Development Director - Gowanus Canal Conservancy

Gowanus Canal Conservancy is seeking a Development Director that can manage and sustain our existing fundraising, while strategically planning for sustainable growth. The ideal candidate is entrepreneurial, creative, detail oriented, and an excellent communicator, with an interest in urban environmental issues and/or the Gowanus neighborhood and experience with fundraising in NYC. This position will report to the Executive Director. We are a small organization with a dynamic team - the ideal candidate will be excited to collaborate with the Board, Leadership Team and Staff to oversee development and implementation of strategic fundraising, aligned with the mission, vision and strategic plan of our growing organization.

Key Responsibilities

Lead Development and Implementation of Organizational Fundraising

• Individual Giving 

  • Identify, cultivate and steward relationships with prospective and existing individual donors

  • Develop and implement Annual Giving campaign

  • Oversee Membership program, in coordination with Communications & Outreach Senior Manager

• Board Giving and Fundraising

  • Work with the Fundraising Chair to manage Board Fundraising Committee 

  • Manage relationships with Board Members to renew and solicit new support 

  • Support Board members in donor cultivation and solicitation

  • Support Board member recruitment and nominating process

• Foundation and Corporate Giving

  • Manage existing unrestricted funding, including proposals, administration, reporting and relationships

  • Work with Leadership Team to manage programmatic funding, including proposals, administration, reporting and relationships

  • Work with Landscape Director to solicit and manage Corporate Volunteer events

  • Identify and pursue new opportunities for corporate and foundation support

• Events

  • Oversee planning and execution of annual Spring Benefit, including planning for GCC’s 20th Anniversary celebration in Spring 2026

  • Oversee fundraising strategy and implementation for all special events

• Fundraising Administration 

  • Supervise PT Development & Office Coordinator

  • Manage donor receipts and acknowledgements

  • Manage tracking of all fundraising data in Salesforce database

  • Oversee planned revamp of Salesforce database to better coordinate fundraising and other organizational data

  • Provide reporting to the Leadership Team and Board on fundraising activities and progress

• Organizational Management

  • Work with Leadership Team to coordinate fundraising planning with organizational goals and objectives

  • Work with Communications Senior Manager to plan and coordinate public facing communications strategies aligned with fundraising goals 
    
    

Preferred Qualifications 

• At least 5 years of comparable experience with demonstrated fundraising success

• Familiarity and experience with the NYC fundraising landscape

• Entrepreneurial and strategic thinker

• Demonstrated ability to take initiative, think creatively and collaborate

• Interest in and ability to articulate complex urban environmental issues

• Experience and interest in working with diverse communities and teams

• Excellent writing, presentation and communication skills 

• Excellent organizational and project management skills

• Working knowledge of Excel and Salesforce or other donor databases
  
  

Physical Requirements 

• Ability to talk, hear, sit, stand, and walk; use hands to finger, handle or feel; and reach with hands and arms

• Communicating information; reading and typing; using video conferencing
  
  

Schedule: This is a full-time, salaried position, 40 hours per week, and may require occasional evenings and weekends. The role is primarily in person at the GCC office in Gowanus, with some flexibility for hybrid work. 

Compensation: Salary is $80,000 - $95,000, based on experience. GCC uses a transparent rubric to determine salaries and annual raises. Experience is measured by the number of years of work, relevant work, and education.  Competitive benefits package includes 50% coverage of company health care policy, FSA, 401(k) with a 1% employer match, commuter benefits, life insurance, paid time off (15 Vacation and Personal Days; 5 Summer Fridays; 15 Holidays including week between Christmas and New Year’s; 5 Sick Days, additional leave for Covid, Bereavement, Jury Duty, Paid Parental Leave, Paid Family Leave and comp time).

To Apply: Submit your resume and cover letter as soon as possible, and by September 30, 2024 at the latest. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Gowanus Canal Conservancy is a community-based non-profit organization dedicated to facilitating the development of a resilient, vibrant, open space network centered on the Gowanus Canal through activating and empowering community stewardship of the Gowanus Watershed.  

Gowanus Canal Conservancy is an equal opportunity employer and encourages candidates of all racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds to apply. 

GCC strongly recommends that employees stay up-to-date with the COVID-19 vaccine as recommended by the CDC.