Director of Development

As Promise’s first dedicated Director of Development, you will play a critical role in achieving our mission of supporting innovators and accelerating innovations for equity in early childhood development (ECD). You will partner closely with Promise’s Managing Partner and Leadership Team to create and implement a strategic approach to fundraising and development, which includes philanthropic giving, major individual gifts, sponsorships, and in-kind resources, in order to advance Promise’s mission and vision and fulfill the objectives of our three-year strategic plan. 

Promise’s three-year strategic plan, spanning 2023-2025, envisions significant programmatic and organizational growth, supported by a ~$5-$6million annual budget. Approximately half of the funds to execute this plan have been secured, and the Director of Development will develop systems and execute strategies (in partnership with the Leadership Team) to raise the remaining resources needed to achieve our strategic objectives. 

A core component of our organizational fundraising goals is developing and executing a successful fundraising strategy to support and sustain a core initiative in Promise’s strategy launched last year, the Early Childhood Leaders of Color Collaborative. The Collaborative seeks to support 200 members by 2025 and our vision to sustain it includes a robust network of supporting community foundations, individual donors, and corporate partners. We aspire to raise ~$2 million per year by 2025 to sustain this initiative, and will be an immediate priority upon starting in the role.

Additionally, Promise is fortunate to have trusted relationships and partnerships with a number of core institutional and programmatic funders to support its three-year strategy and is looking for the Director of Development to help expand the portfolio of those relationships among philanthropic foundations (our historic focus) and catalyze partnership with individual donors and corporate sponsors (priority areas of development opportunity).  

Key Objectives + Responsibilities

Develop and implement Promise’s strategic fundraising strategy that draws from a diverse mix of revenue sources
Work in partnership with the Promise leadership team to develop and successfully implement an annual fundraising and revenue strategy plan tailored to meet Promise’s short-term and long-term needs while ensuring the organization can fully live out its mission, vision, and goals Build and maintain new and existing relationships with philanthropic partners Oversee the coordination, enhancement, and maintenance of a light-weight database (CRM) system that includes gift processing, prospecting, donor histories, and fundraising reporting; ensure accurate and thorough maintenance of donor records Lead and manage Promise’s regular cultivation pipeline reviews

Strategically raise funds from a diverse mix of revenue sources utilizing corporate, community, individual, and major donor program strategies:
Design and execute a place-based development or community foundation-focused strategy for the Early Childhood Leaders of Color Collaborative Launch and implement a new strategy focused on individual giving Build and steward relationships with current and potential donors Lead Promise’s existing cultivation efforts Prospect and writing foundation grants, requests, and proposals

Develop compelling communications and stewardship materials that describe and highlight the impact of our work
Develop a system of communication internally to ensure that our teams are actively engaged in fundraising efforts Support board development and communication with Promise’s advisory board (launching in 2023) and other external stakeholders

Execute additional team projects and responsibilities
Offer expertise and coaching to Promise internally as well as to social ventures in the network to support their fundraising and development efforts We’re a startup too! Things will come up, new opportunities will arise, unexpected events and turns will happen, and it will always be an adventure. We are looking for someone who thrives in this environment, relishes change, finds ways to say yes, thinks on their feet and enjoys juggling various opportunities, challenges and needs that come our way!

Values / Mindset

Alignment and commitment to Promise’s core values  A willingness to engage personally and professionally in the work to dismantle structural racism and systemic inequality and uphold the commitments laid out in Promise’s Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion statement.

• Deep belief in our mission and vision and the ability to connect its importance to your personal story

Experience

5+ years of fundraising experience in a management or professional position with a demonstrated track record of success in fundraising across diverse revenue streams Experience developing relationships with local, regional, and national foundations or major individual donors and the ability to connect our mission with discerned funder priorities Experience designing and implementing stewardship programs to move donors through levels of giving Experience building and implementing fundraising databases and systems

Skills

Entrepreneurial: you can adopt an entrepreneur mindset and working style - you love juggling multiple tasks, at various levels, and wearing many hats. You are action-oriented and always ready to roll up your sleeves, no matter the size of the task, and you take a lean, iterative approach to your work and embrace testing and learning.  Exceptional communication skills: you have exceptional writing, editing and proofreading skills, including business writing skills with the ability to compose reports, proposals and other correspondence Critical and analytical thinking: you can effectively problem solve and collaborate thoughtfully in a fast-paced, dynamic environment

Detail-oriented: you sweat the details and do what it takes to get them right because you believe it leads to higher quality  High-autonomy: you are able to find your footing in an ambiguous situations, have a high degree of self-motivation in a remote environment, and we can count on you to, deliver high quality work at speed and close the loop Relationship-building: you enjoy establishing and maintaining positive, productive connections with individuals and groups, you listen and empathize well, you build trust and credibility, and you enjoy creating a sense of shared purpose and commitment 

Collaborative: you work well in small team environments, you like bouncing ideas off of others, you enjoy getting and giving feedback, you derive value out of brainstorming and group thinking

Making catalytic impact on one of our country’s most complex social challenges Steep growth and responsibility with a small, dynamic, entrepreneurial team A joyful and supportive team environment, with teammates who take the work extremely seriously, but will never miss an opportunity to make space for laughter The chance to observe, practice and learn entrepreneurship, with mentoring from serial entrepreneurs Visibility to and relationship-building with cutting edge entrepreneurs, researchers, experts, funders, practitioners, and more in the early childhood field Annual salary range is $120,000 - $150,000. Compensation is commensurate with qualifications, experience, and demonstrated results in fundraising and development.  ​​Promise also offers generous benefits including medical, dental, vision and an employer contributed 401K plan with additional matching. 

Location: The position is remote and can be based anywhere in the U.S. but may require occasional travel to cultivate funders/investors and to implement programming. 

Submit your resume, LinkedIn profile (if you have one!) and an email explaining your interest in this role, including a story that demonstrates how our mission, vision and work connects to you personally, to jobs@promisestudio.org with the subject line “Application for Director of Development Role - [YOUR NAME]”. Please also include how you heard about this job opportunity.

We strive to ensure our hiring process, including the submission of the application, meets your needs. If there are accommodations that would help you in submitting the materials above, please email jobs@promisestudio.org. 

Promise is an equal opportunity employer, committed to racial and gender equity, and we make a particular effort to recruit candidates who identify as Black, Indigenous, people of color and gender non-binary to apply for open positions. 

ABOUT PROMISE

Promise Venture Studio aims to address one of the greatest social justice issues facing our country — the equity gap that starts long before children enter Kindergarten.  Due to structural racism and systemic inequality, over five million children under five years old in the US are growing up in poverty, millions of children and families lack access to the healthcare services they need, and more than half of children from low-income families are unprepared for kindergarten. Further, the Early Childhood Development (ECD) field, like the broader society it serves, is riddled with inequity, particularly along racial and socioeconomic lines. This reality fundamentally shapes lifelong outcomes.  Our work is rooted in a conviction to do our part to build a world where all children, no matter their background, can fulfill their innate promise.

Promise believes that social entrepreneurs, as they have in other fields, can pioneer programs, products, services, and interventions that lead to more just outcomes at scale. However, social entrepreneurs in ECD face significant obstacles to building organizations that can achieve impact at scale, including less venture support, less financial capital, less human capital, and less intellectual capital. Moreover, these obstacles are disproportionately higher for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) innovators than their white peers. These inequities are especially problematic because research shows that proximate leaders of color who see the intersectional root causes of issues and respond in ways that integrate cultural competency and respect are best poised to eliminate inequities.

Backed by leading investors and philanthropists, Promise Venture Studio is a national nonprofit with a mission to support innovators and accelerate innovations for equity in Early Childhood Development. We help social entrepreneurs in ECD achieve scaled impact in the face of these obstacles - and help the field dismantle these obstacles over time.  We support any venture (for profit company, non-profit organization, academic institution, etc) that is exploring, developing or scaling products, services and programs that improve outcomes in ECD.

Promise employs three mutually reinforcing strategies:

We unite BIPOC and proximate innovators to drive personal sustainability and collective power We accelerate the impact of equity-driven social ventures We connect innovators and ventures to sources of capital and customers

Ultimately we believe these strategies will lead to more social ventures that improve outcomes for children and families at scale, along with more and more equitable capital for the ECD field.