Valor Collegiate Academies · 1 month ago
Director of Development (2025-2026 SY)
Nashville, Tennessee
Full-time
Onsite
Director/Executive
$82K/yr - $94K/yrValor Collegiate Academies, based in Nashville, TN, is a leading education organization focused on academic excellence and holistic student development. They are seeking a dynamic Director of Development to lead the fundraising and revenue strategy for their Innovation Team, aiming to cultivate relationships with donors and secure funding to support their mission.
ArtEducationSecondary Education
Responsibilities
Support Valor’s Innovation Team through strategic and intentional meeting prep, including crafting meeting agendas, details and pointed talking points, and suggesting targeted follow ups and next steps
Maintain detailed record of funding meetings to ensure overall engagement strategy is efficient, aligned to funder interests, and moves the relationship forward
Develop and cultivate relationships with both individual and institutional donors
Support Valor’s Innovation Team to develop, cultivate, and steward relationships with high leverage donors
Proactively engage current and potential donors in Valor’s work through regular check-ins, site visits, events, etc
Manage and support the Innovation Team's funder relationships, draft notes, send reminders, and keep track of follow ups and tasks related to funding opportunities
Develop a communications strategy that engages funders on a regular cadence, sharing updates from the work, stories from students, learnings and insights, and more
Proactively and regularly engage Valor’s Board of Directors in fundraising efforts by helping them mine their network, identify potential connections, and cultivate and steward donors
Conduct targeted research to identify new potential funders that align to Valor’s overall mission (organization wide and impact team missions)
Find network connections to prospective funders, leveraging Valor’s staff and board relationships to ensure warm outreach as much as possible
Draft outreach communication for leaders to share with prospects
Create a simple contact relationship manager (CRM) system
Maintain accurate and up-to-date CRM that the broader team can access and interact with
Research potential grant opportunities, such as RFPs and open applications
Develop and submit proposals for funding aligned with Valor’s strategic priorities
Keep accurate and up-to-date records of all grant proposals submitted and received
Project manage all reporting requirements to ensure accurately and timely submission of reports
Coordinate and collaborate with Valor staff as part of annual strategic planning process to ensure and align philanthropic goals with overall organizational revenue strategy
Lead, manage, and support the core members of the team that support development (CEO, Managing Directors, members of the Board)
Foster a collaborative and goal-oriented team environment
Qualification
Required
Must have Bachelor's degree
Demonstrated success in developing and implementing effective strategies that consistently meet or exceed fundraising goals of $1M+ annually
Skilled in building and sustaining long-term relationships with foundations and individual donors, including major gift solicitation and multi-year engagement
Deep understanding of fundraising practices and strategic specific to education organizations
Experience in writing, securing, and managing grants aligned with organizational goals
Proficient in using CRM systems to track donor engagement, manage deadlines, and drive strategy through data insights
Expertise in planning and executing fundraising initiatives with strong budgeting and financial oversight
Builds high-performing teams and collaborates effectively with board members to expand networks and resources
Confident communicator who inspires audiences and donors through persuasive, mission-driven messaging
A creative, visionary leader with a proven track record of growing revenue and championing organizational impact
In-depth knowledge of the local education philanthropic landscape, including key donors at the local, regional, and statewide levels
Skilled in identifying and leveraging fundraising opportunities to align with organizational goals
Proficient in understanding donor interests and creating impactful, tailored stories to inspire support
Keen awareness of evolving philanthropic trends, emerging funders, and changes shaping the field of giving
Ability to effectively use or develop a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to organize donor and funder relationships
You find excitement and joy in cultivating funder relationships and identifying funding to support Valor's mission
You know development inside and out, and are deeply excited about the role philanthropy plays in transforming communities
You are autonomous and a self-starter
You are a visionary and results-driven professional who combines strategic insight with operational excellence
Company
Valor Collegiate Academies
Valor Collegiate Academies is an organization that offers secondary education for students and leaders.
Founded in 2013
51-200 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Growth StageLeadership Team
Todd Dickson
Founder and CEO
Company data provided by crunchbase