Director of Development

Mainstay Supportive Housing & Home Care; Newton (MA); On-site; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Mainstay Supportive Housing & Home Care, Newton, MA, seeks a Director of Development to lead fundraising and donor relations, focusing on growing individual giving and building a sustainable stream of philanthropic support.

Reporting to the COO, the role entails developing strategy and executing campaigns, collaborating with the leadership team and board, and expanding the donor base through major gifts, grants, events, and recurring giving.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in nonprofit development and fundraising.
• Bachelor’s Degree required.
• Ability to work independently as Mainstay’s solo development professional.
• Experience maintaining donor databases and using data to guide fundraising activities.
• Strong relationship-building with prospects and stakeholders.
• Strategic planning to drive growth and organizational goals.
• Proven ability to manage fundraising initiatives, events, and reporting.

Responsibilities

• Grow philanthropic support with emphasis on individual giving and expanding donor base (200+ donors over three years).
• Lead major donor engagement, stewardship, and recognition programs.
• Oversee grants and stewardship, manage relationships with foundations and funders; coordinate with grant writer.
• Set annual and multi-year fundraising goals; provide data-driven progress reports to leadership.
• Develop moves management plans for major prospects and coordinate with leadership and board.

Skills

Leadership

Fundraising

Donor relations

CRM proficiency

Communication

Strategic thinking

Project management

Networking

Education

Bachelor’s Degree

Tools

CRM software

Job description

Job Details: Job Location: NEWTON, MA 02458, Position Type: Full Time, Education Level: 4 Year Degree, Salary Range: $70,000.00 - $90,000.00 Salary, Travel Percentage: Up to 25%, Job Shift: Any, Job Category: Business Development, Mainstay Supportive Housing and Home Care, Inc. is a mission-driven nonprofit dedicated to helping vulnerable individuals—low-income elders, people living with disabilities and mental health complexities, and those transitioning out of chronic homelessness—live with dignity, independence and stability in their communities.

Founded in 1975, Mainstay had grown from its roots in housing services to a provider of permanent supportive housing and person-centered home care through Massachusetts. As we move into our next chapter, we are focused on expanding our impact and strengthening our financial sustainability.

We’re seeking a Director of Development to lead this effort, with a primary focus on growing individual giving, strengthening donor relationships and developing fundraising strategies to support Mainstay’s continued growth.

Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer (COO), the Director of Development will lead fundraising initiatives in support of Mainstay’s strategic goals. Working closely with the Chief Operating Officer, President & CEO, Volunteer Board of Directors and Marketing Consultants, the Director of Development will advance fundraising strategy, strengthen existing systems/process, and foster a culture of philanthropy. As our solo development professional, this is a hands‑on leadership role responsible for both developing strategy and carrying it out. Core priorities will be to substantially expand the donor base, increase donor engagement, and build a reliable, growing stream of philanthropic revenue.

The ideal candidate will bring a successful track record identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding support from individuals, moving donors up the giving pyramid, partnering with leadership. They will be equally comfortable developing fundraising strategies, engaging directly with donors and working collaboratively with our leadership team and board of directors.

Key Responsibilities

Individual Giving

• Create and implement a plan to grow philanthropic support with an emphasis on individual giving, including increasing the donor base to 200+ over three years.
• Partner with and prepare the volunteer Board of Directors for major donor outreach, solicitations and relationship‑building.
• Develop recognition and stewardship strategies that lead to increased retention and larger gifts over time.
• Identify opportunities to expand giving through annual appeals, recurring donations, and other individual giving initiatives.

Relationship Building

• Create personalized moves management plans for major prospects ($500+), guiding them from initial engagement to sustained giving.
• Identify, cultivate, and solicit prospects through in‑person visits (In and around Greater Boston), calls, personalized emails, event attendance, proposals, and other communications. Leverage organic relationships and networks.
• Ensure all donors receive timely and meaningful acknowledgement and recognition.
• Oversee and direct fundraising events, working with an event planner as needed.

Grants & Stewardship

• Strategically identify, cultivate, and solicit foundations and other grantmaking prospects, directing a grant writer (consultant) to draft proposals, advance requests, and generate reports.
• Manage relationships with foundation representatives and other institutional funders.
• Track, manage, and steward commitments. Ensure compliance requirements are met.

Goal Setting & Results

• Establish annual and multi-year fundraising goals in collaboration with the executive team.
• Provide regular reports and data‑driven recommendations to leadership regarding fundraising progress and opportunities for growth.
• Monitor fundraising progress, providing data‑driven insights to leadership.

Qualifications & Skills

• Experience: 5+ years in nonprofit development and fundraising. Bachelor’s Degree.
• Leadership: Ability to work independently as Mainstay’s solo development professional, taking ownership of fundraising initiatives from strategy through execution. Work collaboratively as an integral member of the leadership team, leveraging support from the Board of Directors and outside consultants as needed.
• Fundraising Expertise: Proven success in individual giving and major gifts fundraising.
• CRM Proficiency: Experience maintain donor databases, managing donor information and using data to guide fundraising activities.
• Relationship Building: Demonstrated ability to establish and build relationships with prospects and key stakeholders.
• Strategic Thinking: Ability to create and execute fundraising plans that drive growth and advance organizational goals.
• Project Management: Experience managing fundraising initiatives, events, and gift reporting.
• Communication Skills: Excellent written and verbal skills, including storytelling for donor engagement and persuasive proposal writing.
• Networks: Ability to build and leverage networks for prospecting. Knowledge of Boston and surrounding communities is desirable.

Why Join Mainstay?

• Make a Difference – Your work directly supports and organization that has spent 50 years helping vulnerable individual live with dignity, independence and stability.
• Opportunity to Build – Play a central role in growing Mainstay’s philanthropic support and shape our next chapter.
• Leadership & Collaboration– Work directly with executive leadership and an engaged volunteer board, with the opportunity to influence organizational strategy and long‑term sustainability.
• Mission-Driven Team – Join a team committed to empathy, compassion, teamwork and reliability.

Mainstay Supportive Housing & Home Care, Inc. is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. EOE/Veterans/Disabled and values a diverse workforce.