Director of Development

Silent Spring Institute; Newton (MA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Paid vacation

Sick leave

Personal days

Holidays

Professional development

Parking or transit pass

Job summary

Silent Spring Institute seeks a Director of Development to lead fundraising for a $5 million organization dedicated to researching environmental causes of cancer. You will manage a major donor portfolio and oversee a small team, reporting to the Executive Director in Newton, MA.

You will drive foundation relations, craft compelling proposals, and coordinate events including the annual gala. The role requires strategic vision, excellent communication, and hands-on fundraising leadership.

Qualifications

• Senior fundraising leadership with a track record of increasing revenue.
• Ability to steward major individual donors with strong relationship skills.
• Experience leading a small development team and collaborating with programs.
• Excellent written and verbal communication for proposals and reports.
• Comfortable with donor databases and data integrity.
• Willingness to travel domestically as needed.

Responsibilities

• Steward a portfolio of major donors and sustain long-term giving.
• Lead foundation outreach and manage relationships with funders.
• Draft donor communications, proposals, and reports.
• Organize donor meetings with the Executive Director.
• Oversee annual gala and major fundraising events.
• Ensure revenue growth and alignment with budget targets.
• Supervise the Assistant Director of Development and coordinate with the team.

Skills

Donor relations

Foundation fundraising

Strategic thinking

Team leadership

Communication

Mentoring staff

Budgeting

Travel readiness

Tools

Donor database systems

Job description

Salary: $120,000.00 - $180,000.00 Annually

Application Deadline: N/A

Research

Silent Spring Institute seeks a Director of Development to lead fundraising for a $5 million organization dedicated to researching the environmental causes of cancer. The Director of Development will be responsible for implementing organizational strategy related to resource mobilization. They will have a portfolio of major individual donors and will also engage with private foundation supporters. The Director of Development will oversee a small team and will report to the Executive Director.

Responsibilities

Donors

• Steward a portfolio of individual donors, ensuring their continued support of Silent Spring
• Lead foundation outreach, connecting with foundations on the prospect list and maintaining relationships with existing foundation donors
• Draft letters, proposals, reports, and other donor communications
• Organize donor meetings for the Executive Director

Events

• Oversee annual fundraising gala and other major fundraising events
• Strategize around fundraising appeals
• Create a calendar of events for Silent Spring

Revenue projections and systems

• Exercise responsibility for meeting Silent Spring's annual fundraising goal
• Maintain oversight of current and future revenue
• Liaise with Finance on budgetary updates and Board reports
• Ensure data integrity of donor database

Management

• Supervise Assistant Director of Development in donor relations and event coordination
• Liaise closely with Director of Communications and foundation officer/writer in developing strategy and materials for individual and institutional donors
• Manage temporary event coordinator for annual gala

Preferred Qualifications

• 8-10 years of increasingly senior Development experience
• Previous lead responsibility for bringing in organizational revenue
• Ability to steward major individual donors with superb relational skills
• Stellar communicator, both verbally and in writing
• Experience with mentoring and managing more junior staff
• Both big-picture strategic thinking and an eye for detail
• Comfort and familiarity with donor database systems
• Location in Boston, or in the U.S. Northeast
• Ability to travel domestically
• Interest in medicine, health, and science a plus
• Salary range: $120K-$180K per year

Silent Spring offers generous benefits including health and dental insurance, four weeks of vacation, 12 sick days, two personal days and 12 holidays per year, and professional development support. We offer free on-site parking or reimbursement for MBTA pass

Silent Spring Institute is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of actual or perceived race, religion, color, national origin, gender identification, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.