Director of Development

What You'll Do

GLI seeks an experienced fundraising generalist to lead the organization's development function in support of ambitious goals focused on serving an increasing number of students and teachers. This is an exciting opportunity for a frontline fundraiser and team leader who can speak and write persuasively about GLI's mission and impact. Working across all revenue streams, the Director of Development will create and execute both strategic and tactical plans, plan and oversee fundraising events, including Gilder Lehman's four prestigious national book prizes annually.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Revenue Generation

• Serve as the key leader responsible for both near-term and long-term strategies to meet annual philanthropic fundraising goals, in excess of $5M per year.
• Identify and steward a portfolio of prospects, including individuals, foundations, corporations, and government entities with the capacity to make gifts at all levels.
• Leverage GLI's existing donor base by building productive relationships that result in increased financial support and introductions to relevant networks; and work to continually broaden the base by cultivating new supporters of the Institute.
• Work closely with the President, Trustees, and other leadership team members to design and submit proposals that support GLI's strategic initiatives.
• Lead donor solicitations — prepare letters, presentations, and proposals; solicit grants, make pitches, close gifts; follow up as necessary.
• Develop a compelling planned giving program, leveraging best-in-class tools and techniques to support the institute's work.

Team Management

• Supervise a team of four, building a high-performance culture and ensuring continued progress toward individual and team goals.
• Coach and mentor development staff with an eye toward professional development, skill building, and career growth; Oversee the development staff to write, submit, and track materials such as proposals, correspondence, reports, and acknowledgements.
• Work with the in-house team and consultants to execute successful fundraising events, including an annual gala, book prize award dinners, and private events. Events may fall during evening hours and a limited number of weekends.

Strategic Planning and Analysis

• Oversee fundraising and donor-related data collection and management efforts. Deploy Salesforce to the fullest, most useful extent possible.
• Conduct regular analyses and pipeline reviews, using a data-centered, evidence-based approach to make decisions about GLI's funding priorities and opportunities.
• Work with the finance team to project, budget, track, and process grants. Ensure adherence to systems and procedures that yield a high level of accuracy and accountability in reporting to donors as required.

Who You'll Work With

• You will report to the Chief Operating Officer, with direct fundraising-related partnership with the President.
• You will supervise a team of four, including an Associate Director of Development, Assistant Director of Development, Events Coordinator, and Development and Donor Relations Coordinator.

GLI is a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment that requires an energetic and imaginative development leader who is passionate about the Institute's mission and impact. The ideal candidate will be intellectually curious and able to build meaningful connections and speak credibly about GLI's work and impact. They will share in GLI's beliefs that the study of history should be rooted in primary sources and should involve creativity and exploration, that we should seek to understand the past on its own terms, not through a presentist or political lens, and that American history, despite its uneven progress, is the continuous pursuit of "a more perfect union."

The role requires a strategic thinker who operates with a sense of possibility. Specifically, the Director of Development will have:

• Substantive work experience with increasing responsibility in non-profit fundraising, including a track record of closing six and seven gifts, and experience across all revenue streams
• Demonstrated success cultivating and stewarding a portfolio of high-net-worth donors
• Ability to speak and write persuasively about GLI's mission and impact, with the ability to frame the institute's work compellingly for a range of funders and related stakeholders
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills, with a commitment to capturing and using data strategically and with fidelity
• Exceptional project management skills, with impeccable attention to detail and follow-through across multiple priorities
• Professional maturity, with the ability to work both collaboratively and independently, as needed
• A bachelor's degree; demonstrated interest in American history is a plus

Hybrid Work Environment

This role will be based in New York City and currently requires working in person at least two days per week in GLI's midtown office.

If you meet many but not all the criteria and feel you may be a good fit for the role, Gilder Lehrman encourages you to apply. Gilder Lehrman is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, color, national origin, ethnic origin, citizenship status, disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law in its employment policies. In addition, Gilder Lehrman will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities.