VP of Fund Development (500)

Alabama Goodwill Industries; Birmingham (AL); On-site; USD 100,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Alabama Goodwill Industries (AGI) seeks an entrepreneurial and relationship-driven Head of Development to design and execute a comprehensive fundraising strategy that expands contributed revenue and strengthens donor partnerships across central and northern Alabama. Reporting to the CEO, the role will build the function from the ground up.

You will establish systems, donor cultivation cycles, and a multi-year giving pipeline that supports AGI's mission services, workforce development, and growth

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.
• 10+ years of fundraising experience.
• 5+ years in a senior development leadership role.
• Familiarity with Alabama's philanthropic landscape.
• Ability to author compelling cases for support with executive presence.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a comprehensive multi-year fundraising strategy.
• Set annual contributed revenue goals and report to the CEO and board.
• Serve as senior philanthropic strategist and external face of AGI across Alabama.
• Cultivate and close transformational gifts and partnerships.
• Align philanthropic strategy with mission, finance, operations, public funding, grants, and workforce priorities.
• Build and lead a development team and manage the budget.

Skills

Donor cultivation

Major gifts

Portfolio management

Strategic fundraising

Board engagement

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

MISSION CONTRIBUTION

Through generous donations, Alabama Goodwill Industries strengthens communities, eliminates barriers to opportunity, and helps people reach their full potential through learning and the power of work. Alabama Goodwill Industries operates an extensive statewide network that includes approximately 19 retail store locations, 2 outlet stores, more than 15 attended donation centers, multi-site logistics, transportation, and donated goods processing operations, as well as workforce development and career services programs serving communities throughout Alabama. Key markets include Birmingham, Huntsville, Tuscaloosa, Decatur, Madison, Scottsboro, Rainbow City, Guntersville, Athens, Clanton, Northport, and surrounding regions.

SUMMARY

Alabama Goodwill Industries (AGI) seeks an entrepreneurial and relationship-driven Head of Development to lead the design and execution of a comprehensive fundraising strategy that elevates contributed revenue, deepens donor partnerships, and amplifies AGI's mission impact across central and northern Alabama. Reporting directly to the CEO, the Head of Development will be responsible for driving fundraising efforts by building and stewarding a balanced portfolio spanning corporate partners, foundations, major individual donors, and planned giving. This is a builder's seat. AGI is investing in fundraising as a strategic growth engine; the Head of Development will architect the function from the ground up — establishing systems, infrastructure, donor cultivation cycles, and a multi-year giving pipeline that supports AGI's continued expansion of workforce, training, and mission services.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Develop and execute a comprehensive multi-year fundraising strategy aligned with AGI's mission, growth priorities, and capital needs.
• Set annual contributed revenue goals across corporate, foundation, major gift, and individual giving channels; report against them quarterly to the CEO and board.
• Serve as senior philanthropic strategist and a visible external face of the organization across Alabama's philanthropic community.
• Partner with the CEO, board members, and senior leadership to identify, cultivate, and close transformational gifts and partnerships.
• Align philanthropic strategy with AGI’s mission, finance, operations, public funding streams, grants, employer partnerships, and workforce development priorities — ensuring development operates as a connected revenue and impact engine rather than a stand-alone silo.
• Partner with the CFO, COO, and program leadership to ensure development goals reflect — and reinforce — organizational capacity, programmatic strategy, and earned-revenue planning.

CASE FOR SUPPORT DEVELOPMENT

• Develop and refine AGI’s philanthropic case for support, articulating the vision for workforce development expansion, Opportunity Center priorities, and capital and programmatic investment needs.
• Translate AGI’s strategic plan into compelling fundraising narratives anchored in measurable impact outcomes — including individuals trained, jobs placed, wages earned, and lives transformed.
• Partner with program, finance, and executive leadership to ensure the case is grounded in mission reality, financially substantiated, and aligned with AGI’s growth roadmap. Campaign Readiness & Feasibility.

CAMPAIGN READINESS & FEASIBILITY

• Assess AGI’s readiness for a future capital or comprehensive campaign, evaluating donor capacity, prospect pipeline depth, board readiness, and internal infrastructure.
• Lead or commission feasibility testing to validate campaign scope, gift-table modeling, and naming opportunity strategy.
• Identify, recruit, and prepare volunteer leadership capable of chairing campaign committees and serving as peer-to-peer ambassadors.
• Build the staging plan, timeline, and infrastructure required to move from the ‘quiet’ phase through public launch when the organization is campaign ready.

MAJOR GIFTS & INDIVIDUAL DONOR PIPELINE

• Build and manage a portfolio of major gift prospects, including identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
• Design a framework that advances donors through the giving cycle with measurable touchpoints and accountability.
• Launch and operate a structured planned giving program, partnering with estate planners, and wealth advisors.
• Develop and execute donor recognition, stewardship, and impact-reporting practices that retain and grow year over year.

CORPORATE & FOUNDATION PARTNERSHIPS

• Build a corporate engagement strategy that leverages AGI's mission, brand, and workforce outcomes to attract Alabama and regional corporate partners across cause marketing, sponsorships, and employee giving.
• Develop a foundation portfolio.
• Oversee the proposal pipeline end-to-end: opportunity identification, narrative development, budget construction, submission, reporting, and renewal.
• Develop and steward corporate partners.

DEVELOPMENT INFRASTRUCTURE & OPERATIONS

• Stand up the systems, processes, and team capacity required to support a highperforming development function.
• Establish data-driven KPIs and dashboards that allow the CEO, board, and leadership team to evaluate giving performance, donor health, and pipeline conversion in real time.
• Build and lead a small but high-impact development team over time, including grant writing, donor relations, and events functions as the program scales.
• Manage the development budget and ensure cost-per-dollar-raised efficiency benchmarks in line with peer Goodwill affiliates and AFP standards.

EXECUTIVE & BOARD ENGAGEMENT

• Partner with Board of Director committee leadership to set annual giving expectations and engage board members as champions, connectors, and donors.
• Build and nurture a healthy culture of board philanthropy at AGI, including 100% annual giving participation and clearly understood giving expectations to current and prospective directors.
• Activate board members as connectors and ambassadors — facilitating prospect introductions, donor cultivation visits, and meaningful event participation.
• Develop stewardship and engagement practices that equip directors to share AGI’s mission impact and represent the organization confidently within their personal and professional networks.
• Equip the CEO and senior team with talking points, briefing materials, and engagement strategies for high-stakes donor and partnership meetings.

MISSION COMMUNICATION & BRAND AMPLIFICATON

• Partner with marketing and communications to translate AGI's mission, impact data, and client stories into compelling cases for support across channels.
• Position AGI as a thought leader in workforce development and mission-driven philanthropy throughout Alabama.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree required.
• Minimum 10 years of progressively responsible fundraising experience, with at least 5 years in a senior development leadership role.
• Demonstrated track record of personally closing individual, corporate, or foundation gifts.
• Experience standing up or substantially scaling a development function.
• Familiarity with Alabama's philanthropic landscape.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; ability to author compelling cases for support and deliver them with executive presence.

KEY COMPETENCIES

• Strategic fundraising leadership: Translates organizational mission and growth priorities into a coherent multi-channel giving strategy with measurable revenue outcomes.
• Major gift and donor cultivation: Personally carries a portfolio; comfortable across the full cycle — identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
• Corporate & foundation partnership building: Structures partnerships that go beyond transactional sponsorship to deliver shared brand, talent, and impact value.
• Operational rigor: Pipeline management, KPI tracking, and cost-per-dollar-raised metrics; brings infrastructure and discipline to fundraising.
• Board & executive engagement: Experienced in attracting potential board members and equipping CEOs; activates volunteers and senior leaders as effective fundraisers.
• Alabama community fluency: Deep understanding of — or ability to rapidly establish — relationships across Alabama's corporate, philanthropic, and civic networks; understands the cultural and economic dynamics of central and northern Alabama.
• Mission alignment: Authentic personal commitment to workforce development, second-chance employment, and the broader Goodwill mission of helping people find dignity and economic mobility through work.
• Builder mindset: Energized by the prospect of constructing — not inheriting — a development function; comfortable working in an environment where systems, staff, and processes will be built in real time.

LOCATION & COMPENSATION

• Location: Birmingham, Alabama. On-site at AGI headquarters with regular travel across central and northern Alabama for donor cultivation and stewardship.
• Reports to: Chief Executive Officer.

Alabama Goodwill Industries (AGI) is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to creating a diverse workforce. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action-Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class.