Senior Development Director: Major Gifts & Campaign Lead

West Side Montessori School; New York (NY); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

West Side Montessori School, a private nonprofit with 60+ years of history, seeks a Director of Development to lead the Capital Campaign and annual giving, working closely with the Head of School and Board. The role focuses on cultivating relationships, strategizing fundraising efforts, and scaling innovations to grow donor support.

The Director will personally solicit major gifts, guide trustees, and manage gift processing and donor records, with occasional evening and weekend events.

Qualifications

• Seven+ years frontline fundraising, including closing gifts of 25k+
• Experience managing annual giving programs
• Direct experience soliciting gifts within active capital campaigns
• Ability to engage high-net-worth donors and brief board members effectively
• Proficiency with a donor CRM system such as Raiser’s Edge NXT or comparable

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute donor cultivation strategies to deepen engagement
• Cultivate, solicit, and close gifts from a portfolio with focus on major gifts
• Manage full gift cycle: identification, cultivation, solicitation, closure, stewardship
• Draft tailored gift proposals and agreements

Skills

Frontline fundraising

Annual giving

Capital campaigns

Donor engagement

CRM fundraising tools

Tools

Raiser’s Edge NXT

Job description

West Side Montessori School, a private nonprofit with 60+ years of history, seeks a Director of Development to lead the Capital Campaign and annual giving, working closely with the Head of School and Board. The role focuses on cultivating relationships, strategizing fundraising efforts, and scaling innovations to grow donor support.

The Director will personally solicit major gifts, guide trustees, and manage gift processing and donor records, with occasional evening and weekend events.