Development Director

CityStep Development Director

Job Description

Background

CityStep.org is seeking a Development Director for our headquarters in New York City. CityStep is a celebrated arts and social impact program that unites college students and city school children through self-expression, collaboration, and mentorship. At each participating college, teams of undergraduate students teach weekly sessions in local elementary schools or partner organizations, implementing a year-long, movement-based curriculum based on the CityStep methodology. Each school year culminates in an original performance that brings children together from across a city–meaningfully engaging the students’ peers, families, and the entire community. 

Rigorous and values-driven, CityStep’s curriculum supports the social-emotional well being and cognitive development of each child and powerfully connects children to one another in shared enterprise. At a time when children are increasingly isolated from one another, CityStep is a vital, embodied experience of connection. At the same time, college students gain an unparalleled exposure to collaborative leadership, social impact, and the arts. 

Founded at Harvard by Sabrina Peck in 1984, CityStep has continued to thrive and spread organically to other locations including UPenn, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, UChicago, and Brown, with more locations on the horizon. We have recently embarked on an ambitious mulit-year strategic planning process for a future that includes a vision to provide the transformative CityStep experience of creativity and connection to children nationwide.

CityStep.org is the 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that scaffolds the student-run companies by providing training, support, continuity, and infrastructure. Reporting to the Executive Director, the Development Director will be expected to aid existing fundraising efforts as well as develop and implement new strategies to grow philanthropic support from individual donors, foundations, and corporations. The successful candidate will grow the organization’s resources significantly in service of this vision.

The position is envisioned as a hybrid one – most tasks can be performed remotely but the Development Director should be available as needed for in-person meetings, events, and other CityStep business in New York City as well as for occasional travel to other U.S. locations.

Job Description

With support from the Executive Director and Board, the Development Director will be responsible for identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and closing individual donors, corporate gifts and/or sponsorships, and grant funding. 

The Development Director will help to maintain existing donor relationships as well as identify and build new ones, including by crafting communications with current and prospective funders, facilitating “pitch” meetings for the Executive Director, and by planning and executing donor cultivation events in coordination with CityStep’s Producing Director. 

The Development Director will also identify and solicit new corporate gifts. In addition, they will research available grant funding and execute all grant writing, submissions, and management. The Development Director will be responsible for accurate record-keeping, tax letters, and donor acknowledgements. 

As in any small nonprofit organization, duties and responsibilities may come up that are not covered in this job description. 

Qualifications

Previous development experience, including grantwriting, preferably in a nonprofit, arts, or education setting; exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail; superlative written and spoken communication skills; experience with some or all of the following software: Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, Quickbooks, Donor software, Wrike; discretion and a commitment to anti-racism and equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Application

This is a year-round part-time job, available immediately, with hours and compensation structure to be mutually agreed upon by the Executive Director and successful candidate. To apply, please send a thoughtful cover letter and resume to contact@citystep.org.

CityStep is proud to be an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate on the basis of any legally protected status. Our goal is to be a diverse workplace representative of the communities we serve, and we are committed to building a team that is inclusive of a variety of backgrounds and perspectives.