KABOOM! has been building playgrounds in partnership with communities across America, particularly those that have experienced racialized disinvestment. In the past 27 years, KABOOM! has built or improved 17,000+ playspaces, engaged more than 1.5 million community members, and brought joy to over 12 million kids nationwide.
KABOOM! works to achieve playspace equity so that every child in every community has access to a great place to play. Too often, kids of color are disproportionately impacted by a lack of access to high-quality playspaces. A financially stable organization with more than 65 staff members (known as Boomers), KABOOM! teams up with communities so that every child can have access to the same opportunities to thrive.
KABOOM! centers its work around three core values: Racial Equity, Community, and PLAYce. To advance playspace equity, KABOOM! is committed to eliminating racial disparities in access to quality playspaces caused by disinvestment which has, and continues to, disproportionately impacts kids and communities of color.
At the heart of the KABOOM! Community Engagement Model is a process which empowers communities. KABOOM! brings together diverse partners to drive resources to systems with limited access to quality playspaces, while ensuring communities guide the process, designing the physical playspace itself, and determining the impact we’ll achieve together. This results in an incredible space that aims to inspire active play and foster belonging.
The Opportunity:
The Senior Director of Major Gifts is an experienced major gifts fundraising professional who is as motivated as much by the desire to identify transformative donors as they are by KABOOM!’s mission of addressing inequities that exist for kids in communities across the country. This position will play a vital role in securing new sustainable funding streams for KABOOM! by creating a major individual donor program, including private family foundations. This role will seek new strategic philanthropic investments and cultivate long-term institutional relationships primarily with individuals within our ‘25 in 5 Initiative’ markets. This is an exciting opportunity for a seasoned frontline fundraiser with an entrepreneurial spirit to help us grow support from individual donors and foundations.
The successful candidate will partner closely with the executive, programs, partnerships, and finance teams to advance smart fundraising strategies that target a new set of individual donor prospects. The Senior Director of Major Gifts is a hybrid position or a remote position for the right candidate.
Responsibilities:
- Develop and lead the strategy for major gift cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of individuals and family foundations, establishing or refining systems, procedures and policies.
- Identify and attract individual major donors to make five, six, and seven-figure contributions to KABOOM! to gradually secure $5+ million annually toward a $33 million annual organizational goal.
- Maturely manage an individual giving portfolio that includes family foundations.
- Collaborate to develop timely and compelling proposals, reports, budgets and other fundraising materials.
- Define and implement monthly, quarterly, and annual fundraising targets based on metrics that include clear and regular reporting and chart a strategy to achieve those goals.
- Serve as a thought partner with the VP of Development in specific areas of fundraising strategy.
- Stay abreast of philanthropic trends and proactively explore partnerships with mission-aligned organizations and funders in the public and private sectors.
- Actively contribute to our equity-informed and inclusive work culture by taking an active role in promoting practices that support diversity, inclusion, and belonging.
- Engage in peer mentoring within the Development team and across the organization.
- Ability to travel approximately 30% within the United States and Canada.
- Provide guidance and coaching, as needed, to help achieve the organization’s funding goals.
- Fully embrace our organizational values of partnership, humility, equity, play, and accountability.
Ideal Candidate:
KABOOM! is looking for an experienced strategic leader who can build meaningful partnerships with a variety of funders, including local and national corporations, national, regional, and state-focused foundations, and individual philanthropists within a portfolio of new and existing prospects.
- At least 8+ years of direct fundraising experience.
- Bachelor’s degree is required.
- Significant major gift fundraising experience with an emphasis on prospect research, donor cultivation, direct solicitation, and successful closing of five, six, or seven-figure gifts.
- Individual giving portfolio development and management with proven success moving donors through a pipeline.
- Exceptional and persuasive written, oral, interpersonal, and presentation skills with the ability to effectively interface with prospective funders, staff, community leaders, and senior-level executives.
- Adept at using Salesforce or similar, Microsoft Suite, Google Docs, and Teams.
- Deep knowledge of national philanthropic networks, individuals, and organizations.
- Proven ability to thrive in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial setting with aggressive deadlines; management of multiple priorities and projects while balancing long-term goals.
- High level of integrity, trust, and accountability along with excellent judgment, intuition, and common sense, as well as the right blend of professional confidence with a keen sense of diplomacy.
- Collaborative, team-oriented work style with self-motivation and drive to get the job done.
Location & Travel:
- A preference for the Senior Director of Major Gifts to be based in the DMV area, but will consider remote.
- Occasional travel (30%) within the United States and Canada.
DRiWaterstone is proud to lead this search on behalf of KABOOM!.
