Fast Facts
Join Reading Partners as a Development Director in the San Francisco Bay Area, where you'll lead regional fundraising strategies to combat the literacy crisis by managing donor relationships and cultivating community support.
Responsibilities: Responsibilities include creating and implementing fundraising strategies, managing relationships with donors and corporate partners, overseeing communication plans, and leading a development team to achieve ambitious funding goals.
Skills: Candidates must possess strong fundraising and relationship-building skills, exceptional communication abilities, and experience in strategic planning and donor engagement.
Qualifications: Preferred qualifications include 5+ years in development roles with team management experience, proven fundraising success, and a background in education or literacy.
Location: This position is located in the San Francisco Bay Area, CA, USA, with a hybrid work model that includes office visits 1-2 times per week.
Compensation: $103165 - $128956 / Annually
Job DetailsJob Location: Reading Partners San Francisco Bay Area - San Francisco, CA 94103Position Type: Full-TimeSalary Range: $103,165.00 - $128,956.00 SalaryJob Category: Development/FundraisingReading Partners is changing the education landscape. We are a leader in working to solve the literacy crisis in our country by leveraging community volunteers in under-resourced schools. Our diverse and expansive volunteer base provides one-on-one tutoring to students twice weekly, and our program is proven to help children master the reading fundamentals they need to unlock their potential as successful, happy, and confident readers in school and in life. Our people are our heartbeat and our greatest resource; we are all passionately rallied around our mission to help children become lifelong learners by empowering communities to provide individualized instruction that truly works. Join our stellar, committed team leading the charge to deepen our impact and expand our service. Watch this video to learn more about the mission and core tutoring work of Reading Partners.
The high level:
The Development Director is part of a team of fundraisers and relationship builders working together to support Reading Partners’ strategic growth plan. The Director’s main roles are to create and implement the overarching regional fundraising strategy, lead cultivation and stewardship of many high-level external relationships, and lead, develop, and mobilize the region to achieve ambitious fundraising goals. The Director directly manages a Development Manager. Reporting directly to the Executive Director in SFBA, the Director creatively develops, leads and drives an ambitious fundraising strategy, board management in close partnership with the Executive Director, and new fundraising generation. As a trusted advisor and strategic thought partner to the ED, the Director is a senior leader in the region who catalyzes regional growth as a resource mobilizer, elevates the Reading Partners brand, as a fundraising and external relations expert, and as a savvy people leader and relationship builder. This role is a hybrid role responsible for conducting in-person meetings and site visits across the Bay Area. The Director will report into our Oakland or San Francisco offices 1-2 times per week for team meetings and events.
What you’ll do:
Each year, create, lead, and drive overarching fundraising strategy, operational plans, and all revenue activities to meet or exceed fundraising goals for the region.
Maintain high renewal rates Maintain donor relationships and build new ones Maximize upgrade opportunities for individual and institutional gifts Increase revenue in all streams by 10% in FY26 Identify strategies to generate prospects to support impact goals through 2027 Own, develop, and implement innovative strategies to increase individual and institutional funding streams and identify prospective government funding opportunities. Deliver on a comprehensive development plan for FY26 with a private revenue goal of $2.9MM and support current local government fundraising sources $1.2M Personally manage a high-level portfolio of major individual donors, corporate partners, and foundations (existing and prospective), driving cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship to secure six- and seven-figure gifts and achieve personal fundraising targets.
Drive regional external relations and local brand:
Develop a comprehensive communications and public relations plan to help elevate the Reading Partners brand Building external relationships is essential for donor cultivation, prospect identification, and partnership opportunities in the education and literacy sectors. Oversee all external communications, ensuring persuasive and compelling messaging, campaigns, and alignment Oversee the strategy and support in cultivating and stewarding individual donors Manage relationships with institutional donors, including corporate and entertainment alignments Staff and provide strategic support to the board through management of Fundraising and Engagement, and Corporate committees Support and project manage our internal development team along with various external vendors and consults in planning and executing our annual fundraising event, Literacy is Liberation, raising $250,000 against a $60,000 budget
Manage a development manager to meet ambitious goals by managing their own portfolio, and by executing excellent development operations.
Provide performance management reviews, training, and ongoing support to direct reports Ensure systems and operations of the development department, optimizing efficiencies and skills Provide strategic advice and direction to the Executive Director to ensure the region’s success against goals and benchmarks
How you’ll do it:
Strategy Development
Demonstrate an ability to devise innovative regional strategic fundraising plans, create action steps, and mobilize many stakeholders to achieve fundraising goals. Build sustainable plans to maximize market opportunities, meet goals and significantly grow funding. In addition, leverage systems, people, and resources to drive processes and track progress against goals to report on progress to senior leadership and board. Execute work in a highly organized, analytical, and data-informed manner. Regions key advisor and expert on monthly cash flow, updating internal systems with 100% efficacy to ensure best approximate revenue forecasting. Provide best in class cultivation and activation strategies to move all prospects through pipeline moves management from research/ prospecting to close.
External Relations & Communication
Demonstrate advanced experience in external relations, corporate alignment, board management and communication, and strategic stewardship and cultivation of donors. Deliver convincing messaging and demonstrate a genuine joy in connecting with donors, and all external stakeholders that reflects Reading Partners’ culture and values. Serve as an ambassador of Reading Partners. Quickly establish credibility when promoting Reading Partners to external audiences. Demonstrate a high degree of comfort and poise with donors, corporations, and prospects. Develop strategic corporate partnerships. Create compelling external materials and collateral. Engage press and secure earned media opportunities. Develop and lead on social media strategies and content generation.
New Revenue Generation
Demonstrate a strong track record in driving development efforts in rapidly growing organizations, particularly in SFBA. Demonstrate ability to hit fundraising goals, generate new funding sources, and run sophisticated corporate and individual giving campaigns. Demonstrate cultivation success. Show a strong hunger and drive to not only drive strategy internally but also to heavily participate in external relationship building and fundraising.
People Leadership
Collaborate with the SFBA leadership team, and lead an internal team to meet and exceed aggressive fundraising goals. Consistently coach, grow, and create stretch assignments to grow future fundraising leaders from within. In close partnership with the Executive Director, recruit, cultivate, and co-lead our 14-member Regional Advisory Board and 8-10 member Associate Board, ensuring achievement of annual give-get goals averaging $25,000 per member/board annually, while providing strategic support to Fundraising & Engagement and Corporate committees.
About you!
You’ll be successful in this role if you:
Have 5+ years of increasing responsibility in a development or related role, including 3 years of team management or leadership Demonstrate a strong track record in driving development efforts in rapidly growing mission-oriented organizations, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area Can demonstrate the ability to maintain strong long-term donor relationships Provide examples and demonstrate strong grant writing skills and understanding of grant writing requirements Have experience reading, interpreting, and providing financial reports for donors Are an exceptional and persuasive communicator in writing and verbally Are achievement-oriented and have a demonstrated track record of achieving aggressive fundraising goals; have consistently met or exceeded fundraising goals Demonstrate a commitment to fostering a dynamic and collaborative work environment. Display a deep belief in our mission and root your work in our core values. Ability to prove eligibility to work legally in the U.S. and that you are at least 18 years of age.
Bonus points if you:
Are an AmeriCorps VISTA, Peace Corps, or other national service alum/alumna Have experience working in launch or growth phases of organizations Have a bachelor’s or master’s degree in business, public administration, or a comparable field Have a high degree of comfort with Salesforce or other fundraising database Have experience working in education or literacy
What we offer:
Reading Partners’ compensation and benefits programs are designed to attract, motivate, engage, and retain top talent to propel our mission forward.
Compensation: This is a full-time, exempt, and salaried position. The pay range for this position is $103,165 - $128,956 per year. We aim to set salaries based on objective, external, high-quality market data. Our salaries are adjusted for candidates in different geographic regions. We do our very best to ensure that we’re bringing our best offer - therefore we do not engage in salary negotiations.
Our benefits: We offer a comprehensive benefits program intentionally crafted to support employees and their families with physical, mental, and financial health:
Health & Insurance Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision insurance with substantial employer contributions toward both employee and family premiums; life and disability insurance at no cost to employees; and a free Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Pre-Tax Medical Support: Significant pre-tax employer funding to help offset employees’ out-of-pocket medical expenses, including providing first dollar coverage for some plan options. Mental Health Support: Spring Health for easy access to therapy, coaching, and wellness resources, including six sessions provided at no cost to employees. Inclusive Health Support: Carrot for guidance and support related to hormonal health, fertility, family-building, and gender-affirming services. Retirement Benefits: 403(b) retirement plan with immediate eligibility to participate and to receive employer matching contributions. Paid Time Off: Flexible Paid Time Off (Unlimited PTO) and Paid Parental Leave for up to 8 weeks for birth and non-birth parents. Holidays & Office Closures: 14 paid holidays annually, plus one week of office closure in early July and two weeks in late December. Culture & Growth: A dynamic, mission-driven culture with a strong commitment to employee development and career growth.
The other things you need to know:
This is a hybrid role responsible for conducting in-person meetings and site visits across the Bay Area, with flexibility for remote work when not engaged in field activities, based primarily in our Oakland or San Francisco offices. This position may require weekend and evening activities related to community engagement and fundraising. Travel: This position travels frequently throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and requires access to reliable transportation.
What’s Next?
If you’re interested in joining our Reading Partners team, please submit the following application materials to our online job posting:
A cover letter describing your interest in Reading Partners and how your past experience has prepared you for this role. Resume
At Reading Partners we respect and honor inclusion in our workforce, and we are an Equal Opportunity Employer.
QualificationsAbout you!
You’ll be successful in this role if you:
Have 5+ years of increasing responsibility in a development or related role, including 3 years of team management or leadership Demonstrate a strong track record in driving development efforts in rapidly growing mission-oriented organizations, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area Can demonstrate the ability to maintain strong long-term donor relationships Provide examples and demonstrate strong grant writing skills and understanding of grant writing requirements Have experience reading, interpreting, and providing financial reports for donors Are an exceptional and persuasive communicator in writing and verbally Are achievement-oriented and have a demonstrated track record of achieving aggressive fundraising goals; have consistently met or exceeded fundraising goals Demonstrate a commitment to fostering a dynamic and collaborative work environment. Display a deep belief in our mission and root your work in our core values. Ability to prove eligibility to work legally in the U.S. and that you are at least 18 years of age.
Bonus points if you:
Are an AmeriCorps VISTA, Peace Corps, or other national service alum/alumna Have experience working in launch or growth phases of organizations Have a bachelor’s or master’s degree in business, public administration, or a comparable field Have a high degree of comfort with Salesforce or other fundraising database Have experience working in education or literacy
