Senior Director, Individual Giving

Company Description

About KIPP NYC:
Founded in 1995, KIPP NYC Public Schools is a non-profit network of 18 free, public charter schools located in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Manhattan. We partner with families and communities to create joyful, academically excellent schools where every child grows up free to create the future they want for themselves and their communities.

From our first middle school, KIPP Academy in the Bronx, to today’s network of eight elementary schools, nine middle schools, and one high school, KIPP NYC provides students with engaging academics, arts, athletics, and social–emotional learning that prepare them for college, career, and beyond.

Our commitment doesn’t end at graduation. Through KIPP Forward, we continue to support our alumni as they navigate college, career, and life, helping them define success on their own terms and pursue the paths that align with their goals and sense of purpose.

Together, we serve more than 9,400 students, support 4,700 alumni, and employ over 1,100 dedicated team members who bring passion, expertise, and commitment to our mission every day.

Job Description

Position Overview:

After 30 years of impact, KIPP NYC is entering an exciting new chapter. The Development Department is reimagining how philanthropy can deepen our impact and fuel our continued growth by building meaningful partnerships with individuals and institutions who believe in our mission and want to invest in joyful, academically excellent schools where students develop the skills and confidence to pursue the paths they choose.

The Senior Director, Individual Giving is a senior leadership role within the Development Department, responsible for shaping and growing one of KIPP NYC’s most promising revenue streams. The Senior Director will deepen relationships with individual donors and family foundations, inspire greater investment in our students and schools, and bring KIPP NYC’s mission and impact to life through authentic relationship-building, compelling storytelling, and creation of meaningful donor experiences.

Reporting to the Chief Development Officer, the Senior Director will lead KIPP NYC’s individual giving strategy. They will manage a portfolio of donors and prospects, identify and cultivate new relationships, solicit intermediate and major gifts, and create engaging experiences that bolster donor connection and encourage lasting philanthropic support.

This role is ideal for a curious, entrepreneurially-minded, self-starter who is energized by the opportunity to build. The successful candidate will bring the initiative, creativity, and maturity to move seamlessly between vision and execution—partnering with KIPP NYC leaders, board members, and school communities while helping shape the organization’s next chapter.

This is a full-time position with a hybrid schedule, requiring a minimum of three in-person days per week based out of our KIPP NYC Midtown Manhattan office. The role also includes travel to KIPP NYC campuses across the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Manhattan. The cadence and frequency of school visits will be determined by your leadership team. 

Duties and Responsibilities:

General responsibilities include (but are not limited to):

Individual Giving and Portfolio Management

• Own and drive the strategy for and personally manage and grow a portfolio of 75–100 individual donors and family foundation prospects.
• Develop and execute individualized moves-management strategies, guiding donors from identification and qualification through cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
• Personally solicit and secure intermediate and major gifts by developing compelling proposals and presentations that align donor and family foundation interests with KIPP NYC’s mission, strategic priorities, and funding needs.
• Lead the preparation of high-quality proposals and grant reports for family foundations, translating complex programmatic information into clear, compelling, and compliant narratives.
• Develop and maintain deep knowledge of KIPP NYC’s programs, priorities, and impact to effectively articulate a compelling case for investment in KIPP NYC’s students, schools, and communities. 

Donor Cultivation, Stewardship, and Events

• Set and lead a year-round donor cultivation and stewardship strategy that strengthens relationships, increases engagement, and supports donor retention and growth.
• Set the strategy for and lead donor and volunteer events, programs, and other strategic gatherings that strengthen relationships and move prospects through the giving pipeline.
• Curate meaningful donor experiences, including salons, dinners, school visits, and intimate convenings that bring KIPP NYC’s mission and impact to life.
• Partner with program and school-based teams to create authentic opportunities for donors to engage with KIPP NYC’s students, educators, programs, and impact while ensuring experiences are thoughtful, respectful, and aligned with organizational priorities. 

Prospect Development and Fundraising Strategy

• Serve as a strategic partner to the Chief Development Officer in proactively identifying and qualifying new major-gift and family foundation prospects and building a strong, sustainable pipeline of prospective supporters.
• Leverage research, data, networks, and AI-powered insights to expand and strengthen the prospect pipeline and identify new opportunities for philanthropic investment.
• Lead analysis of portfolio and pipeline performance to identify trends, opportunities, and areas requiring additional focus.
• Use donor data, portfolio performance, and engagement insights to set and continuously refine fundraising strategies, prioritize relationship-building efforts, inform resource allocation, and drive individual giving performance.

Organizational and Leadership Collaboration

• Serve as a strategic fundraising partner to organizational leadership and board members to advance high-level donor and foundation engagement.
• Strategically engage and equip organizational leaders and board members as fundraising partners, developing briefings, talking points, solicitation strategies, and follow-up plans that advance donor relationships and major gift opportunities.
• Serve as the primary liaison to KIPP NYC’s Leadership Council, our Young Professionals Board, cultivating strong relationships with members and partnering with the Council to advance donor engagement, fundraising, events, and broader Development priorities.
• Collaborate across departments to gather programmatic information, identify funding opportunities, and develop compelling donor communications that authentically reflect KIPP NYC’s work, priorities, and impact.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to internal stakeholders, connecting organizational priorities with opportunities for donor engagement, philanthropic investment, and long-term revenue growth.

Systems, Data, and Development Operations

• Partner with the Director of Development Operations and Strategy to ensure donor information, activity, and moves-management data are recorded accurately and promptly in the CRM.
• Establish and maintain strong portfolio-management systems, including clear next steps, contact reports, solicitation plans, and revenue projections that support accountability and fundraising performance.
• Establish and monitor individual giving, donor engagement, and event performance goals and key performance indicators, using data and portfolio insights to evaluate results and continuously refine strategy.
• Own accurate forecasting, reporting, and analysis of the individual giving pipeline, providing the Chief Development Officer with clear visibility into revenue projections, pipeline health, and progress toward fundraising goals.

Qualifications

• At least 8-10 years of experience in development or advancement, with significant experience in individual giving and frontline fundraising.
• Demonstrated success managing a significant donor portfolio, securing major gifts, and developing strategies that strengthen donor cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, and long-term engagement.
• Demonstrated experience developing and leading donor cultivation and stewardship strategies, including events and experiences that advance relationship-building and fundraising goals.
• Exceptional strategic, analytical, and critical-thinking skills.
• Ability to operate at multiple levels, from setting and leading high-level fundraising strategy to personally executing and overseeing critical operational details.
• Demonstrated track record of using donor, portfolio, and pipeline data to set strategy, evaluate performance, forecast revenue, and inform fundraising decisions.
• Exceptional project-management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities while maintaining close attention to detail.
• Exceptional interpersonal, relationship-building, and influencing skills, with the ability to build trust and credibility with donors, senior leaders, Board members, school-based teams, and external partners.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to develop compelling donor-facing narratives, make a persuasive case for support, and authentically articulate KIPP NYC’s mission, priorities, and impact to a range of audiences.
• Strategic, creative, and analytical thinker who can navigate ambiguity, exercise sound judgment, and translate ideas into thoughtful solutions in a fast-paced environment.
• Advanced proficiency in Google Workspace applications.
• Experience using CRM databases; Salesforce experience is preferred.
• Deep commitment to KIPP NYC’s mission and belief in the potential of all students to learn, grow, and create the futures they want for themselves and their communities.
• Demonstrates KIPP NYC’s values, including zest, grit, self-control, hope, social intelligence, gratitude, and a sense of humor.

Additional Information

Compensation and Benefits:

KIPP NYC offers a salary ranging from $132,870 - $165,830 per year. Salary ranges at KIPP NYC are standardized based on role level and role function. Individual salaries are determined through a lens of equity, accounting for years of experience relevant to the role and scope of responsibilities, and are benchmarked against others within the same salary band.

KIPP NYC offers a generous benefits package, including, but not limited to, the following:

• Robust benefits that include medical, dental, and vision. 
• 403(b) retirement plan with a 50% match after 6 months. 
• Generous Time-Off aligned with the school calendar
• Up to 12 weeks of 100% parental leave. 
• Bright Horizon Back-up Child and Elder care.
• Employer-paid Life Insurance and Short-term/Long-term disability.
• Employee incentives include 8 Weeks paid Sabbatical after 10 years, annual professional development funds, and tuition reimbursement.

This description is intended to describe the type of work being performed by a person assigned to this position. It is not an exhaustive list of all duties and responsibilities required by the employee.

This is a full-time, in-person role based in New York City and will require travel to our schools. If you are not in a school-based position, the cadence and frequency of travel to schools is determined by your leadership team. If you relocate outside of a commutable distance or out of the state of NY, your employment will be subject to review, which may include separation from KIPP NYC. It is important that you notify HR if you move or have plans to relocate.

KIPP NYC LLC does not offer visa sponsorship or work authorization. 

KIPP NYC LLC is committed to creating a welcoming environment that includes employees with diverse backgrounds and experiences. We believe that enables us to better meet our mission and values while serving students and families throughout New York City. 

KIPP NYC LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. KIPP NYC LLC is committed to the principles of equal employment opportunity for all employees and applicants for employment.