Demo

Director of Development

Collaborative for Academic Social and Emotional Learning
Chicago, IL Full Time
POSTED ON 1/19/2025
AVAILABLE BEFORE 4/19/2025

Job Description

Job Description

Director of Development

Job Description

REMOTE POSITION)

THE POSITION SUMMARY

The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) is seeking a Director of Development to lead and grow the fundraising efforts of CASEL, the leading authority in the rapidly expanding social and emotional learning field. This position will work with the champions of the SEL field and play a key role in the organization's efforts to ensure equitable education outcomes for every child. The Director position reports to CASEL’s President and CEO and is instrumental to CASEL’s development, operational, and financial effectiveness. This individual leads and manages the development department and grows CASEL’s funding base of individual, foundation, and corporate donors. The Director position is responsible for ensuring CASEL meets its annual fundraising budget goal of $5 - $7.5 million to support the broad adoption of social and emotional learning. The Director partners with the Board of Directors and Executive Leadership team to create and implement the strategy for fundraising prospects and cultivate high-profile national and international relationships that create long-term sustainability and success for CASEL’s initiatives. The ideal candidate excels in fundraising on a national scale, understands the perspective of systems leaders, and is an experienced manager who thrives on building relationships and motivating teams. This individual is driven by CASEL’s mission of integrating high-quality SEL into schools and districts nationwide to best support students and their educators.

OPPORTUNITIES / EXPECTATIONS

The Director of Development :

Strategy

  • Establishes and delivers the vision for the CASEL development team to secure and meet philanthropic revenue targets for the organization.
  • Directs and implements strategies for identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding existing and prospective individual, foundation, and corporate donors
  • Drives a full understanding of CASEL’s work and effectively communicates the organization’s accomplishments, goals, and strategies to prospective stakeholders and donors.
  • Creates strategies and tactics to increase revenue from existing and new funding streams.
  • Evaluates trends in the external environment and provides input for the organization's short- and long-term strategic fundraising, operational planning, and positioning.

Workstreams

  • Spearheads an extensive pipeline of potential donors and ensures prospects advance through the moves management cycle.
  • Oversees development and management of corporate and foundation grant proposals and reporting and an individual giving program.
  • Reviews and disseminates high-quality fundraising communications, including proposals, applications, correspondence, reports, budgetary and program information, and monitoring.
  • Leads annual sponsorship and exhibitor fundraising for CASEL’s annual national conference, the SEL Exchange.
  • Organizes in-person cultivation events and virtual funder briefings, including content development
  • Collaborates with CASEL communications to develop annual appeals, promotional material, and fundraising collateral.
  • Operations and Team Management

  • Establishes goals, benchmarks, and performance metrics that measure tangible results.
  • Oversees department’s implementation and full utilization of Salesforce.
  • Manages the annual department budget, serving as liaison to the Finance department and reconciling fundraising and accounting systems monthly
  • Fosters a culture of philanthropy, shared accountability, and continuous improvement across the organization
  • Collaborates closely with CASEL’s Executive team and Board of Directors.
  • Leads the Development team and other staff and consultants as needed.
  • Ensures compliance with all relevant regulations and laws and adherence to the highest accountability standards for donors, ethical principles, and fundraising standards.
  • QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

    The background and educational experience required for this position are :

  • BA in Business or related field
  • 8 years of accomplished professional experience as a fundraiser for national and / or field-leading organizations, including :
  • Managing portfolios of prospects and donors at all levels
  • Planning and delivering donor communication, engagements, and events
  • Grant writing and solicitation of foundation and corporate grants
  • Demonstrated track record of securing major gifts and grants from individual, foundation, and corporate donors
  • Knowledge and experience in event planning, sponsorship programs, and exhibit sales
  • Works independently and demonstrates sound judgment when engaging with donors and funders
  • Computer skills :
  • Microsoft Office Suite (required)
  • Salesforce CRM (required)
  • Asana or another project management system (required)
  • Candid, RelSci, or another donor / prospect research tool (required)
  • Internet-based fundraising tools (preferred)
  • Background in SEL and / or education (preferred)
  • PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS AND COMPETENCIES

    The personal characteristics and competencies required for this position are :

  • Collaborates : Works cooperatively with others across the organization to achieve shared objectives; represents one's own interests while being fair to others and their areas; partners with others to complete work; credits others for their contributions and accomplishments; gains the trust and support of others
  • Communicates Effectively : Effective in various communication settings : one-on-one, small and large groups, or among diverse styles and position levels; attentively listens to others; adjusts to fit the audience and the message; provides timely and helpful information to others across the organization; and encourages the open expression of diverse ideas and opinions
  • Values Differences : Seeks to understand different perspectives and cultures; contributes to a work climate where differences are valued and supported; applies others’ diverse experiences, styles, backgrounds, and perspectives to achieve results; is sensitive to cultural norms, expectations, and communication methods.
  • Customer Focus : Gains insight into customer needs; identifies opportunities that benefit the customer; builds and delivers solutions that meet customer expectations; establishes and maintains effective customer relationships.
  • Action Oriented : Readily takes action on challenges without unnecessary planning; identifies and seizes new opportunities; displays a can-do attitude in both good and bad times; steps up to handle challenging issues
  • Persuades : Positions views and arguments appropriately to win support; convinces others to take action; negotiates skillfully in challenging situations; wins concessions without damaging relationships; and responds effectively to the reactions and positions of others
  • Plans and Aligns : Sets objectives to align with broader organizational goals; breaks down objectives into appropriate initiatives and actions; stages activities with relevant milestones and schedules; anticipates and adjusts effective contingency plans.
  • The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning is an equal opportunity employer. CASEL is an equal opportunity / affirmative action employer and is strongly and actively committed to diversity within the community. CASEL evaluates applicants for employment on the basis of qualifications, merit and work-related criteria without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, mental or physical disabilities, pregnancy, medical condition, marital status or any other characteristic protected by law. CASEL employs and values a diverse work environment.

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