Since 1984, Share Our Strength® has led the fight against hunger and poverty by inspiring and organizing individuals and businesses to share their strengths. Today, through the No Kid Hungry and Cooking Matters campaigns, Share Our Strength is ending childhood hunger in America by ensuring all children get the healthy food they need. No child should go hungry in America – we’re on our way to making that a reality and we want you to join us. We’re bold, creative, always open to new ideas, and 100% dedicated to our mission. If that sounds like you, we’d like you to consider becoming part of our team.
 

The Opportunity

Share Our Strength is seeking a Director of Development to grow major gift fundraising and unleash the tremendous growth potential in the New England market. The Director will have the opportunity to supervise a small regional team and work strategically and collaboratively with organizational leadership, including Founder and CEO Billy Shore, national board members, and high-level volunteers. As part of a national cohort of Directors of Development, this hire will have the opportunity to share best practices with peers from across the Share Our Strength network.
 
Specifically, the DOD will:

• Develop a comprehensive and multi-year fundraising plan with a goal of raising $1.5M in year one and growing funds raised 11-14% year-over-year for the next 3 years.
• Lead, manage, and drive expansion of a robust major giving program, including securing principal (6-figure and more) and multi-year commitments.
• Manage donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship, inclusive of supporting and collaborating with the executive team and board members on major fundraising activities.
• Oversee the execution of donor cultivation events in New England and ensure that events are successful fundraising vehicles that drive major giving. Grow and continue to develop the annual Boston No Kid Hungry dinner.
• In collaboration with the New England programmatic team and national communications and development teams, collaborate on strategy and content for donor outreach and stewardship.
• Analyze, report, and periodically present statistical analysis of donor information to the Board, CEO, and senior staff.
• Work with a dynamic two person development/culinary team that includes one direct report. 
• Leverage Share Our Strength resources and best practices and effectively apply, broaden, and share expertise to support goals and deliverables. Collaborate with colleagues and peers across the country.
• Serve as spokesperson for the organization in the region and enthusiastically articulate Share Our Strength’s mission and vision. 

The Ideal Candidate 

The Director of Development calls for a highly motivated and relationship-driven development professional who thrives in a dynamic, high-growth, and collaborative organization. Strong candidates will be:

• An experienced fund development professional, with at least 10 years of experience and a demonstrated track record of personally cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major donors that has resulted in 5- and 6-figure gifts. Experience leveraging large-scale events as a revenue driver for major giving.
• A passionate and persuasive communicator who conveys information clearly and inspires trust. Able to connect and communicate with a range of stakeholders (e.g. executives, board members, high-level volunteers, donors, and staff.) Able to articulate an organization’s vision and programs to make a compelling, inspirational case for financial support.
• A savvy relationship builder who develops rapport easily and fosters long-term relationships. Demonstrated ability to engage and influence sophisticated major donors and high-level volunteers in philanthropy. Proven ability to manage up and secure buy-in from organizational leadership, including CEO and national board members.
• A creative strategist who forms clear plans that are bold, achievable, and motivational to others. Brings success in building and implementing data-driven fundraising plans that drive high-performance and reach ambitious goals. Able to concurrently manage and effectively prioritize a large number of fundraising activities.
• A strong people manager who leverages individual’s strengths. Able to cultivate talent and build strong teams, coaching and mentoring direct reports for high performance and accountability.
• An entrepreneurial and resourceful leader with significant capacity for creativity and flexibility. Comfort operating with minimal supervision, exercising creative problem solving and decision making and making decisions in a dynamic and fluid environment.
• A passionate champion of Share Our Strength’s mission and values. Brings heartfelt enthusiasm for ending hunger and poverty in the U.S. and aboard, with a nuanced understanding of anti-hunger and anti-poverty issues. Thrives in an organization that aspires to mobilize strengths, be bold, drive innovation, inspire fun, and demand diversity.

Work Location and Travel

This hire works out of Share Our Strength’s Boston office. Must be able to travel (approximately 20%) throughout New England, primarily in the Boston area. Travel to headquarters in Washington, DC approximately 4x/year.
 

Compensation and Benefits

Share Our Strength offers competitive salaries and comprehensive benefits including health, dental, vision, life insurance, 401K, flexible spending, and generous paid time off.
 

Our Commitment to Diversity

At Share our Strength, we value an individual’s diversity of backgrounds, experiences, ideas and perspectives. A hallmark of our history, culture and values has been the organization’s desire to bring together motivated, intelligent, and talented people to work together to find and implement solutions to eliminate childhood hunger. We each come to Share Our Strength with a unique background, but together we form a team that yields amazing results.
 
This shared value of encouraging and embracing diversity in our organization fosters a workplace and culture that is highlighted for its innovation, open expression of ideas, and collaboration. With a strong shared commitment to the organization’s mission, and a unique blend of individual strengths, we are all working toward ensuring that each child in America has food where they Live, Learn, and Play.
 

To Apply

Submit your resume and personalized cover letter that answers the question "What excites you about Share Our Strength and the Director of Development opportunity?” Please address cover letter to Elliott Gaskins, Managing Director of Development. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis and handled with confidentiality. No phone calls or emails please.