• Report regularly to the Executive Director and Directional Leadership Team on progress toward goals
• Collaborate with the content and marketing teams to produce fundraising materials, collateral, and donor communications
  

Events and Community Engagement

• Plan and execute fundraising and donor appreciation events, with an emphasis on Kansas City
• Represent Back to the Bible at conferences and community functions
• Conduct meetings and presentations with donors and prospective ministry partners

Required

• A personal commitment to Jesus Christ and a genuine passion for the mission of Back to the Bible. This is the most important qualification.
• Five or more years of progressive fundraising experience, preferably in the nonprofit or ministry sector
• Demonstrated success in annual giving, direct response, or digital fundraising
• Experience cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding individual donors
• Strong data and analysis skills, with working comfort in a donor CRM
• Excellent written and verbal communication, with the ability to engage donors, board members, and staff
• Strong project management skills and a proactive approach to achieving goals
• Willingness to travel for donor meetings and events
• Bachelor's degree in nonprofit management, business administration, communications, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience

Preferred

• Residence in the Kansas City metro
• Experience with Virtuous CRM or similar donor management software
• Digital fundraising experience with a media, ministry, or content-driven organization
• CFRE credential
• Experience planning and executing fundraising events
  

What Success Looks Like in the First Year

Back to the Bible measures first-year success by the strength and predictability of the fundraising operation. Clear markers include:

• A documented annual giving calendar that the team runs on
• Measurable improvement in appeal and newsletter performance
• A functioning digital fundraising program tied to the ministry's content platforms
• Meaningful growth in the monthly donor file
• A reporting rhythm that gives leadership a clear view of performance by channel
• A qualified portfolio with documented cultivation activity and upgraded donors