Director of Development & Community Engagement

Nashua PAL; Nashua (NH); On-site; USD 75,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Nashua PAL is seeking a Director of Development & Community Engagement to lead fundraising, donor relations, and community partnerships in support of Kids, Cops, & Community. You will engage with individuals, businesses, and volunteers, tell the PAL story, and build a robust pipeline of support.

This role requires energetic relationship-building, strategic thinking, and hands-on leadership across programs and events.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of progressive nonprofit development/fundraising experience required, with Director-level or comparable leadership experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead PAL’s fundraising and development activities including gifts, major gifts, corporate partnerships, and events.
• Oversee donor cultivation, stewardship, and donor relations.
• Expand PAL’s network of relationships and turn them into opportunities.
• Collaborate across programs to connect youth, volunteers, and community partners to PAL’s mission.
• Tell compelling stories and build supporter pipelines.
• Manage and mentor events & engagement staff and volunteers.

Skills

Storytelling

Relationship building

Fundraising

Donor relations

Nonprofit leadership

Salesforce

BetterUnite

Public speaking

Tools

Salesforce

BetterUnite

Job description

Director of Development & Community Engagement

The Director of Development & Community Engagement serves as Nashua PAL’s lead relationship and opportunity builder, responsible for connecting people, resources, and ideas to advance PAL’s mission of Kids, Cops, & Community.

This position leads PAL’s overall fundraising and development activities, including individual giving, major gifts, corporate partnerships, sponsorships, donor cultivation, events, and stewardship. Just as importantly, the Director is responsible for expanding PAL’s network of relationships and turning those relationships into opportunities for PAL youth, programs, and the organization.

The Director will work across PAL’s programs, including youth programming, athletics, events, volunteer engagement, and community partnerships, to better connect the many people who interact with PAL to the larger organization and mission.

This is not a sit-behind-a-desk fundraising job. It’s a get out there, meet people, tell great stories, build real relationships, dream up big ideas, and invite people to be part of something awesome kind of job.

If you love people, aren’t afraid to ask, get energized by ambitious goals, and believe relationships can change the trajectory of a young person’s life, you might fit in pretty well around here.

This is a highly relational position. The successful candidate will be someone who enjoys meeting people, opening doors, making connections, following opportunities, and helping others find meaningful ways to become part of PAL.

Reports To: Executive Director

Supervises: Events & Engagement Manager; Volunteer Coordinator; other assigned development/engagement staff

Salary: $75-100K

Who is Nashua PAL?

Nashua PAL is not a quiet little nonprofit. We’re a $2 million organization serving more than 2,500 young people every year, powered by an incredible mix of kids, staff, police officers, volunteers, donors, businesses, families, and community partners who believe young people deserve people in their corner.

On any given day, PAL might look like an afterschool program, a packed gym, a mentoring conversation, an officer shooting hoops with kids, a teenager finding their first job, a family getting connected to help, or a community coming together around something bigger than themselves.

That’s PAL. Kids. Cops. Community. And it works.

We’ve built something special in Nashua, and we’re not interested in standing still.

We have strong community support, successful fundraising events, generous donors, committed business partners, and a reputation built through decades of showing up for kids. We’re looking for a leader who can take all that energy and help us think bigger.

What Success Looks Like

• PAL meets or exceeds its annual fundraising goals.

• PAL’s donor base grows in both number and level of giving.

• New major donors, corporate partners, sponsors, and community relationships are consistently being developed.

• Existing donors receive meaningful and consistent cultivation and stewardship.

• PAL has a healthy pipeline of relationships and opportunities.

• PAL events increasingly produce both revenue and long-term relationships.

• Volunteers have clear pathways to become more deeply involved with PAL.

• PAL athletics are increasingly connected to PAL’s fundraising, communications, volunteer, and community engagement efforts.

• Opportunities discovered in one PAL program are shared and leveraged across the organization.

• The Development and Volunteer team members receive strong leadership and continue to grow professionally.

• More people throughout Greater Nashua understand PAL, feel connected to PAL, and want to become part of its mission.

Qualifications & Characteristics

• 5+ years of progressive nonprofit development/fundraising experience required, with Director-level or comparable leadership experience. Demonstrated experience in fundraising, development, donor relations, community engagement, sales, business development, nonprofit leadership, or a related field.

• Be a strong storyteller who can translate program impact into compelling donor communications, conversations, appeals, and presentations.

• Experience with Salesforce and BetterUnite preferred; comfort learning and using fundraising technology and data is essential.

• Be an exceptional relationship builder who genuinely enjoys meeting and connecting people.

• Be a team player who jumps in when help is needed.

• Be comfortable initiating conversations with prospective donors, businesses, and community leaders.

• Have strong communication, organization, and follow-through skills.

• Be able to see connections and possibilities that others may miss.

• Be comfortable supervising and developing staff, and be able to connect with people from diverse backgrounds, experiences, perspectives, and working and learning styles.

• Be entrepreneurial and willing to create new opportunities.

• Understand that strong fundraising begins with strong relationships.

• Be comfortable representing PAL throughout the community, including occasional evening and weekend activities.

• Be comfortable working in a fast-paced, growing organization. Please note, our offices are located within an active youth afterschool program, so enjoying the energy and enthusiasm of young people is a must!

• Believe deeply in the potential of young people and PAL’s mission of Kids, Cops, & Community.