Director of Development - Friendship Public Charter School

Friendship Public Charter School operates a thriving network of college preparatory public charter schools. Headquartered in Washington, DC. Friendship serves over 4,800 students in preschool to grade 12 and guides a growing network of alumni to college completion annually.  Our mission is to prepare students to become ethical, literate, well-rounded and self-sufficient citizens by providing a world-class education that motivates students to reach high academic standards, to enjoy learning, to achieve success, and to contribute actively to their communities. For 25 years, with the support and guidance of our exceptional faculty, our students have risen to the challenge with high graduation rates, college acceptances and unparalleled success academically and socially.

Reporting to the Chief of External Affairs, the Director of Development is a member of the executive team who leads fundraising strategy that supports Friendship’s mission to provide a world-class education to scholars. This role is based at the Friendship Community Office in Northwest DC and follows a flexible hybrid schedule through which remote work is permitted one to two days per week depending on workload. 

This newly created position offers an experienced development professional a unique opportunity to play a strategic role in Friendship’s Journey to 30 Years at the first and largest black-led charter school network in the country. With 15 campuses across Washington D.C. and over 25 years of academic excellence, this is an exciting time to become a part of Friendship history and support Friendship’s leadership in academic growth. 

The Director of Development will bolster Friendship’s position as a referent in PK3-12 education by inclusively engaging community members, individual donors, corporate sponsors, and foundations in our development efforts. In order to best serve the needs and academic growth of Friendship scholars, Friendship seeks to increase its fundraising per student by 60% over the next three years. This role will lead the development and execution of Friendship’s strategic fundraising plan with emphasis on increasing the annual raise from private grants and individual and corporate donors with an individual raise goal of $1M annually. The Director of Development is an exceptional implementer and executor with strong project management skills to break Friendship’s strategic fundraising plan into actionable workstreams and tasks with accountable owners. 

The Director of Development leads all facets of development including pipeline planning and analysis, major donor identification and cultivation, and fundraising events and activities. This includes partnering with the Chief Executive Officer, Board of Trustees, and non-governing fundraising committees to cultivate and steward major gift donors and corporate sponsors and deepen funder relationships through site visits, events, and volunteer and engagement opportunities. 

The Director of Development will manage fundraising consultants to include grant writers and other contracted support, and recommend fundraising infrastructure to support Friendship’s goals to include staffing and software such as Constituent Relationship Management (CRM), prospect research and data, and donation software. The Director of Development drives a fundraising culture that inclusively encourages the pursuit of funds to support opportunities for Friendship scholars.

Education and Experience

• Alignment with and passion for Friendship’s mission and core values
• Bachelor's degree and 7+ years of relevant experience in nonprofit fundraising and/or business development 
• Demonstrated success at securing funding through individual gifts, grants, sponsorships, events, campaigns, and/or sales
• Demonstrated success building relationships with funders and colleagues
• Demonstrated ability to lead teams and projects
• Experience with fundraising software, CRMs preferred
• Experience with grant writing and grant management preferred 
• Experience in PK12 education sector preferred

Knowledge and Skills

• Strong research skills to conduct landscape analyses, identify and prioritize fundraising targets and strategies 
• Self-starter with strong project management skills
• Persuasive oral and written communications and excellent interpersonal skills
• Strong knowledge of development best practices and how to operationalize processes and systems to build fundraising capacity

FPCS’s policy is to provide equal employment opportunity to all qualified applicants and employees regardless of their race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, genetic information, veteran status, status as a special disabled veteran, or any other protected criteria as established by federal, state, or local laws.  This policy applies to recruitment and hiring, training, promotion, compensation, benefits, transfer, layoff, termination and all other terms and conditions of employment.  Employment decisions at FPCS are based solely upon relevant criteria, including an individual’s capabilities, qualifications, training, experience and suitability.