Vice President of Development

STEM From Dance equips girls to become the innovators, engineers, and creators the world needs, building creativity, confidence, and skills through the transformative power of dance. Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, the Vice President of Development is responsible for the acquisition and growth of STEM From Dance's philanthropic revenue. The role sits on the executive team and is built to grow into Chief Development Officer. This is a remote role within the United States, with about 20% travel.

Responsibilities

Build and grow a portfolio of approximately 50 priority foundation, corporate, and individual relationships; Personally find, open, and close six-figure commitments, with an emphasis on multi-year and unrestricted support; Generate net-new first meetings with funders who have no prior relationship to STEM From Dance; Qualify and advance opportunities independently, including deciding which to decline; Grow the major individual giving program and help determine its next evolution; Source new prospects, carry a personal individual donor portfolio, and design the experience that moves donors to significant commitments; Partner with the CEO on the highest-capacity individual relationships; Lead the design of the annual revenue strategy in partnership with the CEO; Determine positioning for each funder and direct and approve outgoing materials; Maintain a forward-looking pipeline and track performance against target; Protect and grow existing funder relationships so renewals hold; Partner with board members to open doors and secure introductions; Represent STEM From Dance at conferences, funder convenings, site visits, and donor gatherings; Determine which external opportunities merit time and define their intended outcomes; Build institutional continuity into funder relationships; Contribute to executive team decision-making on organizational questions beyond development

Requirements

A track record of personally closing gifts at $100,000 and above, with credible involvement in conversations well beyond that range; Typically seven or more years closing major philanthropic or commercial commitments, with direct responsibility for the ask; Demonstrated net-new origination, with a substantial share of funds raised from funders identified and brought in personally; Direct experience across at least two of: private foundations, corporate partners, and individual major donors; Experience fundraising where the revenue had to be built, rather than at an institution whose name and donor base opened the doors; Current, working fluency with AI tools, including the judgment to recognize when output is wrong before it reaches a funder; Executive presence to represent an organization alone, as the most senior person in the room, and earn a funder's confidence quickly

Nice to have

Experience closing commitments above $250,000; Experience building a major individual giving program from an early stage; Experience at an organization in a comparable growth stage, scaling from a single city to a national footprint; Prior participation on an executive team; Familiarity with investment-level or unrestricted giving methodologies

Benefits

Aetna or Metlife health insurance (medical, dental, vision) with 100% of employee premium covered; Optional long-term and short-term disability; Health Savings Account (HSA) and Flexible Spending Account (FSA); Wellness perks: Talkspace, Teledoc, One Medical, Kindbody, Citi Bike Sharing; 403(b) retirement savings account with no employer match; $500 yearly professional development stipend; Two-week organization-wide shutdown at year end; 20 days of PTO and flexible scheduling; 12 paid federal holidays; Annual staff retreats; Goals-based bonus tied to organizational revenue goals