Development Director, (full-time)

Our Minds Matter (OMM)

Development Director, full-time

About Our Minds Matter

Our Minds Matter (OMM) is working toward a day when no teen dies by suicide. Driven by research and led by teens, OMM clubs create safe, brave spaces where young people build social connections, practice self-care and healthy habits, and offer peer-to-peer mental health support. Originally founded as the Josh Anderson Foundation, we began with five schools in Fairfax County in 2012 and a sole employee: founding Executive Director Lauren Anderson, who named the organization in honor of her brother, Josh, who died by suicide at the age of 17. In the decade-plus since our founding, OMM has grown to become the leading provider of peer-to-peer mental health programming for teens in the DC Metro Area (DMV). We are a majority BIPOC-led organization currently supporting a network of 149 clubs in high schools, middle schools and teen centers nationwide, with the majority located in the DMV. 

The Role

The Development Director (DD) plays a key leadership role in ensuring that OMM fulfills its mission, accomplishes its financial goals, and is positioned for growth and sustainability. The DD will report to and work closely with the Executive Director (ED), spearheading OMM’s fundraising strategy by bringing structure and innovation to our expanding number of fundraising activities and prospects. This role will collaborate with the Board of Directors and program staff in addition to supervising development & communications support roles. The DD must be a savvy self-starter and project leader who is comfortable managing multiple projects. OMM’s projected annual budget for fiscal year 2025 is approximately $2M. 

OMM’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 

Pursuing diversity, equity, and inclusion is a moral imperative for Our Minds Matter (OMM), and integral to our work of empowering students to improve their overall school culture around mental health so that no teen dies by suicide.

OMM affirms the inherent dignity of each employee and person we work with while dismantling any inequities within our organization’s policies, programs, and services, creating an inclusive environment where all can flourish and become one’s best self. We are building a community whose members have diverse cultures, backgrounds, and life experiences. Vital to this is leadership and staff who are representative of the communities we serve, providing culturally competent and accessible curriculum and resources and constantly learning from and adapting to the communities we work with. 

OMM strongly encourages members of historically marginalized communities to apply for this position, in particular individuals who identify as Black, Indigenous, Latine or other People of Color, immigrants, people with disabilities, people who are gender expansive, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and individuals from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. OMM does not discriminate on the basis of class, race, color, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, political ideology, age, creed, religion, ancestry, national origin, or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability. Excepting any undue hardship, OMM will provide reasonable accommodations upon request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.

Key Responsibilities

Fundraising Strategy and Leadership

• Oversee, proactively plan, and execute a comprehensive fundraising strategy, to position OMM for growth & sustainability
• Partner with Executive Director, leadership team, Board of Directors and development & communications staff to develop and fulfill annual fundraising goals
• Identify suspected revenue gaps and pursue strategies to generate new leads
• Monitor fundraising results and consistently report progress to the ED and the Board of Directors; participate in Board Meetings and Committees, as requested
• Supervise and empower support roles to meet their goals
• Identify capacity needs and collaborate with leadership to design a team and organizational resources to take OMM to the next level of growth and expansion
• Lead quantitative and qualitative evaluation of fundraising outcomes, resulting in data-informed strategies
• Collaborate with the Executive Director and the Board Development Committee to build and empower the Board’s capacity, consistency, and confidence in fundraising

Individual Donor Development and Relations

• Ensure a continuously robust opportunity pipeline big enough to hit growing annual revenue goals by actively managing individual prospects and current donors
• Think creatively about the annual donor stewardship plan and update it annually with new and meaningful ways to connect with donors
• Research and design strategies for increasing giving and partnerships with all major donors and funders
• Research and design appeals and special campaigns
• Oversee support staff responsible for maintaining data entry & gift processing through OMM’s CRM (Network for Good)

Manage Institutional Giving (Public & Private)

• Lead institutional funding strategy to meet annual revenue goals by ensuring OMM has a robust pipeline of local, regional, and national grant opportunities to pursue
• Supervise contracted grant writer to both a) create and manage a grant calendar to track all upcoming applications and reports and b) submit dynamic, reader-friendly, and high-quality writing for grant proposals and reports

Corporate Giving

• Develop a comprehensive giving strategy to engage corporations in supporting OMM’s mission & initiatives

Event Revenue Generation

• Lead the strategy and execution of creative, innovative events and giving opportunities to engage OMM’s network of individual and corporate partners
• Serve as primary liaison between the Board and OMM staff to ensure active participation at all levels of the organization, where appropriate
• Manage staff, contractors and volunteers in event logistics and administration

Communications

• In conjunction with the ED and program team, develop a communications strategy to drive revenue in all streams, while actively positioning OMM as a leader in the field of peer-to-peer mental health programming
• Supervise & empower support roles in executing the communications plan through innovative & creative approaches
• Manage OMM’s brand image by maintaining strong and consistent messaging about OMM on all external-facing platforms
• Grow OMM’s brand visibility through strategic communication initiatives