Development Director

PEACEFUL. POWERFUL. CREATIVE.

DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

ABOUT DESTINY ARTS CENTER

Destiny Arts Center inspires and ignites social change through the arts. For more than 38 years Destiny has empowered young people to become peaceful powerful and creative through movement arts performance and leadership development. With a total annual budget of approximately $4 million Destiny serves more than 6000 young people each year. Through programs at our North Oakland center and across 55 school and community sites throughout the East Bay Destiny creates safe inclusive spaces where young people develop confidence artistic excellence resilience and a deep sense of belonging.

At Destiny we believe the arts are a powerful force for individual transformation and collective liberation. Rooted in violence prevention and conflict resolution our work nurtures young peoples creativity while cultivating leadership healing and connection across communities. No child is ever turned away for lack of funds.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Development Director is a strategic fundraising leader responsible for growing Destinys philanthropic revenue with a primary focus on contributed income major gifts individual giving donor stewardship and fundraising strategy. Reporting to the Executive Director and serving on the Leadership Team the Development Director partners with staff board members donors and community stakeholders to build relationships that inspire investment in Destinys mission.

The Development Director provides overall direction and day-to-day management of all fundraising activity while personally carrying a portfolio of major-donor prospects. An overarching objective of the first few years is to aggressively grow Destinys donor base and contributed revenue through major gifts the annual fund foundation grants corporate philanthropy legacy giving and the annual Gala.

This role provides strategic leadership for Destinys overall development strategy which also includes government and earned income builds a sustainable pipeline of supporters increases unrestricted revenue and advances a culture of philanthropy across the organization. The successful candidate will be a relationship-centered fundraiser with a demonstrated record of securing major gifts developing donor communities and building fundraising systems that support long-term sustainability.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelors degree required.
• Five to eight years of progressively responsible fundraising experience.
• Demonstrated success securing and stewarding major gifts.
• Experience managing a donor portfolio using moves-management best practices.
• Experience partnering with executive leadership and nonprofit boards.
• Experience supervising fundraising staff.
• Proficiency with Salesforce (or comparable CRM) and fundraising analytics.
• Strong project-management and organizational skills.
• Excellent written verbal and interpersonal communication skills.
• Demonstrated commitment to equity inclusion youth development and community-centered leadership.

Preferred

• Experience in arts education youth development or community-based nonprofits.
• Knowledge of the Bay Area philanthropic landscape.
• Experience with planned giving and donor-advised funds.
• Experience leading galas fundraising campaigns or capital initiatives.

CORE COMPETENCIES

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

Major Gifts & Individual Giving Leadership

Lead Destinys strategy to significantly grow individual philanthropy and unrestricted revenue.

• Develop and implement a comprehensive major-gifts and individual-giving strategy aligned with Destinys strategic plan.
• Personally grow and manage a portfolio of approximately 100-150 major donors and prospects.
• Identify cultivate solicit and steward individual donors capable of leadership and major gifts.
• Develop individualized cultivation and solicitation strategies for high-capacity donors.
• Conduct regular donor meetings site visits stewardship activities and solicitations.
• Partner closely with the Executive Director to cultivate solicit and steward major donors.
• Equip and support board members in donor cultivation and solicitation.
• Build a strong pipeline of new donors through prospect identification referrals networking and community engagement.
• Grow donor retention recurring giving gift upgrades and multi-year commitments; expand legacy and planned giving over time.

Annual Giving & Donor Engagement

Develop and execute an annual giving program that increases unrestricted support.

• Lead multi-channel annual campaigns: direct mail email digital appeals giving days and year-end.
• Develop donor segmentation to improve retention and increase average gift size.
• Oversee donor stewardship recognition and timely meaningful acknowledgments and impact reporting.
• Collaborate with communications staff on donor-centered stories and fundraising materials.
• Design donor journeys that deepen engagement throughout the year.

Fundraising Strategy & Organizational Leadership

Serve as a strategic leader advancing Destinys long-term financial sustainability.

• Participate as a member of Destinys Leadership Team.
• Develop annual and multi-year fundraising plans with goals benchmarks and performance metrics.
• Monitor fundraising trends; diversify philanthropic revenue and reduce reliance on any single source.
• Build and champion a culture of philanthropy across staff teaching artists volunteers and board.

Board Partnership & Engagement

Strengthen the boards role as fundraising ambassadors.

• Staff the Marketing & Development Committee and partner with the ED on board fundraising.
• Attend the five annual board meetings (Sept Nov Jan Mar May) and the fall board retreat.
• Coach board members in donor identification cultivation stewardship and solicitation.
• Prepare fundraising dashboards and reports for the Board of Directors.
• Support recruitment of prospective board members with philanthropic capacity and community connections.

Institutional Giving Oversight

Provide strategic oversight and partnership for institutional fundraising.

• Ensure institutional strategies align with the foundation goals and overall priorities.
• Collaborate on prospecting and foundation corporate and government funding strategies.
• Support relationship-building with key institutional funders as appropriate.

Gala Donor Events & Community Engagement

Create opportunities that strengthen donor relationships and convert attendees into year-round supporters.

• Lead the strategy for the annual Gala as well as donor cultivation and stewardship events.
• Develop sponsorship strategies and a renewal path that grows event revenue beyond target.
• Partner with consultants and volunteers to execute events; prime the fund-a-need and steward sponsors year-round.
• Represent Destiny at performances community events and donor gatherings across the Bay Area.

Development Operations

Build systems that support effective fundraising.

• Oversee Salesforce donor-database management reporting and fundraising analytics.
• Ensure effective management systems and portfolio tracking.
• Ensure timely gift processing acknowledgments and stewardship.
• Continuously improve fundraising systems policies and operational effectiveness.

STAFF LEADERSHIP

Provide leadership coaching and professional development to development staff (that includes Manager of Institutional Giving Development & Finance Manager and Development & Finance Associate)

• Supervise the Manager of Institutional Giving and the Development & Finance Manager.
• Conduct regular supervision annual performance evaluations and professional-development planning.
• Foster a collaborative inclusive and high-performing team culture with clear goals and accountability.
• Promote cross-department collaboration to strengthen fundraising and storytelling.

This job description reflects the general nature and level of work expected in this role and is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities duties and skills required. The Development Director will perform other duties as assigned to meet the evolving needs of the organization.

WHY JOIN DESTINY ARTS CENTER

This is an opportunity to shape the future of one of the Bay Areas most respected arts and youth-development organizations. As Development Director you will build the philanthropic foundation that lets thousands of young people experience the transformative power of movement arts belonging and creative expression in a place where no child is ever turned away for lack of funds.

If you are a strategic fundraiser a relationship builder and a passionate advocate for young people and the arts we encourage you to apply.

TO APPLY

Please submit a resume and a cover letter describing your fundraising philosophy and a major gift you are proud to have secured. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Compensation

The salary range for this position is $135000$145000 annually commensurate with experience. Destiny also offers a comprehensive benefits package.

Work Schedule

This is a full-time position based at Destiny Arts Center headquarters 970 Grace Avenue Oakland California 94608. A hybrid work schedule is available subject to supervisor approval with regular on-site presence required to support donor engagement events and team collaboration. Some evening and weekend availability is expected for fundraising events performances and donor activities.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Destiny Arts Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive team and to a workplace free from discrimination. We do not discriminate on the basis of race color religion creed sex gender gender identity or expression sexual orientation national origin ancestry age marital status pregnancy medical condition genetic information physical or mental disability military or veteran status or any other characteristic protected by federal state or local law. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and employment decisions are made on the basis of qualifications merit and business need.