The development directors are responsible for asking for donations from sponsors, building lasting relationships with donors, managing nonprofit fundraising events and campaigns, and assembling a development team for the organization. They also have to set annual budgets that indicate the amount of cash needed for the organization’s yearly fundraising programs. Branding strategies are essential to successful fundraising efforts. So the development directors are responsible for designing these strategies to reach the target audience. Furthermore, this position is involved in the organization’s public relations strategies.
Now that you know who a development director is, let’s take a look at the list of the responsibilities and duties of this position:
· Define fundraising goals for the organization and try to achieve them.
· Obtain financial support and sponsorship for the organization.
· Prepare strategies for fundraising and then implement and evaluate them.
· Develop and organize each aspect of the organization’s fundraising programs.
· Make sure to meet the annual fundraising goals.
· Try to get donations from individuals and organizations.
· Managing the annual budget of the organization.
· Prepare and execute fundraising plans that include major gifts programs, annual fund strategies, planned giving, and fundraising events and campaigns.
· Maintain ongoing relationships with all of the donors and look for new donors and sponsors.
· Implement strategies to form strong relationships with donors and keep them informed on how their financial contribution is being utilized.
· Effectively motivate donors to provide financial support.
· Create a donor stewardship plan.
· Create reports to analyze and measure the progress towards the fundraising goals and the fundraising campaigns’ effectiveness.
· Lead the development team and collaborate with the members to develop strategies for increasing brand awareness and funding.
· Collaborate with the board of directors on organizing and planning special events and receiving donations.
· Work with the marketing team to create promotional material for the fundraising events and campaigns.
· Be an active participant in all the fundraising programs.
· Help the public relations team in creating marketing collateral,advertising campaigns, and social media campaigns.
· Take advantage of community relations, speaking engagements, fundraising events, and communication tools like newsletters and social media platforms to reach donors and sponsors.
· Manage corporate gifts.
· Manage annual fund campaigns.
· Look for donation programs and opportunities.
· Secure grants for the organization
· Plan and write grant proposals.
· Recruit and train qualified employees for the fundraising, public relations, and development team.
Stay up to date on fundraising trends.
According to Salary, the average director of development salary in the United States is $109,538 as of January 29, 2021. The salary range for this position is $87,846 and $142,497. Many important factors can significantly affect the salary. These factors include:
· Education
· Certifications
· Additional skills
· Years of experience in the industry
According to PayScale, the average salary for a nonprofit development director in the United States is $65,638 per year based on 3,167 salary profiles as of February 2,2021. Depending on the years of experience, the salary may be higher or lower.An entry-level development director with less than 1-year experience can earnan average total compensation of $48,826 per year. On the other hand, an experienced nonprofit director of development with 10-19 years of experience can earn an average total compensation of $74,534 per year.
