Archived listing. The details below describe a past opening.
Job Description
Kirkland, WA | Full-time | Exempt Position summary The Director of Development leads Tennis Outreach Programs’ (TOPs) fundraising strategy and execution, with primary responsibility for building a high-performing major gifts program and driving disciplined implementation of a $10M capital campaign. This role partners closely with Marymoor Project Team Manager, TOPs Board of Directors, campaign leadership, campaign counsel to secure leadership gifts, strengthen annual giving and stewardship, professionalize development operations (CRM, reporting, and processes), and expand institutional funding to support long-term sustainability. Reporting relationships & key partners
- Reports to: Director of Operations
- Direct reports: Fundraising Manager
- Key internal partners: Program leadership, Founder, finance/operations
- Key external partners: Board of Directors, campaign leadership marketing/communications contractor, campaign counsel, donors/prospects, foundations, corporate and public funders
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the $10M capital campaign strategy and execution
- Manage the campaign plan across phases (quiet phase → leadership gifts → major gifts → community phase), benchmarks, and the prospect-by-prospect work plan.
- Within the current plan and strategy, manage the campaign “engine”: moves management, solicitation tracking, proposal pipeline, gift documentation, and weekly/monthly accountability.
- Partner closely with Director of Operations, Project Manager, campaign chair, campaign committee, and campaign counsel to drive early leadership and major gifts and maintain momentum.
- Build and run a high-performing major gifts program
- Create and manage a qualified portfolio of 50-75 major donor and institutional funder prospects, with clear visit/ask goals.
- Design cultivation/solicitation strategies for top tier donor prospects and re-engagement plans for high-capacity lapsed/low-connection prospects.
- Coach and equip board and volunteer leaders to make introductions, join visits, and solicit – and turning “willingness” into defined roles and follow-through.
- Upgrade annual fundraising performance through conversion, retention, segmentation, and year-round solicitation
- Implement a donor retention strategy: new donor welcome journey (first 90 days), lapsed donor reactivation, and quarterly stewardship touchpoints.
- Oversee a multi-appeal annual calendar (not “one ask at year end”) that leverages moments without collapsing them into one combined ask.
- Create segmented messaging and upgrade pathways (e.g., systematically move $500 donors toward $1-5K giving).
- Professionalize development operations (CRM, reporting, SOPs) to enable scalable growth
- Fix and standardize DonorPerfect usage: coding, data entry rules, activity tracking, pipeline stages, and reporting cadence.
- Produce a monthly development dashboard for leadership/board: retention, upgrades, pipeline movement, asks pending, grants pipeline status, and progress vs. campaign benchmarks.
- Document and maintain standard operation procedures for gift processing, acknowledgements, moves management, reporting, and stewardship so execution is consistent and survivable.
- Build institutional and public funding capacity aligned to campaign and sustainability
- In consultation with institutional funding counsel:
- Manage a robust grants pipeline (the report cites 60+ opportunities) across capital, program, and general operating support.
- Coordinate grant readiness: timelines, cultivation, decision cycles, and alignment with project plans.
- Ensure proposals are backed by clearer impact data (see next responsibility).
- Strengthen the case for support, messaging clarity, and donor-facing communication
- Finalize and continuously improve the campaign case for support – centered on capacity expansion + youth impact, and clearly distinguishing TOPs vs. ETC, and philanthropy vs. program fees.
- Build audience-specific narratives (broad community vs. mid-level vs. major/corporate).
- Enhance and strengthen donor communications content to include clearer calls to action, donor experience, and stronger donor focused website content. Lead impact measurement/storytelling needed to unlock major gifts and grants
- Partner with program leadership to define a small set of credible youth outcome metrics (academic/social-emotional/physical & mental health), then integrate them into:
- Annual impact report
- Campaign materials and proposals
- Donor reporting during the campaign
- Stewardship content that improves retention and upgrades
- Staff/volunteer campaign leadership development and accountability
- In partnership with Marymoor Project Manager and Campaign Counsel, coordinate the campaign leadership workflows: campaign cabinet/committee, ambassador roles, corporate connectors, other campaign volunteers.
- Support the board in achieving campaign-specific expectations (personally meaningful gift + specific prospect introduction/visit/solicitation commitments).
- Support volunteers with scripts, briefing materials, and a clear cadence for assignments and follow-up.