Senior Director of Development

Location: NYC Area or SF Area

Reports to: Founder & CEO

Compensation: $120,000 + Incentive-Based Bonus

Benefits: Comprehensive coverage to keep you and your family supported, including healthcare, dental, vision, and life insurance.

Culture: We prioritize working smart over hard. We give you the full week of Thanksgiving off, Christmas through New Year’s off, and PTO.

About #HalfTheStory

#HalfTheStory is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering the next generation’s relationship with technology through advocacy, education, and research. For the past 10 years, we have been pioneers in youth-led innovation, creating programs, tools, and opportunities that give young people the knowledge, voice, and agency to navigate the digital world safely, thoughtfully, and creatively.

We are driven by the belief that technology should serve the next generation, not the other way around, and that the best solutions are built with youth, not just for them.

The Role

We are seeking a Senior Director of Development to own and scale #HalfTheStory’s fundraising engine. This is a senior, hands-on leadership role that blends relationship-building, operational execution, and strategic thinking.

You will partner closely with the Founder, leveraging existing relationships and organizational momentum to:

• Drive Revenue Growth: Convert leads, warm introductions, and existing opportunities into long-term donor relationships and repeatable fundraising success.
• Manage Grants & Compliance: Oversee the full grants lifecycle with the internal grant writer, ensuring timely submissions, reporting, and scalable systems.
• Strengthen Development Operations: Systematize internal processes, turning strong relationships and internal capacity into a high-functioning fundraising engine.
• Collaborate Across Teams: Work cross-functionally to align fundraising goals with programmatic impact and internal reporting.

This role has a clear mandate: help double organizational growth and expand our impact.

How We Think About Fundraising (Read this First)

At #HalfTheStory, fundraising isn’t just about raising money—it’s about creating meaningful experiences, building community, and sharing our mission in an authentic, engaging way. Before you decide “this job is for me”, here’s how we approach it:

1. High // Low Impact

We balance large-scale, high-impact opportunities with small, intimate, high-touch moments. Every interaction counts, whether it’s a major donor pitch or a one-on-one conversation with a supporter.

2. Sales with Soul

Fundraising should feel joyful and inspiring. We prioritize creating experiences that energize and connect people to our mission. We see fundraising as relationship-building, not a transaction. Every interaction should be authentic, values-aligned, and meaningful.

3. Show, Don’t Tell

We believe in demonstrating our impact rather than simply describing it. Videos, youth testimonials, live demonstrations—these are far more powerful than slides or statistics alone.

4. Let the Teens Do the Talking

Youth voice is central. Our programs, stories, and advocacy are strongest when shared by the teens themselves. They are the heart of our message. You should be comfortable engaging with young people.

5. Humble with Big Dreams

We dream boldly, but we remain grounded. Humility allows us to listen, learn, and grow, while ambition drives the scale and scope of what we aim to achieve.

6. Scrappy but Solution-Oriented

Resource constraints don’t limit us—they inspire creativity. We are nimble, adaptive, and relentlessly focused on building scalable solutions.

8. Intrinsic Mission Connection

Effective fundraising comes from those who deeply understand and connect to our mission. Passion is contagious, and authenticity is critical.

9. Host with Purpose

Whether hosting an event, a workshop, or a virtual gathering, we place individuals at the center of culture and context. A great host creates memorable, meaningful experiences that resonate and inspire.

10. We Care About the Small Details & Play the Long Game

High-touch relationships make all the difference. Thoughtful gestures—like birthday gifts or personal notes on significant milestones—build trust and loyalty, resulting in long-term support and engagement.

Core Responsibilities

Relationship Management

• From initiating relationships to closing on gifts, build and nurture authentic, long-term relationships with donors, foundations, and institutional funders—always looking for ways to deepen trust and connection.
• Learn from every interaction and adapt your approach to better engage supporters and align them with our mission.

Grants Management

• Own the grants process with our internal grant writer, from submission to compliance and reporting. Doors to grant funders will be opened by executive leadership and the Board, but you are responsible for managing reporting, coordinating logistics, and executing all follow-through. We also hope you come with relationships you can leverage to strengthen these efforts.
• Continuously improve systems to make grant management smarter, faster, and more scalable.

Growth & Revenue Expansion

• Partner with the Founder to turn warm introductions into meaningful, lasting support.
• Think creatively and strategically about ways to grow revenue and strengthen development operations, creating repeatable systems that get better over time.

Internal Collaboration

• Translate donor relationships into actionable next steps for the team, always looking for ways to improve alignment and efficiency.
• Collaborate across programs, communications, and operations to ensure fundraising strategies evolve with our impact goals.

Ideal Candidate Profile

• Director-level experience in development, philanthropy, donor advising, or foundations.
• Experience managing both individual donors and foundation relationships.
• Strong understanding of the grants lifecycle, including compliance and reporting.
• Experience in education, youth, mental health, STEAM, or innovation ecosystems preferred.
• Demonstrated approach to work that indicates you are highly organized, proactive, and execution-oriented, while also able to navigate the ambiguity and scrappiness of high-growth, startup-feel work.
• Desire to move from advisory or funder-side roles into ownership and hands-on leadership.

This role is particularly well-suited for candidates with experience in the Arabella ecosystem or adjacent donor-focused networks.

Why This Role Is Compelling:

• Strong, established credibility with top-tier funders already in place.
• Founder-led relationships ready to be carried forward and scaled.
• Internal grant writing capacity already built, allowing focus on strategy, relationships, and execution.
• Opportunity to transform organisational momentum into sustained, scalable growth and make a lasting impact on youth.

This Role is Not For You If…

• You don't want to incorporate youth voice into your daily work
• You prefer highly routine, structured work supported by preexisting systems
• You need access to certain systems to drive results (e.g. Salesforce, DonorPerfect, etc.)
• You lack the skill/will to navigate the unique nature of a Founder-led organization

We’re Set Up for Success, and We’re Looking for a Rockstar to Help Send our Rocketship to Space!