City Year · 5 days ago
Director of Development and External Relations
Little Rock, AR
Full-time
Hybrid
Lead/Staff, Director/Executive
$65K/yr - $68K/yr
5+ years expCity Year is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping students succeed and empowering young people to serve. They are seeking a Director of Development and External Relations to design and execute a fundraising strategy to maximize financial resources and brand awareness in Little Rock. The role involves managing relationships with philanthropic partners, overseeing a development team, and leading community engagement efforts.
CommunitiesEducationNon Profit
No H1B
Responsibilities
Develop City Year Little Rock’s short- and long-term fundraising strategy, alongside Executive Director and in partnership with the Senior Leadership Team
Work closely with the Executive Director to develop a plan to implement the strategy of donor cultivation & engagement across sectors: private, government and education (state policy and local government)
Add development capacities to execute against City Year’s long-term Site Advancement Plan
Manage, develop, and retain a Development/Marketing Manager and freelance team that oversees several aspects of the development pipeline and external relations
Support and help lead growth in front line fundraising development
In collaboration with national marketing efforts and with the support of Development Team, oversee the implementation of localized marketing strategies and tactics to increase City Year Little Rock’s overall brand awareness and ability to recruit 18 to-25-year-olds to serve as City Year AmeriCorps members
Serve as representative of City Year within the Central Arkansas community, attending events on a frequent basis
Serve as staff point for media relations, helping to acquire publicity for City Year Little Rock
Oversee the implementation of City Year Little Rock’s corporate sponsorship program, as well as the grant proposal and reporting process for corporate, foundation, and government donors
Strategizes with the Executive Director to identify and cultivate new corporate and foundation partnerships
Refine City Year’s high-net-worth individual giving circle with innovative strategies to increase individual major gifts of $10,000+ and promote overall donor participation
Build a robust mid-level giving program focusing on donors of $1,000+
In collaboration with Executive Director and Development team identify, cultivate, solicit and steward a portfolio of current and future major donors
Work with the Senior Leadership Team and the Executive Director in managing special events to raise the awareness of City Year; fundraise and engage individuals, foundations, and corporations as champions and donors. Events include but are not limited to: City Year Little Rock’s Red Jacket Bal, Specialty Market Events, Opening Day, Graduation, and Private Receptions
Develop successful identification, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship strategies to direct and monitor the progress of donor relationships
Oversee the alignment of City Year’s mission/values with actions and community impact of donor
Ensure diversity and sustainability of site donor base
Identify major donors' philanthropic interests and provide them with opportunities to deepen their connection to City Year’s values/mission
Lead quarterly fundraising discussions and updates for City Year’s Advisory Board Meetings
Support Executive Director’s stewardship of Advisory Board Members, helping to ensure Board retention, satisfaction, and 100% Board giving
As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, help shape organizational strategy and serve in leadership role in developing and implementing City Year Little Rock’s local operating plan and Site Advancement Plan
Through the representation and modeling of City Year values, help to promote a culture of diversity, belonging, inclusion, and equity
Work collaboratively with other site departments and City Year Headquarters on a frequent basis
Manage the Development Department budget, detailing department revenue and expenses
Ensure accurate maintenance of records and donor information in the salesforce database
Qualification
Required
5-8 years of progressive fundraising/development experience with proven fundraising track record that includes multi-year giving
Proven relationship manager who recognizes the importance of outreach and partnerships for advancing organizational mission
Self-starter with strong initiative, while maintaining a willingness to work in a collaborative and team-based organization
Solid, persuasive writing & communication skills
Passion for education, racial justice, and youth development
Ability to work with diverse groups of young adults in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial team environment
Preferred
Knowledge of the Little Rock donor community preferred
Grant writing experience preferred
Benefits
Health insurance with Flexible Spending Account
Ample paid vacation
Holidays
Parental leave
401K
Medical
Dental
Vision
Life
Accidental death and dismemberment and disability coverage
Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
Company
City Year
City Year is an organization that recruits young people for community service in 24 U.S. cities, as well as London and Johannesburg.
1001-5000 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$1MKey Investors
Carnegie Corporation of New YorkNike
2025-12-10Grant· $1M
2023-09-27Grant
2023-02-15Grant
Leadership Team
Jim Balfanz
Chief Executive Officer
Michael Brown
Co-Founder
Recent News
GlobeNewswire
2025-12-10
2025-12-09
Company data provided by crunchbase