Organization Overview
The original Freedom Quilting Bee (Bee), was a women’s quilting cooperative established in 1966 during the tumultuous times of the Civil Rights Movement. The cooperative manufactured quilts for the largest retailers in America; Sears, Bloomingdale’s and interior designers in New York City.
Our Mission - To teach, share and preserve threads of quilting arts, resistance & legacy of Black women in Gee’s Bend and Alberta, Alabama.
Our Vision - To inspire makers across the globe, sharing threads of transformative art, culture, and the pioneering legacy of Black women in Gee’s Bend and Alberta, Alabama.
Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy (Legacy) was founded to ensure the heroic, historic, innovative, artistic and incredible odds-beating work of the women of the original Bee isn’t lost to history. We celebrate and teach about the work and accomplishments of those women (and men) past and present who made the Bee such a powerful artistic and community force. We will offer real economic opportunities for a new generation of quilt makers and artisans.
We provide solutions to community needs, such as Internet access, adult learning and skills building.
We draw tourism to the area and offer a deeper experience of the history and current activities, with shops, lodging, classes and interactive exhibits.
We preserve the past and evolve into the future by creating jobs, building wealth and teaching life skills to improve our community and its people..
Our nonprofit organization is dedicated to making a positive impact on our community by providing outreach, access to history and tourism. We rely heavily on fundraising to sustain our programs and services, and we are seeking a Director of Development to lead our fundraising efforts.
Job Summary
The Director of Development is responsible for leading and executing the organization's revenue development strategy, with a focus on individual donations, corporate donations and sponsorships, foundation grants, and governmental grants. This role is ideal for a strong relationship builder, strategic communicator, and results-oriented professional whose prior experience may come from business development, sales, account management, marketing, public relations, proposal writing, community engagement, or another transferable field.
While prior nonprofit or fundraising experience is helpful, it is not required. The successful candidate will bring a skillset that lends itself well to donor cultivation, partnership development, persuasive communication, opportunity identification, proposal development, and revenue goal achievement. This position will work closely with leadership, board members, staff, external partners, and funders to build sustainable financial support for the organization's mission and programs.
Primary ResponsibilitiesFundraising Strategy and Revenue Development
- Develop and implement an annual development plan that supports the organization's financial goals and long-term sustainability.
- Identify, evaluate, and pursue opportunities for individual giving, corporate support, foundation funding, and government grants.
- Build and maintain a pipeline of prospects, active donors, funders, sponsors, and strategic partners.
- Track fundraising activity, revenue progress, deadlines, and follow-up needs to ensure accountability and timely execution.
Individual Donations
- Cultivate and steward relationships with individual donors, including prospective donors, recurring donors, and major gift prospects.
- Create donor engagement strategies that communicate the organization's mission, impact, and funding needs in a clear and compelling way.
- Support donor outreach, appeals, acknowledgments, recognition efforts, and ongoing relationship management.
Corporate Donations and Sponsorships
- Develop relationships with businesses, corporate partners, and community stakeholders to secure donations, sponsorships, and partnership support.
- Create sponsorship materials, proposals, and partnership opportunities aligned with the organization's programs and visibility needs.
- Maintain strong communication with corporate partners to support retention, renewals, and expanded engagement.
Foundation and Governmental Grants
- Research foundation and governmental grant opportunities that align with the organization's mission, programs, and funding priorities.
- Coordinate the preparation and submission of grant proposals, applications, budgets, narratives, and supporting documentation.
- Work with leadership and program staff to gather accurate program information, outcomes, and financial details for proposals and reports.
- Monitor grant deadlines, reporting requirements, renewal opportunities, and compliance-related follow-up.
Communications, Reporting, and Relationship Management
- Prepare persuasive written materials, including donor communications, grant narratives, sponsorship proposals, impact summaries, presentations, and reports.
- Use data, outcomes, and stories to communicate the value and impact of the organization's work.
- Maintain accurate donor, funder, and partner records in the organization's CRM, donor database, or tracking system.
- Collaborate with the Executive Director, Board of Directors, staff, and volunteers to support fundraising efforts and external relationship building.
- Represent the organization professionally at meetings, community events, funder conversations, and partnership opportunities.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in communications, business administration, public administration, marketing, nonprofit management, or a related field.
- Demonstrated success building and managing relationships with clients, customers, donors, community partners, funders, or other stakeholders.
- Experience in business development, account management, sales, marketing, public relations, grant writing, customer success, community engagement, partnership development, proposal writing, or a similar relationship-focused role.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to create compelling proposals, presentations, reports, and other persuasive materials.
- Proven ability to identify opportunities, develop strategies, follow through on priorities, and meet revenue, growth, or performance goals.
- Strong organizational and project management skills, including the ability to manage multiple deadlines and maintain attention to detail.
- Ability to analyze information, track results, monitor progress, and use data to support decision-making and continuous improvement.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office and experience using CRM systems, donor databases, customer databases, or similar tracking tools.
- Ability to work collaboratively with leadership, board members, staff, volunteers, businesses, funders, and external stakeholders.
- Interest in the organization's mission and willingness to learn nonprofit fundraising, donor engagement, and grant management best practices.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience writing proposals, responding to requests for funding, contracts, sponsorships, or grants.
- Experience managing corporate partnerships, sponsorships, key accounts, strategic relationships, or community partnerships.
- Familiarity with budgeting, financial reporting, performance metrics, or outcomes reporting.
- Previous experience in nonprofit, education, government, healthcare, community development, or other mission-driven environments is helpful but not required.
Pay: $73,000.00 - $85,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Relocation assistance
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Alberta, AL 36720
