Description

Lapan College & Career Club, Inc. Director of Development 

Organization: Lapan College & Career Club, Inc. (LC3)

Position Title: Director of Development

Reports To: Executive Director

Employment Type: Full-Time

Location: Lapan College & Career Club, Tucson, Arizona

Lapan College & Career Club, Inc. (LC3) is accepting applications for its Director of Development position. For more than 20 years, LC3 has empowered over 3,000 students in the Wakefield community of south Tucson, Arizona, through educational, career-readiness, and mentorship opportunities. As an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit since 2024, LC3 offers 12 after-school programs, ranging from robotics to music, supporting students from middle school through college and beyond. Guided by its values of hope, service, and excellence, LC3 is committed to helping students reach their full potential and build successful futures. Learn more at www.lapancollegeandcareerclub.org. 

This role has a salary range from $70,000 - $85,000. A generous benefits package is included with the in-office work week Monday to Thursday, school holidays off following the Tucson Unified School District calendar (Fall, Winter, Rodeo and Spring Break during the school year, in addition to federal holidays and two weeks in the Summer (after one year of employment). 

This is an opportunity to advance LC3’s mission by strengthening donor relationships, expanding fundraising efforts, and supporting the organization’s long-term sustainability. We seek a dedicated professional who shares our commitment to integrity, excellence, and service and is passionate about making a lasting impact on students and the Wakefield community.

Position Summary

The Director of Development is responsible for leading LC3’s fundraising, donor engagement, and organizational communications efforts. This position will build and strengthen relationships with donors, foundations, corporate partners, and community supporters while increasing awareness of LC3’s mission and impact.

In addition, the Director will support organizational data collection, reporting, and recordkeeping related to donors, fundraising, and community engagement. Working closely with the Executive Director and leadership team, this role will help advance development goals and ensure activities align with organizational priorities.

The ideal candidate is a strong relationship builder and communicator who is organized, detail-oriented, comfortable working with data, and able to balance strategic development work with day-to-day operational needs.

Essential Responsibilities

Development & Fundraising

• Develop and implement an annual development and fundraising plan aligned with LC3’s strategic priorities.
• Cultivate, solicit, and steward individual donors, foundations, corporations, and community partners.
• Build and maintain a strong donor pipeline, including prospective, current, and lapsed donors.
• Develop strategies for donor acquisition, retention, renewal, upgrades, and increased engagement.
• Coordinate individual giving campaigns, annual giving, special appeals, sponsorships, and fundraising events.
• Support the Executive Director and Board members with donor cultivation and solicitation activities.
• Prepare donor briefings, talking points, meeting materials, and follow-up communications.
• Maintain consistent and meaningful donor stewardship, including acknowledgments, impact updates, thank-you communications, and personal outreach.
• Track pledges, commitments, sponsorships, donations, and follow-up activities to ensure timely action.

Grant Development & Reporting

• Research and identify appropriate foundation, corporate, and community funding opportunities.
• Coordinate the grant calendar, including applications, reports, deadlines, and required documentation.
• Develop and submit effective grant proposals, reports, and funding requests that accurately reflect LC3’s programs, impact, and priorities.
• Work with program and finance staff to collect accurate programmatic, financial, and impact information for grant applications and reports.
• Maintain organized records of grant submissions, awards, reporting requirements, and outcomes.

Donor Data & Development Operations

• Maintain accurate and current donor and prospect records in LC3's donor/database system.
• Establish and maintain consistent procedures for entering, updating, and tracking donor information.
• Collect and organize donor data, including giving history, engagement, communication preferences, sponsorships, pledges, meetings, and stewardship activities.
• Regularly review donor records for accuracy, completeness, duplicates, and missing information.
• Develop and maintain donor reports and dashboards to support fundraising planning and decision-making.
• Track key development indicators such as donor retention, new donors, recurring donors, major gifts, campaign performance, sponsorships, and outstanding pledges.
• Coordinate with Finance/Business Services to reconcile development records with financial records and ensure donations and pledges are appropriately documented.
• Provide accurate development data for monthly and quarterly leadership and Board reports.
• Protect the confidentiality and security of donor information and maintain appropriate data-management practices.

Communications & Marketing Support

• Support basic organizational and donor communications that advance LC3's fundraising and development goals.
• Assist with donor appeals, newsletters, impact updates, and other development-related communications.
• Help gather stories, program highlights, and impact information for use in fundraising and organizational communications.

Events & Community Engagement

• Support planning and execution of fundraising events, donor gatherings, sponsorship activities, and community engagement opportunities.
• Develop event sponsorship opportunities and cultivate corporate/community partners.
• Coordinate donor invitations, guest lists, sponsorship recognition, event communications, and post-event stewardship.
• Track event participation, revenue, expenses, donor engagement, and follow-up opportunities.
• Help create meaningful opportunities for donors and community partners to experience LC3's mission and student impact.

Key Performance Areas

Success in this position will be measured by:

• Growth and diversification of LC3's donor base.
• Increased donor retention and engagement.
• Growth in individual, corporate, foundation, and sponsorship support.
• Timely and effective donor stewardship and follow-up.
• Successful grant submissions and reporting.
• Accuracy and completeness of donor and development records.
• Consistent collection and reporting of development data.
• Increased visibility and awareness of LC3 and its impact.
• Support of consistent, professional, and mission-aligned communications.
• Strong collaboration with the Executive Director, Board, staff, and community partners.

Working Relationships

The Director of Development works closely with the:

• Executive Director
• Board of Directors
• Program Team
• Business Services/Finance
• Administrative Team
• Students and families
• Donors and prospective donors
• Foundation and corporate partners
• Community organizations and external vendors

Physical & Work Requirements

This position requires regular computer use, communication by phone and email, attendance at meetings and events, and occasional evening or weekend responsibilities associated with donor cultivation, fundraising events, and LC3 activities.

Requirements

Required

• Bachelor's degree in nonprofit management, communications, marketing, business, public relations, or a related field.
• 3–5 years of experience in nonprofit development, fundraising, communications, marketing, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience cultivating relationships with donors, funders, sponsors, or community partners.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent organizational and project-management skills.
• Experience maintaining databases, donor records, or other information-management systems.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to manage multiple deadlines.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with a small team.
• Commitment to LC3's mission and the students and families it serves.

Preferred

• Experience with nonprofit fundraising and grant writing.
• Experience with Salesforce or another donor/CRM database; Salesforce experience is a plus.
• Experience using data to track fundraising activity and organizational performance.
• Experience developing newsletters, annual reports, social media, websites, or other nonprofit communications.
• Experience coordinating fundraising events or sponsorships.
• Knowledge of nonprofit development practices, donor stewardship, and ethical fundraising standards.

Core Competencies

• Relationship Building
• Fundraising & Donor Stewardship
• Written & Verbal Communication
• Data Management & Accuracy
• Organization & Follow-Through
• Strategic Thinking
• Project Management
• Collaboration
• Confidentiality & Professional Judgment
• Mission Alignment