Description
About Water1st:
Water1st builds solutions that directly address the problems defined by women who carry water for the survival of their families. We are committed to true equity in water access, ensuring everyone in the world has the same access to piped water that we expect. At every home, school, clinic, and community gathering place our project participants have 24/7 access to safe water, a toilet, and a shower, preventing disease transmission and unlocking their potential. Visit water1st.org to learn more about us.
On the fundraising side, we seek stable community-centric funding to support the solutions that best serve vulnerable communities. The needs of our recipients determine our fundraising strategies, and the stable funding provided by our network of individual donors, foundations and corporations has proven to maximize the effectiveness of our international work.
We value diversity in both backgrounds and experiences and we strive to maintain a culture that is positive, supportive and inclusive, both internally in our organization and externally in our work with program participants, international in-country partners, volunteers, and donors. We are looking to add team members who share this ethos.
Position Overview:
The Water1st Director of Development is an exciting opportunity for an experienced fundraising professional. In collaboration with the Executive Director and other key staff, the Director of Development will set the strategic direction for Water1st’s fundraising activities, and will play a key role in building relationships and representing Water1st externally with funders and nonprofit allies.
This is a new role that will help pave the way for growth. The ideal candidate will be a self-starter with the ability to maintain existing development efforts, while growing the Water1st community of supporters. The ideal candidate values a culture of collaboration and teamwork to meet our shared goals. The Director of Development will combine high-level strategy with hands-on implementation while building relationships and networking.
This position reports to the Executive Director and will lead Water1st’s Development team. As Water1st continues to grow, there will be key opportunities for this role to help shape the Development team.
Key Responsibilities:
Develop and Implement a Comprehensive Fundraising Plan:
Develop and implement a comprehensive fundraising plan that is data driven and aligns with Water1st’s strategic goals, and supports the organization’s current and future budgets and sustainability goals. Plan, prepare, and propose development budget for approval and monitor development budget.
Grow Water1st’s individual giving program:
Oversee individual giving, including a comprehensive grassroots fundraising program utilizing supporter cultivation, annual giving, and community events in collaboration with the Executive Director and other staff. Manage a major gifts portfolio and support other staff in management of their own portfolios.
Special Events:
Collaborate with staff to plan and execute an annual gala, an annual walk, and other custom special events that engage donors and raise funds for the organization. Work with the staff, board fundraising committee and event committees to develop strategy and approach for each special event. Provide project management leadership for each event ensuring all components are successfully executed.
Develop and strengthen a culture of philanthropy throughout the organization:
Engage, inspire and support staff and board in their role in fund development. Coordinate development activities with communications, international programs and youth programs. Collaborate closely with the Executive Director and Board of Directors to ensure budgets reflect overall fundraising strategy.
Other Job Responsibilities:
Materials and communications:
Collaborate with the team to develop and execute effective donor communications and marketing materials.
Board of Directors:
Attend Board meetings as needed, produce/present reports to the board as requested on development activities, develop relationships with board members, and help create board engagement plans and opportunities.
Data driven:
Monitor and analyze fundraising data to evaluate performance and adjust strategies as needed. Produce reports for the Board and Executive Director as requested. With the Operations Manager, ensure accurate biographical and gift data and assist with any questions or needs surrounding that data.
Qualifications and characteristics:
- Minimum of 10 years of relevant experience.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to write compelling donor communications and marketing materials. - Understanding how social media can support our fundraising.
- Strong leadership and management skills. Values teamwork and supports everyone’s efforts to succeed by exhibiting objectivity and openness to others’ views, building a positive team spirit, and building morale and group commitments to goals and objectives. Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with colleagues, Board members, and volunteers.
- Experience with fundraising software and donor databases. Proficient and experienced in common software applications, particularly Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Zoom/Teams and Outlook.
- Ability to travel domestically and internationally.
- A deep commitment to the mission and values of our organization.
- Ability to work within diverse teams and environments, including our staff, donor base, our international partners, and our project participants, while treating everyone with respect
Summary: This position will help maintain and build Water1st’s growing donor base in Seattle and around the world.
Status: Full-time in Seattle, hybrid option
Compensation: $95,000-$110,000
Benefits: SIMPLE IRA retirement savings plan with 3% match, flexible PTO, office location convenient to transit, free gym use in office building