ROME GROUP
Join us in changing children’s lives through the power of literacy. As Development Director, you’ll fuel a mission that reaches over 20,000 children annually in St. Louis’s under-resourced communities. This is your opportunity to build on a thriving, sustainable fundraising program that creates lasting impact for children while establishing frameworks that will drive growth for years to come.
You’ll have the autonomy to innovate, with the partnership of a committed Executive Director and Board, and the deep satisfaction of seeing your work directly open doors to literacy and opportunity for thousands of young readers.
About Ready Readers Ready Readers is a St. Louis nonprofit organization on a mission to expand literacy for young children in low-income communities through high-quality books, strong relationships, and literacy-rich experiences. We serve more than 20,000 children across the St. Louis area with a $2.2 million annual budget. Our work is grounded in the belief that literacy begins at birth, every child has the right to learn how to read, and relationships are essential to make reading come alive.
When you join Ready Readers, you become part of a team that values inclusion, accountability, and community impact. To learn more, visit www.readyreaders.org.
The Role Reports to: Executive Director
Location: Primarily in-person, with flexibility to work from home when tasks allow
Position Type: Full-time, exempt (40 hours/week) with health insurance, PTO, and holiday pay
The Development Director is a member of the leadership team and is responsible for driving sustainable revenue growth through relationship‑centered philanthropy. The role builds authentic, lasting relationships with donors while establishing systems that drive sustainable revenue growth. You’ll personally cultivate major gifts while creating the infrastructure to support organization‑wide fundraising success.
Working closely with the Executive Director and Board, you’ll establish a culture of philanthropy across the organization and ensure revenue goals are consistently met. You’ll lead a small but mighty team including a Development Manager, Donor Services Coordinator (part‑time), and Marketing Coordinator.
What You’ll Do
Build on a thriving Major Gifts program
– Personally manage a portfolio of 50+ major gift prospects, moving them through meaningful cultivation experiences toward transformational gifts. Design comprehensive infrastructure including prospect identification systems, cultivation pathways, and recognition frameworks. Partner with the Executive Director and Board to expand major gift capacity organization‑wide.
Drive Strategic Revenue Growth
– Develop and implement the annual revenue plan, budget, calendar, and projections that will grow Ready Readers impact. Create frameworks including revenue forecasting models, multi‑channel campaigns, and performance dashboards that enable data‑driven decisions and continuous improvement.
Facilitate Exceptional Donor Engagement
– Oversee stewardship across all giving levels while personally implementing experiences for major donors. Build tiered engagement systems with personalized touchpoints and compelling impact reporting to strengthen retention, deepen relationships, and increase donor lifetime value. Ensure that others (staff and board) are involved in stewardship allowing for donors to have deeper relationships with the organization.
Cultivate the Next Generation of Major Donors
– Develop mid‑level donors through strategic engagement systems that move them toward major gift readiness. Identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward mid‑level gift prospects through personal relationship‑building. Expand our planned giving program by building legacy society infrastructure and cultivating partnerships with professional advisors.
Ensure Grant and Restricted Gift Excellence
– Manage the creation of proposals and reports for grants and restricted gifts that demonstrate impact and ensure compliance. Work with the Development Manager who establishes templates, tracking systems, and accountability frameworks that build funder confidence and support renewal.
Lead High‑Impact Campaigns
– Oversee two annual campaigns: an online matching gifts campaign and a peer‑to‑peer mailed campaign. Personally identify and cultivate campaign sponsors while partnering with the Executive Director on solicitations. Lead team to design campaign systems and sponsorship packages that maximize engagement and revenue.
Turn Data into Strategy
– Track and analyze development metrics, establish KPI dashboards, and create reports that inform strategic decisions. Approve and edit all fundraising and marketing content, managing approval workflows and brand consistency standards with the Marketing Coordinator.
Empower Board Fundraising
– Support Board members’ fundraising participation through tools, training, and engagement systems. Staff the Board members working with the Vice President of Development and provide regular progress reports to keep leadership informed and engaged.
Who You Are You’re a strategic, relationship‑driven fundraising leader who is deeply committed to Ready Readers mission and to advancing equity in literacy access for children in under‑resourced communities. You excel at building authentic, long‑term relationships with donors and partners, personally closing major gifts while also designing the systems, strategies, and stewardship practices that drive sustainable revenue growth.
You balance big‑picture thinking with strong execution, use data to inform decisions and tell compelling impact stories, and inspire staff and Board members to embrace a shared culture of philanthropy grounded in inclusion, accountability, and community impact.
Required Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree and 5+ years of progressive development experience
Proven success personally cultivating and closing major gifts while building systems that produce measurable revenue growth
Exceptional relationship‑building and communication skills with genuine dedication to donor stewardship
Strong commitment to Ready Readers mission and to advancing literacy access in under‑resourced communities
Strong organizational and time management abilities with experience juggling multiple priorities successfully
Experience managing and developing high‑performing teams
Ability to inspire staff and Board to embrace a culture of philanthropy
Analytical skills with ability to translate data into actionable insights and compelling stories
Proficiency with donor databases; advanced Excel and Word skills preferred
Use of personal vehicle required to travel to community events.
Travel on a regular basis within the St. Louis metro area required.
Ability to work some evenings and weekends for Board and committee meetings, and community events.
CRM/database implementation experience (DonorPerfect familiarity is a plus)
Knowledge of fundraising best practices and emerging trends
How to Apply Ready for a role where your fundraising expertise fuels real change in children’s lives? We’d love to hear from you.
Please send a cover letter and resume to hr@readyreaders.org by January 26, 2026. Use the subject line: DD (YourLastName).
In your cover letter, help us understand what draws you to this role, how your experience has prepared you to drive fundraising success at Ready Readers, and your salary requirements.
Our Commitment to Equity Ready Readers is committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and equitable work environment. We strongly encourage applications from people of color, persons with disabilities, LGBTQIA+ individuals, veterans, and others from underrepresented backgrounds. We believe diverse perspectives strengthen our work and better serve the communities we exist to support.
Tagged as: development, literacy
#J-18808-Ljbffr
You’ll have the autonomy to innovate, with the partnership of a committed Executive Director and Board, and the deep satisfaction of seeing your work directly open doors to literacy and opportunity for thousands of young readers.
About Ready Readers Ready Readers is a St. Louis nonprofit organization on a mission to expand literacy for young children in low-income communities through high-quality books, strong relationships, and literacy-rich experiences. We serve more than 20,000 children across the St. Louis area with a $2.2 million annual budget. Our work is grounded in the belief that literacy begins at birth, every child has the right to learn how to read, and relationships are essential to make reading come alive.
When you join Ready Readers, you become part of a team that values inclusion, accountability, and community impact. To learn more, visit www.readyreaders.org.
The Role Reports to: Executive Director
Location: Primarily in-person, with flexibility to work from home when tasks allow
Position Type: Full-time, exempt (40 hours/week) with health insurance, PTO, and holiday pay
The Development Director is a member of the leadership team and is responsible for driving sustainable revenue growth through relationship‑centered philanthropy. The role builds authentic, lasting relationships with donors while establishing systems that drive sustainable revenue growth. You’ll personally cultivate major gifts while creating the infrastructure to support organization‑wide fundraising success.
Working closely with the Executive Director and Board, you’ll establish a culture of philanthropy across the organization and ensure revenue goals are consistently met. You’ll lead a small but mighty team including a Development Manager, Donor Services Coordinator (part‑time), and Marketing Coordinator.
What You’ll Do
Build on a thriving Major Gifts program
– Personally manage a portfolio of 50+ major gift prospects, moving them through meaningful cultivation experiences toward transformational gifts. Design comprehensive infrastructure including prospect identification systems, cultivation pathways, and recognition frameworks. Partner with the Executive Director and Board to expand major gift capacity organization‑wide.
Drive Strategic Revenue Growth
– Develop and implement the annual revenue plan, budget, calendar, and projections that will grow Ready Readers impact. Create frameworks including revenue forecasting models, multi‑channel campaigns, and performance dashboards that enable data‑driven decisions and continuous improvement.
Facilitate Exceptional Donor Engagement
– Oversee stewardship across all giving levels while personally implementing experiences for major donors. Build tiered engagement systems with personalized touchpoints and compelling impact reporting to strengthen retention, deepen relationships, and increase donor lifetime value. Ensure that others (staff and board) are involved in stewardship allowing for donors to have deeper relationships with the organization.
Cultivate the Next Generation of Major Donors
– Develop mid‑level donors through strategic engagement systems that move them toward major gift readiness. Identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward mid‑level gift prospects through personal relationship‑building. Expand our planned giving program by building legacy society infrastructure and cultivating partnerships with professional advisors.
Ensure Grant and Restricted Gift Excellence
– Manage the creation of proposals and reports for grants and restricted gifts that demonstrate impact and ensure compliance. Work with the Development Manager who establishes templates, tracking systems, and accountability frameworks that build funder confidence and support renewal.
Lead High‑Impact Campaigns
– Oversee two annual campaigns: an online matching gifts campaign and a peer‑to‑peer mailed campaign. Personally identify and cultivate campaign sponsors while partnering with the Executive Director on solicitations. Lead team to design campaign systems and sponsorship packages that maximize engagement and revenue.
Turn Data into Strategy
– Track and analyze development metrics, establish KPI dashboards, and create reports that inform strategic decisions. Approve and edit all fundraising and marketing content, managing approval workflows and brand consistency standards with the Marketing Coordinator.
Empower Board Fundraising
– Support Board members’ fundraising participation through tools, training, and engagement systems. Staff the Board members working with the Vice President of Development and provide regular progress reports to keep leadership informed and engaged.
Who You Are You’re a strategic, relationship‑driven fundraising leader who is deeply committed to Ready Readers mission and to advancing equity in literacy access for children in under‑resourced communities. You excel at building authentic, long‑term relationships with donors and partners, personally closing major gifts while also designing the systems, strategies, and stewardship practices that drive sustainable revenue growth.
You balance big‑picture thinking with strong execution, use data to inform decisions and tell compelling impact stories, and inspire staff and Board members to embrace a shared culture of philanthropy grounded in inclusion, accountability, and community impact.
Required Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree and 5+ years of progressive development experience
Proven success personally cultivating and closing major gifts while building systems that produce measurable revenue growth
Exceptional relationship‑building and communication skills with genuine dedication to donor stewardship
Strong commitment to Ready Readers mission and to advancing literacy access in under‑resourced communities
Strong organizational and time management abilities with experience juggling multiple priorities successfully
Experience managing and developing high‑performing teams
Ability to inspire staff and Board to embrace a culture of philanthropy
Analytical skills with ability to translate data into actionable insights and compelling stories
Proficiency with donor databases; advanced Excel and Word skills preferred
Use of personal vehicle required to travel to community events.
Travel on a regular basis within the St. Louis metro area required.
Ability to work some evenings and weekends for Board and committee meetings, and community events.
CRM/database implementation experience (DonorPerfect familiarity is a plus)
Knowledge of fundraising best practices and emerging trends
How to Apply Ready for a role where your fundraising expertise fuels real change in children’s lives? We’d love to hear from you.
Please send a cover letter and resume to hr@readyreaders.org by January 26, 2026. Use the subject line: DD (YourLastName).
In your cover letter, help us understand what draws you to this role, how your experience has prepared you to drive fundraising success at Ready Readers, and your salary requirements.
Our Commitment to Equity Ready Readers is committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and equitable work environment. We strongly encourage applications from people of color, persons with disabilities, LGBTQIA+ individuals, veterans, and others from underrepresented backgrounds. We believe diverse perspectives strengthen our work and better serve the communities we exist to support.
Tagged as: development, literacy
#J-18808-Ljbffr