Director of Development

Job Title: Director of Development  
Reports To: Chief Executive Officer 
FLSA Status: Exempt 
Location: On-site 
Employment Type: Full-time  

Why Join YWCA Princeton? 

YWCA Princeton is a mission-driven organization dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all. We advance this mission through a wide range of programs that foster equity and expand opportunity for women, girls, and marginalized groups at every age and stage of life. Our offerings include early childhood education, English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction, a Breast Cancer Resource Center, economic empowerment initiatives, racial and gender equity advocacy, and opportunities for professional development and community connection. 

About the Role: 

As our Director of Development  you will play a key role in maximizing the organization's fundraising performance and achieving its development goals. The Director of Development structures and adapts the organization’s fundraising strategies to be well positioned for success in a rapidly evolving environment. This involves planning and directing the organization’s overall fundraising program through a wide variety of activities, including annual giving, grant and foundation funding, events, and strategic partnerships. Critical to this role will be designing and implementing a major gifts program for the long-term sustainability of the organization. This includes support of the capital campaign that is designed to further the YW’s strategic growth plan and the annual operating plan. 

The Director of Development strongly represents the values of the YWCA Princeton, shares a passion for its mission to eliminate racism and empower women, and represent these values to internal and external stakeholders. This includes maintaining strong relationships with a wide portfolio of major donors, institutional funders, staff, the public, Board members, and others. 

What You will Do: 

Here is how you will contribute in this role: 

  Donor Development and Stewardship (30%) 

• Creates a comprehensive fundraising plan to drive the organization’s revenue goals to the next level, including major gifts, the annual fund, institutional giving, grants, and events. 

• Act as a primary point of contact for funding, donations and fundraising event inquiries. 

• Collaborates with the Program Directors (Childcare, the Breast Cancer Resource Center, English as a Second Language, and Advocacy) to design sub-plans for each program on donor identification, donor cultivation, funding solicitation, and stewardship, including tailored acquisition and renewal strategies.  

• Design and produce annual giving campaign, as well as auxiliary marketing and promotional materials for development needs. 

• Designs and implements a strategic major gifts program, including mapping out tailored benefit levels, building portfolios for the CEO, the Development Director, and key members of the Development Team. 

2. Revenue Expansion and Diversification  (30%) 

• Fully optimize the Development Team’s use of Raiser’s Edge with data management and data cleanup, reporting, tracking, and donor acknowledgements. 

• Establish and maintain a detailed annual development calendar.      

• Researches and cultivates new individual donors and institutional funding sources.  

• Builds relationships with external and internal stakeholders to advance the YW’s mission and goals, including the Board of Directors and committees on network activation and community groups/individuals on grassroots fundraisers.  

3. Marketing, Communications and Advancement (10%) 

• Creates a comprehensive donor stewardship program, including donor recognition, impact reporting, and frequent communications to increase donor retentions  

• Oversee marketing and communications to build awareness and deepen engagement including digital strategy, media relations, and print materials. 

• Provides a strong narrative and guidance on donor communications. 

4. Leadership, Collaboration and Team Management (25%) 

• Supervise the development team including a donor specialist, events coordinator, grant coordinator and brand and communications coordinator. 

• Works in collaboration with the Chief Finance Officer and Chief Executive Officer to set fundraising goals and to develop and manage the annual budget for the Development Department.  

• Manages and advises the Development Committee and the Capital Campaign Committee’s activities to raise money and to interact with donors. This includes monthly meetings to discuss the strategy and for high-level planning.  

• Regularly report Development activity, strategies, and progress against goals to the CEO. 

5. Organizational learning and development (5%) 

• Engage in organization-wide training, attend weekly team meetings, participate in all-staff meetings and institution-wide retreats, and develop both professional and personal commitments related to the YWCA-Princeton mission. 

What You Bring: 

We are looking for someone who brings a combination of the following: 

Required: 

• Bachelor’s degree required.  

• Minimum of 5-7 years of experience in fundraising, including designing and implementing strategic fundraising programs, with a focus on building a major gifts program.  

• Strategic professional fundraising with the demonstrated ability to meet goals, independently drive activity, and to close five-plus figure gifts.  

• Excellent personal, verbal and written communication skills. 

• Experienced relationship manager with internal and external stakeholders.  

• Ability to manage multiple projects while meeting deadlines. 

• Ability to be creative, flexible and well-organized. 

Preferred (not required): 

• Working knowledge of Raiser’s Edge or another CRM strongly preferred.  

• Marketing or donor communications experience preferred.  

• Campaign experience preferred.  

• Planned giving experience a plus.  

We recognize that experience can come in many forms; if you meet most of the qualifications and are excited about the role, we encourage you to apply. 

Who You Are: Core Values & Competencies 

At YWCA Princeton, success is not just about what you do — it is how you do it. We value team members who: 

• Mission-Driven & Equity-Centered 
  We work every day to eliminate racism and empower women. Equity guides our decisions, practices, and partnerships. 

• Transparent & Trust-Based 
  We foster open communication, clarity, and respect at all levels. Trust is the foundation of how we lead, collaborate, and grow. 

• Growth-Minded & Learning-Focused 
  We embrace curiosity, feedback, and professional development. Staff are supported in their growth and encouraged to innovate. 

• Wellness & Care-Oriented 
  We prioritize work-life balance and a culture of compassion. Our policies and benefits reflect a deep commitment to employee well-being. 

What You Can Expect: 

Work Environment & Accessibility: 

• Work is performed in-Office 

• This role may require sitting, standing, lifting up to 50 lbs. 

• We are committed to providing reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals with disabilities. 

Benefits and Compensation: 

We offer a competitive compensation package:  

• Compensation range: $90,000 - $100,000 commensurate with experience. 

• Paid time off, 13.5 paid holidays per year, and access to health and wellness benefits: medical dental vision. 

• We offer professional development to help employees expand their skills and advance their careers. Our people-first culture is rooted in respect, equity, and collaboration. 

• YWCA Princeton contributes based on your eligible compensation (currently 7.5%), and National makes a Fund Match of 40% of the YWCA Princeton contribution (currently 2%). You may also make optional after-tax employee contributions. You are eligibility to participate after two years of service. Full vesting in the plan occurs immediately. 

• All full-time YWCA employees are entitled to receive a 25% discount on childcare, classes, and summer program fees. 

Equal Opportunity Statement: 

YWCA Princeton is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We embrace diversity and are committed to building an inclusive environment for all employees. Research suggests that qualified women, Black, Indigenous, and Persons of Color (BIPOC) may self-select out of opportunities if they don't meet 100% of the job requirements. We encourage individuals who believe they have the skills necessary to thrive to apply for this role. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, marital status, or any other characteristic protected under federal, state (including NJLAD), or local law. 

Disclaimer: This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, or qualifications associated with the position. Management reserves the right to modify, add, or remove duties and to assign other duties as necessary.