Young Farmers seeks an experienced, creative, and proactive Development Director to join our team. The Development Director leads the development and fundraising work of Young Farmers, providing vision and guidance in the creation and implementation of fundraising strategies  to raise $4.5 million annually across foundation, corporate and individual funders. The Development Director supervises a team of four development staff including a Development Associate, Grant Manager, Corporate Engagement Manager, and Associate Development Director, and collaborates closely with Young Farmers’ executive, program, and finance staff. The Development Director will be responsible for day-to-day management and mentorship of the development team’s members in addition to strategic direction.

The Director will expand and diversify Young Farmers funder base and prospective funder relationships and work closely with senior management and staff to identify, solicit, and steward funding opportunities that align with our organizational goals and values. The Development Director will ensure that our fundraising and development plan meets our organizational funding needs, expands our network, and engages our funders. In addition to setting and monitoring key performance indicators for the development team, the Development Director will also manage a portfolio of principal funders and prospects (individuals, foundation, and corporate contacts) by regularly engaging this portfolio through meetings, calls, and email check-ins and timely and thorough follow up. The Development Director will also manage donor communications efforts  including quarterly updates, annual direct mail appeal, mass email campaigns, and annual reports.

In alignment with our organizational commitment to racial equity and community-centric fundraising, the right candidate for this role will be able to effectively communicate with funders about our efforts to shift power to young and Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) farmers and create bold structural change to transform agriculture in service to the next generation. You will be comfortable taking a community-centric approach to fundraising and working across our ecosystem of supporters that are passionate about equity in agriculture, including farmers, advocates, and funders.

Responsibilities

Development Strategy and Priority Setting  (35%)

Stakeholder Engagement (25%)

Staff Management (15%)

Leadership Team Duties (6%)

Budget Management (9%)

General Staff Responsibilities (10%)

Qualifications

This could be the right position for you, if you have:

• At least 6 years of non-profit development experience, including at least 2 years in a management role (relevant foundation experience considered). 
• Experience leading a fundraising team in raising at least $3M annually from foundations, individuals, and corporations, with significant philanthropic growth achieved over subsequent years.
• Strong interpersonal, verbal communication, and presentation skills.
• Exceptional communication and storytelling skills; ability to craft pitches that resonate across audiences and cultures.
• Proven track record in bringing in new major funders and supporting long term organizational sustainability planning.
• Proven track record soliciting and closing 6+ figure gifts from individuals and foundations and proven success with complex programmatic requests.
• Excellent writing skills and prior experience in grant solicitation from foundations and other grant-making entities including government and corporate funders.
• Strong people and project management skills; ability to work well on a collaborative and interdisciplinary team.
• Demonstrated proficiency with Salesforce (or comparable CRM), and using historic giving data to make informed decisions and work plans.
• A passion and commitment to Young Farmers mission and vision, and enthusiasm for implementing organization’s racial equity practices and upholding the organizational values. 
• Knowledge of experience implementing community centric fundraising principles
• Excellent work planning, prioritization, and independent time management skills
• Experience in managing or coaching others to complete their fundraising responsibilities

The ideal candidate may also have:

• Ability to understand and follow our federal policy advocacy work, and to describe many different areas of our work in a way that is concise, compelling, and easy to understand for funders and prospective funders.
• Experience working in a fully remote environment.
• Experience working on or with a farm or ranch and/or rooted in the agricultural community.
• Experience using Asana or other project management softwares
• Excellent analytical and problem solving skills
• Experience supporting C-suite leaders in fundraising solicitation and successful closing of 7+ figure gifts. 

Schedule and Compensation

• Regular full-time exempt employees work 40 hours per week including a one (1) hour paid lunch break each day. 
• The current salary range for this role is $103,824, in accordance with our 2024 Salary Guidelines. 
• Young Farmers offers a competitive benefits package, health, vision and dental insurance, generous paid time off, paid sick days, personal days, paid family leave, and retirement matching.   

A note to potential candidates: Studies have shown that women, trans, non-binary folks, and BIPOC are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they meet every single one of the qualifications as described in a job description. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organization, and we are most interested in finding the best candidate for the job. That candidate may be one who comes from a background less traditional to our field of work, and that's okay. We would strongly encourage you to apply, even if you don't believe you meet every one of the qualifications described.