Chief Development Officer
Reports To: Executive Director
Employment Status: FT FLSA Status Non Exempt
ABOUT RED HOOK INITIATIVE (RHI)
(RHI) is a community-based nonprofit organization working to improve the lives of the more than 6,500 residents of Red Hook Houses, Brooklyn's largest public housing complex. RHI believes that the social change to overcome systemic inequities begins with empowered youth, and that change in communities should come from within. In partnership with community adults, we nurture young people in Red Hook to be inspired, resilient, and healthy, and to envision themselves as co-creators of their lives, community, and society.
Youth development, community building, and community hiring are at the core of RHI's approach to strengthen Red Hook's future. Our model gives young people and residents the tools, resources, and opportunities they need to interrupt the systems and barriers that perpetuate historic inequities for the community. Residents lead the way toward a more equitable, hopeful future.
Over our 22-year history, RHI's model and dedicated team have been nationally recognized for our innovative, place-based approach to social change. RHI was recently awarded an unrestricted gift of $1M from MacKenzie Scott through her philanthropic open call venture, Yield Giving.
JOB SUMMARY
RHI is seeking an entrepreneurial and dynamic Chief Development Officer to set a strategic vision for and provide overall direction of a diverse portfolio of private and public funders contributing to an annual budget of ~$5M.
Our ideal candidate is a seasoned frontline fundraiser, strategic thinker, and effective problem solver. You will be an inspiring manager able to lead our growing team of development staff and consultants to continue to exceed our ambitious goals. You must be committed to our core belief that resources are used to empower the Red Hook community members to determine their future. Building on our financial success to date, the Chief Development Officer will be a strategic partner with the Executive Director, who is also a frontline fundraiser. Together you will continue to build on our funding portfolio with resilience, empathy, integrity, innovation, and a sense of humor. Our Chief Development Officer must have a natural ability to promote an agency-wide sense of pride in fundraising initiatives.
The majority (88%) of our revenue comes from foundations, individuals, donor-advised funds, family foundations, and corporations, with the remaining 12% coming from government sources. Key responsibilities include stewarding current foundation relationships and individual donors, as well as developing strategic approaches and action plans for new institutional and corporate funders. The Chief Development Officer will report to the Executive Director and work closely with the Board of Directors, senior leadership team, and development staff.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Vision, Strategy, & Leadership

• Serve as a partner to the Executive Director in collaboratively setting fundraising strategy, defining team tactics and benchmarks.
• Create, manage, and monitor systems for development strategy implementation and execution.
• Participate in organization-wide planning and operations.
• Manage a development team, including the Manager of Individual Giving & Special Events, a Special Projects Associate, a Senior Manager of Communications, and a Grant Manager.
• Develop annual departmental budgets and org-wide revenue forecasts.
• Work closely with the Chief Program and Policy Officer and Chief Administrative Officer to ensure all development initiatives are linked to programs/programming cycles and are executed as efficiently as possible.
• Develop and refine strategies to leverage existing resources and tap into new networks of supporters best suited to meet emerging programmatic and organizational needs.
• Utilize RHI's donor database (Salesforce) to identify patterns and trends of donor acquisition, retention and reactivation that inform fundraising strategies and tactics.
• Analyze monthly revenue reports, modify approaches based on fundraising projections, and provide monthly reports and forecasts to the Executive Director.
• Chair the Board of Directors' Fundraising Committee with the preparation and facilitation of bimonthly meetings.
• Prepare bimonthly development updates for the Board of Directors, attend all meetings (including additional ad hoc committee meetings such as the Governance and Finance Committees), and provide thought partnership on board relations.

Institutional Funding

• Lead a grants management pipeline of nearly 150 institutional supporters (foundation, corporate, and government) and supervise a part-time grant writing consultant to prepare for the timely submission of all grant proposals, narrative reports, and financial reports.
• Oversee grant planning, including submission schedules, research of new grants, and relations with institutional funders.
• Work in collaboration with the Operations & Finance team to develop a seamless government grants pipeline to co-manage the evaluation of new contract opportunities and the submission of grant proposals and reporting. Keep detailed and accurate records of all funder communications and grants management updates in Salesforce.
• Prepare and lead RHI staff in key funder site visits and relay pertinent programmatic updates.

Individual Giving & Major Donors

• Supervise RHI's Manager of Individual Giving & Special Events to identify, qualify, and prioritize individual donor prospects through research, screening, and discovery meetings.
• Create annual goals and engagement plans for 40 of RHI's major donors and prospects based on organizational priorities, individual interests, history of giving, and other relevant criteria.
• In collaboration with the Executive Director, successfully engage, cultivate, solicit, and steward a portfolio of major donors and prospects.
• Engage, activate, and support the board and other key volunteers as ambassadors, connectors, cultivators, and, where appropriate, askers, for RHI.
• Partner with RHI's Manager of Individual Giving & Special Events to ideate and produce our signature annual gala, Taste of Red Hook
• Foster strong relationships with the culinary community in Red Hook, who have supported Taste of Red Hook and RHI for many years.
• Work with RHI's board and development staff to design and implement two successful annual fundraising initiatives - an end of year campaign and summer appeal.
• Oversee a calendar of cultivation events and opportunities in partnership with the Manager of Individual Giving & Special Events.
• Co-manage event planning committees and relationships with vendors and consultants.
• Lead the strategy development for special anniversary or capital campaigns as needed.

Volunteer Programs

• Create the structure and staffing plan to develop and implement engaging and productive volunteer opportunities with individuals and corporations.
• With support from development staff, create a volunteer-to-donor pipeline based on prospect research and trend analysis.

Communications & PR

• Supervise Development & Communications Senior Manager in the creation of an annual communications strategy to continuously elevate RHI's profile across new audiences and ensure regular, tailored, and timely communications, clear and compelling messaging, and brand consistency across the organization.
• Leverage email, website, social media, and print publications to engage followers, subscribers, donors, and stakeholders with relevant programmatic updates, fundraising appeals, and volunteer opportunities.
• Oversee the production of RHI's annual Impact Report and special program reports.
• Ensure that RHI's website and social media content is engaging, up-to-date, and in sync with broader fundraising messages and goals.
• Oversee the creation of presentation materials and funding proposals as well as prepare reports or other information required by donors.
• Support development staff and Board of Directors to generate press lists, generate press advisories and releases, and pitch stories to members of the press.

Experience Education

• Bachelor's degree required.
• Five to seven years of progressively responsible leadership experience in a nonprofit organization, government agency, school, or philanthropy of which at least three (3) years were at a senior leadership level overseeing a relatively large team of managers and professional staff, as well as a diverse portfolio of programs and/or contracts serving low-income youth and/or communities.
• Extensive experience in fundraising with a focus on youth and/or community development or grassroots organizations.

COMMITMENT TO DEI & EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
RHI actively engages individuals from all backgrounds and is committed to embracing diversity across all areas and aspects of the organization. We firmly believe that an atmosphere of civility and mutual respect toward individual differences and embracing an inclusive and equitable environment is indispensable to building a successful organization, contributing to a positive and meaningful employment experience for staff, and advancing the best possible outcomes for the clients served by RHI's programs. We are also committed to community hiring and supporting the job prospects of Red Hook residents.
As an equal opportunity employer, RHI is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified individuals and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and expression, disability, age, marital status, military status, veteran status, pregnancy, parental status, genetic information, or any other characteristic or basis prohibited by applicable law.
COMPENSATION, BENEFITS, & WORKING CONDITIONS
RHI strives to offer employees a competitive compensation and benefits package that reflects its core values and commitment to its staff. The salary range for this leadership role is $135,000 to $145,000 and will be commensurate with the candidate's competencies and experience. Additionally, RHI provides a comprehensive benefits package which includes medical, dental, and vision coverage, an employee assistance program (EAP) which includes 12 counseling sessions per year, 403b retirement plan, flexible spending accounts for out-of-pocket health, dependent and commuter expenses, life insurance, 24 PTO days, and "Summer Fridays," when possible.
RHI provides a hybrid work environment for all employees: three days in office, 2 days remote. This leadership role is based on-site at RHI's main program office in Red Hook, Brooklyn. The ideal candidate should be within reasonable commuting distance to our main program office or a resident of Red Hook.
TO APPLY
Please log on to the RHI career portal at: for further instructions about how to apply for this position. Please be sure to attach your cover letter and resume as ONE COMBINED pdf .