Senior Vice President, Development

About News Literacy Project 

The News Literacy Project (NLP), a nonpartisan education nonprofit, is building a national movement to advance the practice of news literacy throughout American society, creating better informed, more engaged, and more empowered individuals — and ultimately a stronger democracy. NLP is the leading provider of news literacy education to students primarily through our signature e-learning platform, Checkology®, and to the public through our website, RumorGuard™.

Our vision: News literacy is an integral part of American life, and people of all ages and backgrounds know how to identify credible news and other information and understand the indispensable role a free press has in a democracy, empowering them to play a more equal and active role in the civic life of the country.

To learn more, please visit the News Literacy Project’s website.

The Opportunity

This is an extraordinary opportunity for a skilled leader and fundraiser to join a growing nonprofit and implement fundraising strategies that help protect American democracy by combating the proliferation of misinformation in an increasingly digital era.

NLP seeks a mission-driven development professional who is eager to join our efforts to build a more informed and discerning public, capable of navigating the complex information landscape with a critical eye.

As the chief development expert and advisor to the CEO and leadership team, the Senior Vice President (SVP) will design and implement creative and high impact development strategies, identify and pursue prospective new funders and major donors, and ensure that NLP continues on its trajectory of growth and impact.

The SVP will grow and refine a comprehensive development function focused on building and stewarding our corporate, major gifts, and individual giving programs, leading a cohesive team, and engaging with the Board of Directors around fundraising strategies.

Reporting to the President and CEO, the SVP is a core member of the NLP leadership team.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to: 

• In close collaboration with the CEO and Board, develop effective and ambitious fundraising goals to grow NLP’s fundraising goal from $8.5M to $10M in the near term and well beyond in the future.
• Build, lead, and coach a dynamic fundraising team during a period of accelerated growth and impact.
• Advise the CEO on all issues related to philanthropic growth, sustainability, and impact.
• Provide timely, responsive, and relevant reporting and forecasting to the Board.
• Leverage Board influence and impact on fundraising efforts and facilitate the resources required to elevate their effectiveness.
• Represent and defend NLP values, culture, and policies both internally and externally.

Direct Portfolio Work

• Personally manage key donors and take a hands-on approach to the development and implementation of strategies aimed at cultivating and deepening donor relationships, resulting in increased support and funding.
• Actively guide board members to effectively engage in fundraising activities, serve as a liaison to the development committee, and guide board members towards donor cultivation and stewardship.
• Utilize data analytics to inform strategic decisions, measure performance, and identify opportunities for improvement in fundraising efforts.
• Oversee the Vice President of Development Operations and support their efforts to ensure that data management processes are led effectively, including the implementation of intricate and strategic analyses to extract valuable insights and inform decision-making.
• Build and champion a fundraising culture that empowers teams to identify and steward high-impact donors and partnerships that provide visibility, build credibility, and grow NLP’s fundraising portfolio.

Resource Mobilization

• Implement development methods, campaigns, and strategies that resonate with new and existing audiences.
• Develop persuasive storytelling strategies that convey NLP’s mission and impact and motivate a call to action.
• Diversify fundraising revenue streams (i.e. institutional giving, major gifts, planned giving, private sector contributions, and robust general donor programs) and lead a growth-oriented development function.
• Uphold the highest ethical standards in all fundraising activities, instilling trust and confidence in donors, allies, and partners.

Team Management and Execution 

• Lead a newly restructured development function and directly supervise a Senior Major Gifts Officer, Major Gifts Officer, Vice President of Development Operations, and Senior Manager of Events within a larger team of six geographically dispersed team members.
• Facilitate a culture of achievement through growth-oriented goal setting, collective and individual ownership, and timely training and professional development.
• Build strategic coaching and pathways that demonstrate a culture of achievement and continuous advancement during a time of growth and organizational change.

Candidate Profile

NLP recognizes that there is a spectrum of lived and professional experience that will set candidates up for success in this role. While no one candidate will have every experience outlined in the position description, ideal candidates will display the following professional and personal qualities, skills, and characteristics:

Mission Alignment

A mission-driven fundraiser, you are excited by an opportunity to use your professional skills to join us in contributing to a thriving, more news-literate America. You see the deeply rooted connection between news-literacy and a robust, equitable democracy, and view this role as an opportunity to bring fresh fundraising solutions and build a team that is collaborative, action-oriented, and aligned with NLP’s Theory of Change.

Donor Stewardship and Engagement

A seasoned development professional, you are unafraid to make big asks, aim high, and secure sustainable contributions and relationships with institutional funders, high-net-worth donors, and key partners. You model best in class stewardship practices for your team, utilize storytelling techniques to convey the impact of donor contributions, and are experienced working in organizations that have successfully and consistently increased and achieved fundraising goals. A networker and a connector, you thrive on developing mutually beneficial donor relationships—particularly with high-net-worth individuals—and adeptly safeguard donor privacy with the utmost discretion. You bring a record of success engaging Boards of Directors, providing strategic fundraising leadership across the organization, fostering transparent communication, and leveraging the collective expertise of the Board and team to maximize fundraising outcomes and strengthen financial sustainability.

Leadership and Organizational Development

A seasoned supervisor, you have successfully led and inspired high-performing development teams to achieve ambitious results. You are experienced in recruiting top-tier talent and nurturing their professional growth to enhance the overall effectiveness of your team. You create cohesive, unified approaches to fundraising, provide differentiated pathways to develop your team’s skills and capacity, and empower internal and external partners to actively support fundraising initiatives. With an eye for assessing organizational needs, you present complex information clearly and persuasively and act with a clear sense of individual and collective ownership. Unafraid to grow and scale your department, you experiment to find fresh solutions, reflect on challenges and opportunities, promote mutual accountability, and inspire the trust and confidence necessary to achieve strategic outcomes and execute pivotal deliverables.

Fundraising Strategy

At your core, you are energized by expanding philanthropic revenue and have successfully developed a culture of philanthropy within your teams, partners, and organization. Both strategic and action-oriented, you bring a track record of building integrated campaigns aimed at increasing philanthropic revenue and positioning your organization for growth and sustainability. You demonstrate strong strategic acumen, provide hands-on advisory, spot trends, meticulously analyze fundraising data, and project outcomes to make decisions grounded in tangible financial metrics and KPIs. An action-oriented leader, you have experience designing tactical campaigns that integrate donor cultivation, major gifts/individual giving, grants, corporate partnerships, and events that attract and sustain long-term philanthropic attention.

Persuasive Communication and Relationship Building

An excellent written and oral communicator, you understand how to develop and implement fundraising strategies that drive donor engagement, enhance fundraising outcomes, and successfully advance your organization's mission, goals, and strategic priorities. You are a nimble and strategic communicator who demonstrates an exceptional capacity to deeply engage audiences, ignite a sense of purpose, and effectively mobilize financial support for your organization and its causes. A big-picture thinker, you deploy nuanced fundraising strategies that foster philanthropic alliances, impassion donors, and expand the network of allies and connectors dedicated to your organization’s cause.

Compensation & Benefits 

This is a full-time position. Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience. The salary range for this role is $210,000 - $235,000. 

NLP also offers outstanding benefits, including bonus, health and dental insurance, a 401(k)-plan match and more. For an overview of our generous benefits package, check out our HR benefits summary.  

This is a US-based remote position with travel required throughout the year (roughly 8-12 trips) to participate in meetings and staff retreats. We have an office in Washington, DC and for candidates local to the area, you have the option to work from the office.

The News Literacy Project welcomes applicants from diverse backgrounds. We offer equal opportunity in employment for all qualified persons and prohibit discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), national origin, ancestry, age, veteran status, disability unrelated to job requirements, genetic information, military service or other protected status.

We deeply value diversity in the workplace and strongly believe that a diverse team enriches our organization and strengthens our ability to realize our mission (read/print NLP’s Organizational Values [PDF] and Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion [PDF]).

Contact 

Koya Partners has been exclusively retained for this engagement, which is being led by Molly Brennan, Malissa Brennan, and Gina Wrolstad. Express interest in this role by filling out our Talent Profile or emailing the search team directly at [email protected]. All inquiries and discussions are strictly confidential.  

Koya Partners l Diversified Search Group is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals living with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual living with a disability and need assistance expressing interest online, please email [email protected]. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process.