Managing Director of Development

Democracy Prep Public Schools; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 170,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Vision & dental insurance

403B matching

Parental leave

Job summary

Democracy Prep Public Schools seeks a visionary Managing Director of Development to lead our philanthropic growth across individual, foundation, corporate, and institutional giving. You will shape strategy, drive multi‑million dollar targets, and build scalable fundraising programs in a hybrid New York City setting.

You will manage 25–40 high‑capacity prospects, secure six‑figure and select seven‑figure gifts, and collaborate with the CEO to expand board-aligned philanthropy while advancing our

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree preferred.
• Experience securing major gifts from individuals, foundations, and corporations.
• Ability to build long-term internal and external partnerships and lead a development team.

Responsibilities

• Design and lead a multi-year development strategy aligned to the Strategic Plan.
• Own and drive multi-year fundraising targets.
• Build a diversified funding model across individuals, foundations, corporate partnerships, and government opportunities.
• Identify new funding opportunities and cultivate donor pipelines.
• Lead major gifts, foundation, and corporate partnerships with senior leadership.

Skills

Major gifts fundraising

Donor relationship building

Strategic planning

Partnership development

Grant writing & foundations

Communications & storytelling

Board engagement

Leadership & team-building

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Master’s degree or related advanced study preferred

Tools

Donor management system

Dashboards & reporting

Grant applications

Job description

This role’s priority application deadline for a guaranteed review of your resume is 11/12/2026. Following this deadline, applications will be reviewed as needed on a rolling basis.

About Democracy Prep Public Schools

Democracy Prep educates responsible citizen-scholars for success in the college of their choice and for lives of active citizenship. In close partnership with families, we empower young people with the skills and values to flourish as community leaders who will strengthen our American democracy and change the world.

Democracy Prep Public Schools (DPPS) is a tuition-free, high-performing public charter network operating in New York serving more than 3,000 students PreK–12 across 10 campuses. Having launched the next phase of our 2025 - 2030 Strategic Plan, DPPS is positioned to achieve the strongest results in our history by accelerating academic outcomes, strengthening long-term sustainability, investing in our people, and expanding our impact responsibly. This is a pivotal moment to help shape and fuel the next chapter of Democracy Prep’s growth.

About the Opportunity

DPPS operates with an annual budget of over $100 million and is entering a pivotal phase of growth, with significant opportunity to build and scale a high-performing development function to support its 2025 - 2030 Strategic Plan.The Managing Director of Development owns Democracy Prep’s philanthropic growth strategy and revenue engine. This leader sets the vision, builds the systems, and drives measurable results across individual, foundation, corporate, and institutional giving.This position operates on our hybrid in‑person work model. Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer and partnering with the Deputy Chief of Staff and senior leadership team, the Managing Director leads one of Democracy Prep’s key organizational functions, delivering high‑stakes, material impact for the organization.This role shapes funding strategy in direct alignment with Democracy Prep’s strategic priorities, including academic excellence, operational sustainability, programmatic scaling, and regional growth.

Who You Are

• A mission‑driven leader with an unwavering commitment to Democracy Prep’s vision of college success and authentic civic engagement for all scholars.
• A self‑aware and reflective leader committed to building and sustaining an equitable culture across all aspects of the organization.
• A strategic and entrepreneurial fundraiser with experience securing major gifts from individuals, corporations, and foundations.
• A skilled relationship builder who collaborates effectively across teams, develops long‑term internal and external partnerships, and inspires confidence among Board members, donors, and colleagues.
• A compelling communicator with excellent writing and presentation skills, able to synthesize complex information into clear, persuasive messages tailored to multiple audiences.
• A sophisticated development professional with deep knowledge of fundraising programs and strategies, adept at navigating complex institutions, identifying donor alignment, and adapting to rapidly evolving environments.
• A lifelong learner and results‑oriented leader who brings creativity, initiative, and rigor to building scalable development programs.
• Educational background: Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree or related advanced study preferred.

What You’ll Do

• Design and lead an ambitious, multi‑year development strategy aligned to Democracy Prep’s Strategic Plan, fueling transformational outcomes for students and the adults who serve them.
• Own and drive multi‑million dollar fundraising targets, including annual and multi‑year goals.
• Build a diversified funding model integrating individual giving, principal gifts, foundations, corporate partnerships, government opportunities, and advocacy initiatives to advance Democracy Prep’s mission and strategic priorities.
• Identify emerging funding opportunities and proactively build high‑capacity donor pipelines.

Major & Principal Gifts Leadership

• Personally manage a focused portfolio of at least 25–40+ high‑capacity prospects.
• Secure six‑figure and select seven‑figure gifts in partnership with the CEO.
• Conduct at least 15–20 strategic cultivation and solicitation meetings annually.
• Build multi‑year stewardship and engagement plans for top‑tier donors.
• Partner with the CEO to source and cultivate Board‑aligned prospects with philanthropic capacity.

Foundation & Institutional Partnerships

• Maintain retention of existing foundation partners.
• Secure at least 3–5 new institutional partnerships annually.
• Lead the preparation and submission of a high volume of grant and foundation applications, ensuring quality, timeliness, and alignment with organizational priorities to maximize funding opportunities.
• Increase foundation revenue year‑over‑year through proactive relationship management.
• Lead strategic grant positioning in partnership with the Senior Leadership Team to maximize network‑wide impact.

Corporate & Strategic Partnerships

• Develop and execute a corporate engagement strategy aligned to our operational model and strategic programmatic priorities.
• Secure corporate partners annually.
• Elevate corporate partnerships beyond sponsorship toward sustained philanthropic investment.
• Drive a clear Board giving strategy in partnership with the CEO and Board Chair.
• Support progress toward 100% Board giving.
• Lead and oversee the design and execution of key giving campaigns and donor engagement initiatives, including signature events such as Giving Tuesday and major galas, ensuring each effort drives revenue, strengthens donor relationships, and advances Democracy Prep’s philanthropic strategy.
• Activate Board members and development committees to leverage networks and open doors.
• Build a culture of philanthropy across the organization through leadership coaching and strategic alignment.
• Stay abreast of emerging trends and best practices in education and the broader nonprofit sector to inform strategy, identify new opportunities, and ensure the organization remains competitive in philanthropic engagement.

Infrastructure, Systems & Performance Management

• Implement and optimize a donor management system that provides real‑time visibility into pipeline health, conversion rates, revenue progress, and donor retention.
• Produce monthly and quarterly dashboards for senior leadership and Board review.
• Build scalable systems that enable long‑term revenue growth.
• Collaborate with the Senior Leadership Team and Marketing & Communications to develop the vision, strategy, and supporting materials, such as white papers and organizational assets, for core programs.

Compensation

Salary for this position is $170,000 - $190,000 based on equivalent years of experience. Democracy Prep employees are provided with a benefits package that includes medical, vision, and dental insurance, 403B matching, and parental leave.

Schedule

This is a hybrid position with three days required in our New York City office and two remote days per week.

Democracy Prep is an Equal Opportunity Employer and will not discriminate against an applicant or employee on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, national origin, or ancestry, sex, age, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, veteran or military status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, familial status, domestic violence victim status, or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state or local laws, regulations or ordinances. Our mission is to educate responsible citizen‑scholars who will change the world. We strongly believe that by building a DREAM team that represents numerous perspectives, backgrounds, and areas of expertise, we can achieve this goal together. This is a value we highly support and strongly encourage candidates of all backgrounds to apply.

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self‑identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in Democracy Prep Public Schools’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.