Parents Helping Parents (PHP) seeks an accomplished fundraiser who emphasizes the systematic targeting and soliciting of individual and institutional donors and employs best practices for moves management. This leader will diversify revenue, nurture strategic fundraising partnerships, assure long-term financial sustainability, and help grow the organization’s financial capacity in order to innovate and continue delivering services to families in need of support.
PHP provides a lifeline to parents of children with disabilities in Santa Clara County and beyond by offering ongoing individualized support that honors individual experiences and backgrounds, enabling families to overcome barriers and confidently advocate for their children’s disabilities. PHP provides information based on an individual's disability, diagnosis or concern, age, and/or grade in school. Topics include special education, public benefits, financial assistance, early intervention, transition to adulthood and caregiver support, and assistive technology. Parents Helping Parents also mobilizes parents for advocacy work and trains parent leaders on how to lobby and advocate. Services encompass webinars, videos, a Resource Directory, 1:1 consultation, support groups, neighborhood offices, and multilingual support. PHP supports any diagnosis including autism, ADD/ADHD, dyslexia and other learning challenges, chronic illness, mental health conditions, developmental and intellectual disabilities, physical disabilities, and more. Services are provided for free in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese. In FY24/25, PHP offered approximately 20,000 direct services to nearly 7,000 families and professionals as well as providing information through the website and social media channels to 200,000 parents and professionals per year.
The organization has an operating budget for FY25/26 of $3.2M, a staff of 33, and a 15- member Board. FY26 projected sources of income are roughly 52% from government grants, 23% from corporations and foundations, 16% from individuals and 9% from the annual gala. For the past decade PHP has grown steadily at about $250K a year and has a goal of continuing at that pace. The Sr. Director of Development will oversee a team of three and report to the Executive Director, a dynamic and compassionate leader, who has stewarded an organization that believes “together we can change the world, one person at a time, one family at a time, one community at a time.” Most of PHP’s staff and Board members are parents of a child with disabilities, and it’s this level of empathy that has created a community where all individuals are valued, respected, and included.
BASIC FUNCTION The Sr. Director of Development provides support to the Executive Director and Board on all fundraising matters and works in collaboration across PHP with the staff, Board, partners, and community members to involve everyone in the effort to increase contributed income. Responsibilities include shaping and driving a multi-year fundraising strategy that includes major gifts; annual fund; legacy giving; government, corporate, and foundation support; special events; planning & budgeting; targeting and direct fundraising solicitations; messaging, communications, and public relations related to fundraising activities; and friend-raising events that build funding and other types of in-kind philanthropic support for PHP. Parents Helping Parents. Emphasis will be placed on the identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of new philanthropic supporters and deepening the interest of existing donors. The Sr. Director of Development will be a hands-on, fearless, energetic fundraiser who will spend time in the community developing strategically important relationships and carry a portfolio of key donors. The primary metric will be the extent to which contributed revenue is maximized. The Sr. Director of Development will serve as a PHP spokesperson and representative to grow the organization’s visibility and advance its reputation among donors of various types.
IMMEDIATE PRIORITIES In the first six months the priorities for the Sr. Director of Development are to: ● Thoroughly understand PHP - its culture, history, strategic vision, programs, personalities, constituencies, and base of financial support. ● Immediately assess the current status of ongoing fundraising efforts and provide support for those efforts as needed; assume a hands-on leadership role in the identification, cultivation, and solicitation of major gifts, foundation, and corporate funders. ● Create and operationalize a development strategy that identifies possible easy wins for the short-term, opportunities for the medium-term, and aspirations for the long-term. This might include donor segmentation according to capacity or interest, objectives for individual and institutional fundraising and success metrics, identification of Board members who will be actively involved in fundraising, and definition of roles, targets, fundraising goals, and metrics.
On an ongoing basis, the Sr. Director of Development will be responsible for: ● Managing, inspiring, and developing a creative, focused, and high-performing Development and Marketing team; continuing to foster an environment of transparency, collaboration, and good communication; providing coaching, goal setting, and performance evaluation to ensure individual and team success, fostering collaboration, innovation, and professional growth; reviewing the current Development operating environment to ensure the team has the tools to do their best work; supporting the team to implement effective decision-making and problem-solving strategies. ● Managing and personally engaging in solicitation and stewardship activities in collaboration with the Executive Director and other members of the staff and Board; providing training and support to individuals with a range of fundraising skills and abilities. ● Identifying philanthropic investors whose interests may align to PHP and segmenting donors according to capacity; identifying new designated giving opportunities. ● Providing strategic oversight and direction to ensure Development operations, systems, and processes support efficient fundraising, strong donor stewardship, and is flexible and scalable for current and future reporting and segmentation. ● Providing strategic oversight and direction for all aspects of the annual campaign, individual and major donor cultivation, and special fundraising events. ● Overseeing the organization’s grant development process, including research, proposal development, reporting, and stewardship of foundation and government funders. ● Providing strategic oversight and direction to ensure consistent marketing and communications strategies to support fundraising, enhance PHP’s visibility, and raise awareness of the organization’s programs and services; ensuring that collateral and appropriate sections of the website are refreshed. ● Representing PHP at community events, conferences, and public forums and to the media. ● As a member of the Executive Leadership Team, contributing to organizational strategy, vision, and planning; providing regular reports and recommendations to the ED and Board regarding fundraising performance and opportunities for growth.
IDEAL EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS The successful candidate will have a minimum of five years of nonprofit fundraising experience including leadership of the Development function. Executive-level sales or business development experience will be considered. In addition to a personal alignment to PHP’s mission, the successful candidate will possess a combination of the following professional attributes: ● A strong track record working together with Boards and management teams to engage prospective major gift donors; a strategic thinker who can translate vision into actionable plans while overseeing day-to-day operations. Experience with nonprofits focused on disabilities and advocacy is advantageous but not a requirement. ● A successful track record of personally soliciting gifts from individuals and institutional sources; broad-based knowledge of various development activities including: direct solicitations, online giving, social media, proposal and grant development, legacy giving, campaigns, event planning and management; practical experience in using data to manage the fundraising process, enhance donor cultivation, and drive fundraising priorities. ● Experience shaping marketing outreach and messaging, websites, social media, email interactions, branding, and advocacy that engenders support from diverse constituents in ways that measurably advance toward contributed revenue goals. Demonstrated knowledge of techniques for segmenting and connecting with targeted groups is an advantage. ● Demonstrated experience in staff management, mentorship, and building highperforming teams; skill in planning, budgeting, outreach strategies, and tactics; and ability to organize, manage, motivate, and inspire others to productive action. ● Superior written and oral communication skills, with exceptional attention to detail and the ability to articulate a compelling case in person and in writing for PHP; demonstrated success in bringing regular, positive media attention to an organization. ● An openness to be guided by others; a good listener and strategist; a strong commitment to the culture and values of PHP; emotionally mature with a good sense of humor and the flexibility and sensitivity to work with diverse personalities and situations. ● Bachelor’s degree is preferred. Must have competency with fundraising databases, CRM systems, Microsoft Office, and Google Suite. The compensation for this role is $120,000-$160,000
Pay: $120,000.00 - $160,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
Work Location: Hybrid remote in San Jose, CA 95126
