Director of Development

Oct 29

Anticipated Start Date: February 2025

Description

Reporting directly to the CEO, the Director of Development will lead and scale AI4ALL’s comprehensive fundraising strategy, ensuring alignment with the organization’s long-term goals. This key leadership role will establish and operationalize the organization’s development function, including nurturing and expanding relationships, growing fundraising programs, and optimizing systems to drive AI4ALL’s impact exponentially. This is a pivotal opportunity to build a development department from the ground up.

The Director of Development will partner with the CEO to craft and execute a multi-channel fundraising strategy aimed at raising up to $5M in 2025, with plans to grow beyond $10M thereafter. They will play a crucial role in expanding AI4ALL’s donor base across corporate, individual, and foundation giving, while also identifying and securing funding for innovative initiatives. The Director will also engage with the board of directors to drive fundraising efforts at the highest level.

Responsibilities

Fundraising Strategy & Leadership

Develop and implement a diversified, comprehensive fundraising strategy across corporate, foundation, government, and individual giving to support both immediate and long-term organizational goals.
Serve as a strategic partner to the CEO, advising on fundraising opportunities and execution.
Build and maintain a dynamic pipeline for high-impact fundraising opportunities, managing projections and forecasting against annual fundraising goals.
Establish a project management framework for tracking fundraising activities and progress, ensuring transparency and accountability.
Lead cross-functional coordination to align internal teams, the board, and external stakeholders in support of fundraising efforts.
Create and manage annual fundraising budgets, providing analysis and performance reporting.
Adapt and evolve strategies based on data insights, market conditions, and organizational needs.

Donor Development & Stewardship

Lead the identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of key donors, including individual annual, mid-level, and planned giving prospects.
Design and implement a comprehensive donor relations program that prioritizes personalized engagement, responsive communication, and consistent stewardship.
Foster positive relationships with donors, ensuring sustained engagement and funding by maintaining contact and proactively educating donors on outcomes and results of AI4ALL’s efforts.
Craft innovative retention and growth strategies to deepen relationships with existing donors while expanding outreach to new prospects.

Branding and Marketing

Partner with marketing and communications to ensure consistent and compelling brand messaging and adherence across all development materials.
Builds upon a branding strategy to craft tailored pitches and collateral that resonate with various donor segments, leveraging insights on donor interests and values, and AI4ALL’s mission.
Conducts thorough research on prospective donors to customize pitches, aligning fundraising efforts with broader organizational goals and funding opportunities.

Team Leadership & Management

Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing development team, including future hires and existing staff, such as a part-time grant writer.
Provide support, guidance, and professional development opportunities for team members, cultivating a collaborative and results-oriented culture.
Oversee the grant writing process, ensuring proposals align with organizational priorities to secure support from corporate, private foundations, and government agencies.
Participate in preparing Board meeting materials, and serve as staff resource for the Board’s Fundraising Committee.
Contribute to continued growth of the organization through team development, participation in team discussions and Board of Directors decisions.

Requirements

The Director of Development is thoroughly committed to AI4ALL’s strategy and mission, and should have a demonstrated track record of consistently delivering against fundraising goals. Specific requirements include:

5+ years of nonprofit fundraising and development experience, including a proven record of meeting or exceeding ambitious fundraising targets in a fast-paced environment. Demonstrated expertise in donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship, with a history of closing gifts of $500,000+.
Strong existing network within the philanthropic and corporate sectors, with a focus on social impact and sustainability. Artificial intelligence and/or Technology Education experience is a plus.
Exceptional relationship-building skills, with the ability to engage and inspire a wide range of stakeholders including donors, partners, and board members. Highly organized, detail-oriented, and ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously while meeting deadlines.
Excellent communication skills, with the ability to craft compelling messaging and serve as a spokesperson for the organization. Proficiency with fundraising applications using available data to perform comprehensive donor data analysis and reporting (Google Workspace, Excel and Salesforce).
Knowledge of QuickBooks is a plus. Strong understanding of data utilization and management, as well as the effective use of fundraising technology and data for strategic operations and decision-making.
Experience leading and managing a diverse and geographically distributed team with demonstrated ability to work collaboratively, delegate responsibility, and inspire, engage and motivate staff.
A growth mindset and entrepreneurial spirit, eager to innovate, iterate, and drive continuous improvement in fundraising strategies and outcomes.

We’d prefer candidates who:

Are passionate about increasing diversity and inclusion in artificial intelligence.
Thrive in a fast-paced and ever-changing environment; adaptability is key. Have experience working with populations who have been historically excluded from the AI sector.
In addition, AI4ALL staff embody a commitment to our values of inclusion, humanity, technology, agency, learning, and education.
We know there is research that shows women and minorities are less likely to apply for jobs if they don’t have all of the key skills for a position.
AI4ALL encourages candidates with some, but not all, of the skills listed in the job description to apply.

Salary Range and Employee Benefits

A target starting salary of $115,000 - $130,000 per year.

To determine starting pay, we consider multiple job-related factors including a candidate’s skills, education and experience, market demand, business needs, and internal parity.

How to Apply for this Job

Apply Now

About the Organization

AI4ALL is a national nonprofit that is transforming the pipeline of AI practitioners and creating a more inclusive, human-centered discipline. We empower students to be AI Changemakers by cultivating an environment where they develop skills in critical thinking and relationship-building, and expertise in responsible AI.

To accomplish this, we seek students from communities that have been excluded in the AI space. Then we help them build identity in the field, and tap into their own agency and initiative as they build technical and leadership skills. While all are welcome to apply, AI4ALL prioritizes students whose race, gender, or ethnicity has been historically excluded from AI: Black, Hispanic and Latinx, and Indigenous folks; and women and non-binary folks.

Our programs run in partnership with colleges and universities around North America. We are launching the diverse next generation of AI changemakers through education, ethics, and relationship-driven networks. AI4ALL has received funding from Melinda Gates/Pivotal Ventures, Prudential Financial, Accenture, General Motors, and SoftBank among others and has been featured in the New York Times, TIME, CNN, The Washington Post, USA Today, and The Atlantic.

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