Director, Development

“If we can get one child adopted into a loving family, all our work will be worth it.”
– Dave Thomas
 
Join us as we champion our mission to dramatically increase the number of adoptions of children waiting in North America’s foster care systems. We’ve helped to find safe, permanent homes for more than 15,000 young people across the United States and Canada, but our mission is not complete. Invest your career in making a difference and join the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption’s team.  
 
We offer a supportive workplace where you can make an impact. We are dedicated to creating a diverse, inclusive and equitable work environment for Foundation staff, while advocating for measurable change toward racial equity within the child welfare system.
 
We are looking for excellent talent to support our mission. Located in Dublin, Ohio, the Director Development provides strategic leadership to drive the growth, innovation and effectiveness of the public fundraising development programs for Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. This role directs a high-performing development team, driving results in planned and major gift acquisition, annual fund growth and mass public fundraising initiatives. The Director will inspire and mentor a talented team, cultivate influential donor relationships, and implement forward-thinking strategies that deliver ambitious revenue growth in support of the Foundation’s mission. If you have a track record of building dynamic programs, scaling success at the national level, and bringing fresh ideas to life, this is your opportunity to shape the next era of our development work and build something extraordinary.

Key Deliverables:
1. Lead and oversee the Foundation’s development team

• Provides strategic leadership of the development team, fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation and continuous improvement; conduct regular check-ins, annual reviews, coaching and career planning
• Oversee the growth of a public facing fundraising program at all giving levels while enhancing engagement strategies including but not limited to digital fundraising, direct mail, planned giving, cryptocurrency and gift administration to advance stewardship across the development team

2. Cultivate and scale a sustainable major gift program, ensuring donor strategies align with the Foundations long-term fundraising goals

• Manages an active portfolio of 100+ major donor prospects ($10,000+), building relationships to identify, qualify, cultivate, solicit and steward their support
• Develop strong personal connections with donors and oversees cultivation, solicitation and stewardship activities through events, visits, calls and written communication

3. Provides strategic leadership in developing and implementing the annual cultivation and stewardship strategy for all donors, including digital supporters, ensuring alignment with the Foundation’s mission and goals

• Oversee and guide the annual giving campaigns, including digital fundraising, direct mail appeals and integrated donor communications in collaboration with marketing, development and agency teams

 
What You Bring:

• Undergraduate degree required
• A minimum of 10 years’ experience in non-profit development fundraising, with at least 5 years’ direct fundraising experience focused on major and/or mid-level giving required
• Managerial experience required, including supervising and developing staff and/or teams
• Experience with data analysis, reporting and monitoring industry trends required
• National non-profit knowledge a plus
• Strong leadership and project management skills, with the ability to effectively lead and inspire a team; strong interpersonal skills and the ability to collaborate effectively with stakeholders at all levels of the organization
• Proven experience managing a portfolio of major donors; proactively building and maintaining positive relationships internally and externally; relates well to people from varied backgrounds and in different situations
• Extensive experience solicitation and closure of major and planned gifts (including wills, trusts, beneficiary designations, charitable gift annuities and charitable remainder trusts) with strong verbal presentation skills and responsiveness to donor and public inquiries

 
Our Benefits
 
At the Foundation, our team is committed to providing unwavering dedication to change the journey for children lingering in foster care. We value each member of our team and we are committed to taking care of you. Beyond joining our talented team and the opportunity to make a difference, we are proud to offer our employees a competitive compensation and benefits program, including:
 

• Flexible, hybrid schedule arrangement for most positions allowing employees to choose to work from home up to two days a week
• First day of hire medical, dental and vision insurance coverage for you and your family
• Employer-funded health reimbursement account (HRA). The HRA is a tax-advantaged account, funded solely by the employer to help you pay for medical expenses.  
• Employer-paid basic life insurance, short-term disability and long-term disability
• Eligibility for a 403(b)-retirement match program up to 5% after the first year of employment
• Adoption-Friendly Workplace providing financial benefits and paid time off for adoptive parents
• Generous paid time off, including paid holidays, paid personal, vacation and sick days as well as parental leave, adoption leave and foster care leave
• A connected team environment that embraces a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion
• Career advancement opportunities and continued education
• A comprehensive offering of additional voluntary benefits!

 
 
 

 
The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is an equal employment opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant based on race, color, religion, religious beliefs, political affiliation, creed, HIV/AIDS status, ethnicity, sex, age, national origin, ancestry, disability, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, marital status, familial status, veteran/military status, predisposing genetic characteristics, domestic violence victim status, prior arrest or any other category protected by applicable law. Any employee who engages in such conduct is subject to disciplinary action, up to and including discharge.