Senior Director, Development

About KABOOM!

KABOOM! is the national nonprofit committed to ensuring that every kid, in every community, has an amazing place to play. Our mission is to end playspace inequity – the reality that playspaces are not available to every child, especially in communities of color. We unite with communities to build kid-designed playspaces that can spark joy and foster a sense of belonging for the kids who are often denied opportunities to thrive.

Position Summary

KABOOM! has an almost 30-year history of successful fundraising among corporations, foundations, and individuals that support our efforts to build exciting climate-forward playspace design and construction, improve child development outcomes in health and learning; and ensure that schools and communities in underserved places have equitable and innovative spaces for kids to play and grow. Many members of our executive team have worked in various roles within the organization for decades and have significant subject matter expertise. They actively engage in and support fundraising for KABOOM!.

The Senior Director of Development is an experienced leader who is strongly committed in making a transformative change by addressing the inequities that exist for kids in communities across the country. This position will play a vital role in securing new sustainable funding streams for KABOOM! by creating a major donor program and shepherding prospects through every phase of the moves management cycle. This role will focus exclusively on cultivating long-term institutional relationships, managing large, multi-year grants, while also pursuing large opportunities from major donors within our ‘25 in 5 Initiative’ markets. This is an exciting opportunity for a seasoned, strategic frontline fundraiser to help us grow support from individual donors and foundations.

Led by a VP of Development, we are a close-knit and hardworking crew of directors and senior directors of development, and a development associate. We partner closely with the executive team, partnerships team, and finance team to advance smart fundraising strategies. The Senior Director of Development role is a remote position with occasional travel to the DC-region and cities where funders and donors live and work.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead a portfolio of existing and prospective national funders and donors with the capacity to make five, six, and seven-figure contributions to KABOOM! to gradually secure $5 million annually towards a $33 million annual organizational goal.
• Develop the fundraising strategy to identify, cultivate and secure funding from high-level foundations, and high-net-worth individuals.
• Collaborate with colleagues to develop compelling proposals, reports, budgets and other fundraising materials.
• Serve as a thought partner with the VP of Development in specific areas of subject matter expertise.
• Stay abreast of philanthropic trends and proactively explore partnerships with mission-aligned organizations and funders in the public and private sectors.
• Actively contribute to our equity-informed and inclusive work culture by taking an active role in promoting practices that support diversity, inclusion, and belonging.
• Engage in peer mentoring within the Development team and across the organization.
• Ability to travel approx. 30% within the United States and Canada.
• Provide guidance and coaching, as needed, to help achieve the organization’s funding goals
• Fully embrace our organizational values of partnership, humility, equity, play, and accountability.

Education and Experience Required

In this position, you are responsible for building meaningful partnerships with a variety of funders, including local and national corporations, national, regional, and state-focused foundations, and individual philanthropists within a portfolio of new and existing prospects.

• Bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 10 years of direct fundraising experience.
• Proposal writing experience; some event planning experience a plus.
• Adept at using Salesforce or similar, Microsoft Suite, Google Docs, Teams.
• Deep knowledge of national philanthropic networks and organizations – particularly those in the health, education, climate, and early childhood development funding communities.
• Proven ability to thrive in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial setting with aggressive deadlines; management of multiple priorities and projects while balancing long-term goals.
• Exceptional and persuasive written, oral, interpersonal, and presentation skills with the ability to effectively interface with staff, community leaders, and senior-level executives.
• A sharp mind, top-notch critical thinking, and organizational capabilities, adept at quickly absorbing information from various angles, always keeping an eye on the big picture while maintaining superior attention to detail.
• High level of integrity, trust, and accountability along with excellent judgment, intuition, and common sense, as well as the right blend of professional confidence with a keen sense of diplomacy.
• Collaborative, team-oriented work style with self-motivation and drive to get the job done.

Our goal is to have competitive and equitable compensation. We have a market-based compensation approach which means that we benchmark each role from reputable data sources. We compare our benchmarks against similarly sized non-profit organizations with comparable annual budgets and geographical areas. We pay the same rate for the same roles and adjust to comply with statutory mandates.

We take care of our employees by providing benefits and perks which include but not limited to the following:

• Annual bonus based on team and individual goal attainment

• Robust benefits package, including options for medical, dental, vision, and health/wellness

• Generous 403(b) match of up to 6% of employee contribution

• Flexible time off inclusive of PTO, floating holidays and special days

• Opportunities for professional development

Equal Opportunity Statement

Building an inclusive, high-performing team that is diverse across lines of personal identity is integral to our success and we are proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. This means we do not discriminate against any job applicant or employee because of their race, ethnicity, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This applies to all terms and conditions of employment.

We actively strive and evolve to develop and maintain fully inclusive workspaces. We encourage candidates from under represented groups to apply.

Additional Requirements

Individual has the ability and willingness to build relationships across differences and discuss issues of structural racism.