Director of Development, Design Museum Everywhere

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis with an application deadline of July 27.
Remote position, but candidates must be able to commute to Boston regularly for meetings/events as needed throughout the year, and be able to travel to Portland, Oregon 1-2 times a year.

Design Museum Everywhere is looking for a dynamic and experienced fundraiser to join our senior leadership team as a full-time Director of Development. The Director of Development will be responsible for leading the strategy and execution of the museum’s annual fundraising programs with a focus on corporate sponsors, industry sponsorship, and private donors, As the museum continues its journey toward being an anti-racist organization, the Director of Development is in the unique position to explore and influence what this means for our development efforts. 

The position reports to the Executive Director, and interacts with staff, board & council members, corporate partners, and other external community members on a regular basis. The Director of Development will oversee a full-time Grants and Membership Manager whose primary focus is on institutional funders and managing the museum’s individual membership program. 

Successful candidates will demonstrate a passion for fundraising and be motivated by supporting the museum’s mission to bring the transformative power of design everywhere by growing the museum’s resources and donor community. 

• Develop and lead fundraising strategy and efforts for sustainable measurable growth that reflects our values, in close collaboration with the Executive Director, board, and staff. 
• Work with the Executive Director, staff, and board to identify prospects for immediate key campaigns, including support of our educational programs and exhibitions. 
• Cultivate new supporters for the museum through events, special campaigns, and sponsorship opportunities. 
• Oversee the development process for new and current supporters, including initial outreach and pitch, development of proposals, finalizing agreements, gift acknowledgment, and continued donor stewardship. 
• Develop and maintain donor relationships and facilitate connections with program staff as needed in alignment with the museum’s community centered approach. Work with staff to ensure that sponsor benefits are met and communicated. 
• Work closely with individual board members to support their fundraising efforts. 
• Supervise and support Grants and Membership Manager’s institutional funder and membership growth and management efforts. 

• Ensure that the museum meets its fundraising and budget goals and regularly report on progress to the board and staff. 
• Manage campaigns throughout the year, including mailings, emails, personal asks of major donors, and other communications. 
• Manage online holiday auction, including sourcing high-value items from our community, and working with staff to promote and run auction, and distribute items. 
• Manage fundraising events, including small cultivation events and galas. 
• Manage internal staff and volunteer teams for specific fundraising efforts and events.

• Manage our CRM (Kindful) following best practices for gift processing, data entry, tracking, and reporting working with Grants and Membership Manager and Executive Associate. 
• Maintain accurate records for donor communication, gift life cycle, and acknowledgement letters.
• Process and track donor invoices and pledges.
• Produce reports on membership, year over year donor giving, and revenue streams.
• Coordinate ongoing database maintenance and data standardization.
• Maintain and augment Design Museum’s existing fundraising systems and reporting structure.

• A passion for design that is contagious and a demonstrated commitment to inclusive and equitable practices. 
• 5+ years fundraising experience with notable performance leading a fundraising campaign and/or event. 
• Strong understanding of CRMs, how databases work, and how to use data effectively for fundraising (Kindful experience a plus)
• Demonstrated project management skills with the ability to independently meet deadlines and simultaneously manage complex, multifaceted projects.
• Excellent leadership and supervisory skills and experience. 
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including public speaking and pitching/sales. 
• Strong interpersonal skills—you’ll be building and maintaining Design Museum relationships.
• Experience with databases, data analysis, budgeting, and forecasting.

• Begin ASAP
• Full-time: Monday-Friday, hours are generally 9-5 ET. 
• This position can be located in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and/or New York. Most of the work will be done remotely, but must be able to commute to Boston regularly for meetings/events throughout the year, and travel to Portland, OR 1-2/times a year. 
• Salary range: $70,000-$77,000/year.
• Benefits include: 401k, Paid Time Off, 14-15 paid company holidays per year, Health/Vision/and Dental Insurance, Bonus program, Parental/Paid Family Sick leave

Design Museum Everywhere is a new kind of museum: online, nomadic, and accessible to all. Instead of a single museum location, we pop-up in places where people already go, and produce high-quality media experiences to support our mission to bring the transformative power of design everywhere. We believe design can change the world; done well, it can elevate our quality of life, make businesses more competitive, and protect our environment. We inspire people by showing what’s possible through public exhibitions and events, as well as our magazine, podcast, and online content. We educate people — from kids to CEOs — to become creative problem solvers using the design process. And we transform, using design to take action and make change, demonstrating its impact.

Our vision: Accessibility: Design is for everyone. Design is everywhere, so are we. We’re online and we pop-up in places all over to engage as many people as possible. And we’re committed to improving the gender and racial diversity of the design field. Improvement: Design solves problems. We are entrepreneurial and flexible, we are not constrained by existing approaches, we start with real-world problems and we’re committed to using design for the greater good. Community: Design is collaborative. We are a participatory museum, meaning there are many ways for individuals to not only enjoy our programming and content, but to be part of it as well. We’re collaborative and community-focused.

We know there are great candidates who may not fit into what we’ve described above, or who have skills we haven’t thought of. If that’s you, don’t hesitate to apply and tell us about yourself. We are committed to diversity and building an inclusive environment for people of all backgrounds and ages. We especially encourage women, Black, Indigenous, People of Color, LGBTQ+ people, and people with disabilities to apply. 

Learn about our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion values and goals.

Please submit a cover letter and resume to Maria Villafranca, Interim Executive Director, via the application portal.