Director of Development

Overview

The Right Question Institute (RQI) is seeking a highly motivated and experienced Director of Development (DOD) to lead its fundraising program. The DOD is responsible for setting the development strategy to reach RQI’s annual and multi-year revenue goals and for managing all activities to achieve these goals, including annual giving campaigns, major gifts, and foundation, government, and corporate support.

About RQI

The Right Question Institute offers a unique educational strategy with an ambitious vision: teaching people how to formulate their own questions can lead to profound changes for them as learners, as advocates for themselves, their families, and communities, and as active participants in efforts to make democracy work better.

RQI envisions an equitable world and vibrant democracy in which all people have the agency to think and act on their own behalf. For over 30 years, RQI has created and continues to refine transformative educational methods that make it possible for all people, even those farthest from power, to learn to ask better questions and participate more effectively in decisions that affect them.

RQI’s innovative methods are delivered through educational institutions, social service organizations, public agencies, community-based organizations, and health care providers all over the country and across the world.

In school settings, educators around the world use RQI’s teaching methods to bring the essential skill of question formulation to millions of students – building lifelong skills for learning, independent thinking, and participating in democracy. RQI’s educational strategy is a cost-effective way for social services and community-based organizations to build agency, empowerment, and skills for democratic action for people in marginalized communities.

Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, RQI has an annual budget of $1.5 million and a staff of twelve. RQI values its intentional and thoughtful organizational culture, which is characterized by collaboration, inclusivity, openness, mutual respect, and a shared commitment to innovative, iterative thinking centered on learning and continuous improvement. RQI strives to create a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace.

Position Summary

The Director of Development will be RQI’s lead strategist and project manager focused on significantly growing our $1.5M+ philanthropic portfolio. The position is both strategic and tactical and is responsible for designing, implementing, and managing the annual development plan.

The ideal candidate has a clear grasp of all core components of individual, institutional, and corporate fundraising, with particularly strong experience in individual giving, including major gifts, stewardship, and annual giving campaigns (digital and direct mail). This position requires a seasoned professional with a deep understanding of nonprofit development, a proven track record of successful fundraising, and experience with development operations, including CRM management, fundraising platforms, and budget-building.

Primary areas of responsibility include:

1. Fundraising strategy and management
2. Individual giving
3. Institutional giving (foundation and government)
4. Development and philanthropic communications
5. Donor relations and tracking
6. Corporate partnerships (new program to be developed in 2026)

Fundraising strategy and management:

• In partnership with the Executive Director, establish and monitor annual and long-term revenue goals and targets.
• Develop, implement, and manage an annual fundraising plan to meet revenue goals.
• Manage revenue budgets, projections, and attainment of goals.
• Report regularly on the progress of revenue goals, providing actionable analysis for the Executive Director and Board of Directors (BOD).
• Stay current on trends and best practices in nonprofit fundraising, incorporating innovative strategies to maximize revenue generation.

Individual giving:

• Develop, implement, evaluate, and grow individual giving campaigns, including monthly and multi-year giving commitments, using digital and direct mail for smaller dollar donations.
• Build rapport with and proactively cultivate, solicit, and steward a portfolio of 75 donors with $25,000+/year capacity.
• Project manage the Executive Director in building and managing a portfolio of 20 major donors with $100,000+/year capacity.
• Develop strategies for new donor acquisition and cultivation of new prospects, ensuring a gift pipeline big enough to hit annual revenue goals for individual donors.
• Engage, train, and support the BOD in achieving individual fundraising goals.
• Create compelling and persuasive fundraising materials, including proposals, case statements, impact reports, publications, presentations, and donor correspondence.

Institutional giving (foundation and government):

• Supervise and support the Director of Institutional Giving and Partnerships in developing a strategy on building and managing a portfolio of 45-60 foundations.
• Help develop strategies for approaching and cultivating foundation donors, and help with identifying grant opportunities, writing grant proposals, and managing grant funding and government contracts.

Development and philanthropic communications:

• Create development-focused communications strategy, integrating into RQI’s larger plan for a growing awareness of RQI’s impact and role in the field.
• Execute the development communications plan through innovative and creative approaches, consistent and aligned with the organization's communications strategy.
• Manage donor communications for high-level, strategic fundraising opportunities.
• Communicate fundraising goals throughout the organization and empower staff and board to participate in securing RQI’s annual goal.

Donor relations and tracking:

• Utilize best practices in moves management to create and maintain a dynamic donor pool and pipeline of prospects.
• Ensure accurate and timely entry of donor information, interactions, and prospect research into the donor database, ensuring data integrity and leveraging the system for effective donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
• Plan and implement strategies for donor recognition and engagement, including thank you letters, personal calls, invitations to special events, etc.
• Maintain donor tracking database software (Bloomerang) and fundraising platform (Givebutter).

Corporate partnerships (new program to be developed):

• Build and manage a corporate giving program in 2026

Qualifications, Skills, and Characteristics

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent required, CFRE or similar certification welcomed
• 8+ years of nonprofit development experience with proven understanding of fundraising best practices, including cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies, and with a focus on achieving measurable outcomes and exceeding fundraising targets.
• Proven ability to develop and implement strategic fundraising plans, identify fundraising opportunities, and think creatively to engage donors and meet fundraising goals.
• Demonstrated success in individual giving campaigns, major gifts, institutional giving/grant writing, and corporate partnership building.
• Proven ability to build and maintain strong relationships with high-net-worth individuals, foundations, and corporate partners.
• Track record of securing significant gifts and leading increases in philanthropic revenue year-over-year.
• Experience working with staff, Board, volunteers, and donors to make connections, identify prospects, and create a culture of philanthropy.
• Ability to assess organization’s fundraising strengths, gaps, and efficiencies, balancing health of organization with programmatic needs and functions.
• Strong experience working across programs and collaborating with program leads, communication lead, finance lead, etc. A bonus to have experience working with organizational founders.
• Excellent project management skills, with the ability to set goals and objectives, prioritize tasks, meet deadlines, and manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• A teamwork mindset and ability to work cooperatively and effectively with others to set goals, resolve problems, and make decisions that enhance organizational effectiveness.
• Experience and proficiency in managing direct reports, as well as managing up (ED and BOD) and building out a development team.
• Proficiency using fundraising software (Bloomerang or other CRM platforms) to manage donor relationships, track contributions, and generate reports.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to craft compelling fundraising materials and deliver persuasive presentations.
• Ability to communicate easily, respectfully, and sensitively one-on-one or in group settings, taking into account differences in social, cultural, professional, and educational backgrounds.
• Humble, self-directed, professional, and resourceful style with the ability to work independently and as a collaborator.

Salary range: $95,000 - $115,000, commensurate with experience

Benefits: Competitive benefits package that includes health, dental, and vision; generous PTO and holidays; 401(k) retirement plan with organizational match.

Reports to: Executive Director

Location: Fully remote, with expected travel to Boston and/or donor meetings several times per year. Staff local to the Boston area meet up and work together regularly.

To Apply

Please submit a cover letter and your CV/resume to jobs2@rightquestion.org. In your cover letter, tell us what qualifies you for this position and why you’re the right person to fill this role.

Deadline

Applications will be reviewed and applicants interviewed on a rolling basis, with final application deadline of April 21, 2025.

Start date: July 2025

The Right Question Institute is an equal opportunity employer. We are strongly committed to hiring a diverse staff and encourage applications from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds.