Chief Development Officer

Position: Chief Development Officer 

Type: Full Time (NYC Area Hybrid: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday in midtown office) 

Reports to: CEO 

Salary: $210,000 to $240,000 

About Project Sunshine:  

At Project Sunshine, we believe in the transformative power of play for children with medical needs. Our mission is to bring joy and healing to pediatric patients and their families through our dedicated volunteers and innovative programs. Whether it's through our in-person play sessions (Here to Play), thoughtfully curated activity kits (Kits for Play), or engaging virtual experiences (TelePlay), we improve the lives of over 250,000 children and their families each year. With 18,000 passionate volunteers and partnerships with 500 medical facilities across the U.S. and beyond, we create meaningful moments of connection that foster creativity, socialization, and emotional well-being. 

About the Position:  

We’re looking for a dynamic, strategic, and roll-up-your-sleeves Chief Development Officer to lead Project Sunshine’s fundraising efforts. This role is perfect for someone who is a proven fundraiser and excels at building teams, systems, relationships, shaping strategy, and turning big ideas into inspiring campaigns.  

This position is a leader on a collaborative senior team—working alongside the CEO, Director of Marketing and Communications, Chief of Programs, and Chief of Staff. This is a newly created c-suite role merging a three-person development team and a three-person corporate partnerships teams under one senior leader. The role will manage this team of six and will lead the growth of the department as expansion goals are met. 

This leader will be critical in taking Project Sunshine to significant new levels of growth. They will drive expansion with two new additions to Project Sunshine’s fundraising portfolio—launching a new Play-a-thon (a national, friends-asking-friends fundraising event to anchor our Summer Solstice campaign) and launching regional advisory boards. These new additions need to be added in a way that complement our existing fundraising efforts across individual, foundation, and corporate giving to broaden our base of funders nationally and fuel our growth plans. You’ll also guide messaging, donor strategy, and committee engagement as we complete our multi-year $10M campaign, A New Way to Play. 

Principle Responsibilities: 

• Drive overall strategy and continued success for: 
• Individual and foundation giving, raising approximately $3M annually and growing, including oversight of two marquee events: the spring Gala and fall Golf outing. 
• Corporate giving, raising over $2.2M annually through employee volunteer engagement and brand partnerships.  
• Guide the strategy, pipeline, committee engagement and messaging for our multi-year $10M growth campaign, A New Way to Play.  
• Lead the launch of the Play-a-thon, a national, peer-to-peer fundraising event anchoring our Summer Solstice awareness-raising day in June.  
• Cultivate and maintain outstanding relationships with board members and key organizational stakeholders.  
• Build and oversee stewardship systems that make every donor feel seen, celebrated, and connected to our mission. 
• Manage the foundation grant pipeline and reporting.  
• Supervise database management, acknowledgements, and donor communications to ensure accuracy, timeliness, and warmth. 

Regional and Board Growth 

• Lead the creation and growth of new regional advisory boards, expanding Project Sunshine’s presence and philanthropy across the U.S. 
• Partner with board members to activate their networks and cultivate new donor pipelines. 
• Staff and energize the Development Committee and Campaign Committee, providing clear goals and momentum. 
• Track progress and produce insightful revenue and pipeline reports for staff and board. 

Communications & Collaboration 

• Partner with Marketing and Communications to tell the Project Sunshine story in donor-centric, emotionally resonant ways—across appeals, reports, and digital channels. 
• Translate our programs and impact into powerful narratives that inspire giving. 
• Serve as an internal thought partner, ensuring fundraising and communications are aligned and mutually reinforcing. 

Team & Vendor Management 

• Manage and mentor a team of six – three staff in corporate partnerships, two in development, one general administration.  
• As fundraising scales help recruit and manage new team members for campaign and annual giving. 
• Set a high bar for excellence and accountability—with a positive, hands-on leadership style. 
• Manage external vendors with efficiency and partnership. 

Who You Are 

• A proven fundraiser that has driven growth in challenging times.  
• Experienced in peer-to-peer fundraising, annual giving, and regional growth models. 
• Experienced in corporate partnerships that deliver brand value to both the nonprofit and corporate partners.  
• A creative strategist who can both dream big and deliver results. 
• Healthcare/medical fundraising experience preferred but not required. 
• A relationship-builder who loves connecting people to purpose. 
• Energized by metrics, storytelling, and building systems that sustain growth. 
• A confident leader who thrives in collaboration, communication, and clarity. 

To apply, please send a resume and cover letter to HR4@projectsunshine.org with “Chief Development Officer” in the subject line.  

Project Sunshine values a diverse workplace and strongly encourages women, people of color, LGBT individuals, people with disabilities, members of ethnic minorities, foreign-born residents, and veterans to apply.   

Project Sunshine is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants will not be discriminated against because of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, religion, national origin, citizenship status, disability, ancestry, marital status, veteran status, medical condition or any protected category prohibited by local, state or federal law. In compliance with federal law, all people hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.