Chief Development Officer

United Way of the Bluegrass is seeking an accomplished and visionary fundraising executive to serve as its next Chief Development Officer (CDO).

For more than 100 years, United Way of the Bluegrass has brought people, partners, and resources together to strengthen basic needs, education, and financial stability across Central Kentucky. Through collaborative leadership and community investment, United Way connects generosity with opportunities for lasting impact. United Is the Way.

About the Opportunity

As a key member of the Executive Leadership Team, the Chief Development Officer will lead the organization's comprehensive fundraising strategy and drive philanthropic growth across individual, corporate, foundation, planned giving, and community partnerships.

Reporting directly to the President & CEO, the CDO will oversee a year-round, full-cycle development program designed to build sustainable and diversified revenue streams that advance mission impact and organizational resilience.

This is an exceptional opportunity for a strategic relationship-builder who thrives on cultivating major donors, inspiring philanthropic investment, and leading high-performing development teams.

• Develop and deliver a multi-year fundraising strategy and annual operating plan with clear revenue goals, donor segments, campaign priorities, ownership, forecast assumptions, and performance measures.
• Lead workplace and annual giving campaigns, individual and leadership giving, major and transformational gifts, corporate philanthropy and sponsorships, recurring gifts, giving societies.
• Expand unrestricted and flexible philanthropic revenue, increase donor retention and lifetime value, and diversify funding to reduce concentration risk.
• Maintain an executive portfolio of major and prospective donors; personally lead discovery, cultivation, solicitation, negotiation, closure, and stewardship of significant gifts and multi-year commitments.

Planned Giving, Endowment, and Stewardship

• Design and advance planned and legacy giving opportunities, including bequest intentions, beneficiary designations, and other suitable giving vehicles in consultation with qualified advisers.
• Lead the philanthropic strategy for endowment growth, including cases for support, prospect development, donor conversations, and suitable gift structures, subject to governing policies and approval.
• Build a donor-centered stewardship program with accurate acknowledgments, meaningful impact reporting, personalized engagement, recognition, renewal, and donor reactivation.
• Ensure nonstandard gifts and donor restrictions receive appropriate legal, financial, executive, or Board review before makes binding commitments.

Corporate Partnerships, Fundraising Events and Community Relationships

• Strengthen corporate partnerships through executive engagement, workplace campaigns, employee giving, matching gifts, sponsorships, and multi-year philanthropic investment; equip Board members and volunteers to support donor cultivation.
• Lead fundraising events from strategy through execution: set revenue and sponsorship goals, engage prospective donors, oversee budgets and delivery with internal partners and vendors, and convert event participation into sustained donor relationships. Evaluate net proceeds, fundraising efficiency, and donor experience.

Executive Leadership and Fundraising Operations

• Lead, coach, evaluate, and develop the Resource Development team; establish clear individual portfolios, measurable outcomes, accountability, and succession continuity.
• Direct disciplined prospect research, qualification, moves management, donor segmentation, contact reporting, and CRM data integrity through the Donor Intelligence & CRM function.
• Manage departmental resources within delegated authority; evaluate fundraising effectiveness, campaign costs, pipeline coverage, return on investment, and staff capacity.
• Provide reliable development dashboards and forecasts, distinguishing pledges, cash received, restricted/unrestricted giving, donor pipeline, and anticipated closings.

Enterprise Partnership, Controls, and Donor Trust

• Collaborate with Community Impact leadership to align donor opportunities and impact promises with organizational strategy, program capacity, and credible outcome information. Partner with Communications on donor-facing campaigns, materials, and recognition.
• Coordinate with the Chief Programs Officer and Funding Administration when private foundation and institutional donor relationships overlap with program grants. Grant writing, government contracts, contract management, procurement, and grant compliance are not directly supervised by the CDO.
• Work with Finance on gift recording, receipting, reconciliation, donor restrictions, pledge status, and financial reporting; maintain appropriate segregation of duties and delegated approval limits.
• Follow applicable gift-acceptance, endowment, donor privacy, fundraising ethics, and authority policies. Where formal guidance is absent or a proposed gift is exceptional, elevate the decision before accepting commitments.

Measures of Success

The CDO will develop an annual performance scorecard with the President & CEO measuring: philanthropic revenue achievement and mix; unrestricted giving; donor acquisition, retention, renewal, and upgrades; major-gift solicitations and commitments; planned-giving and endowment pipeline growth; corporate partnership and fundraising-event results, including net proceeds and donor conversion; fundraising efficiency; forecast accuracy; CRM and portfolio discipline; donor satisfaction and stewardship; staff development; and meaningful Board participation. Performance is assessed on sustainable outcomes, not fundraising activity alone.

Required Experience and Capabilities

• A demonstrated record of progressive nonprofit fundraising leadership, including personal success securing major gifts and managing full-cycle fundraising strategies; generally eight or more years of relevant experience or comparable achievement.
• Experience managing and developing fundraisers, leading revenue plans, and holding teams accountable with sound executive judgment and empathy.
• Working experience with planned or legacy giving, major gifts, corporate philanthropy, donor stewardship, and relationship-based fundraising.
• Ability to develop credible fundraising budgets, interpret financial and donor data, use a CRM to manage pipeline performance, and clearly communicate forecasts and results.
• Strong interpersonal, executive communication, public speaking, major-gift solicitation, negotiation, and cross-functional leadership skills.
• Commitment to ethical fundraising, donor confidentiality, respectful community relationships, and responsible stewardship of donor intent.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience building an endowment fundraising program or securing complex/noncash gifts in collaboration with financial and legal experts.
• Experience with workplace campaigns, corporate executive partnerships, leadership giving societies, revenue-generating fundraising events, multi-year fundraising initiatives, or the United Way network.
• Familiarity with Central Kentucky's philanthropic environment; CFRE or CAP certification is valued but not required.

Why Choose United Way of the Bluegrass?

At United Way of the Bluegrass, our people are at the heart of everything we do. We are committed to fostering a workplace where employees feel valued, supported, and inspired to make a meaningful impact in our communities. In addition to the opportunity to advance a mission that strengthens lives across Central Kentucky, we offer a comprehensive and competitive benefits package designed to support your health, financial well-being, and work-life balance.

When you join United Way of the Bluegrass, you're not just taking a job, you're becoming part of a dedicated team working to create lasting change throughout Central Kentucky. Together, we bring people, partners, and resources together to strengthen basic needs, education, and financial stability for our neighbors and communities.