Business Development Manager

DonorsChoose makes it easy for anyone to help a teacher in need, moving us closer to a nation where students in every community have the tools and experiences they need for a great education.

Since 2000, more than 5 million people and partners have contributed $1 billion to support 2 million teacher requests for classroom resources and experiences. Projects range from art supplies to build the set for a school musical, to books and puzzles that affirm students’ identities, to bird seed for an at-home science project. We proudly serve all US public schools, public charter schools, and Head Start centers, and we combat systemic inequity by driving a majority of donations to schools that have been historically underfunded due to economic and racial inequity.

DonorsChoose has been recognized as a best place to work by GOOD Magazine and the Nonprofit Times, while Fast Company named DonorsChoose one of the 50 Most Innovative Companies in the World—the first time a charity has made this list. Our dedicated team works from across the United States bring classroom dreams to life.

Team Overview

As part of the Marketing & Partnerships Team, the Business Development Team raises funds for teachers and students by designing and executing philanthropic partnerships with corporations and foundations. This year, we aim to raise $10M for public school classrooms through creative, collaborative partnerships with our institutional donors. (More about our partnerships.)

About the Role

The Business Development Manager is a key fundraiser on the Business Development team. The Manager will be responsible for:

Contribute to our revenue goal by fundraising from your portfolio of partners 

• Write and compile compelling emails and prepare for partner meetings.
• Learn to run calls with prospective partners looking to support schools at the $25K-$250K levels
• Learn and iterate on our benefits parameters and partnership options, and leverage our data to craft pitches that are impactful at different giving levels
• Smoothly transition won accounts to another team to be executed upon and renewed
• Work with a sales coach to learn concepts like discovery, BANT, consultative sales 

Be a core contributor to a small-but-mighty team

• Share sales and partnership strategies, support teammates when needed, and identify other opportunities to contribute to the team and organizational culture
• Play a key role in our evolution to more directly address racial inequity in education through our partnerships

Qualifications

This role may be perfect for you if you:

• You’re committed to our mission to support public school teachers and students, and energized by sharing that passion with others. You’re passionate about equity, able to speak knowledgeably and persuasively about racial equity.
• You have at least three years of experience in a direct fundraising, business development, or sales role.
• You’re deeply curious: you want to know what drives people and organizations, and you ask great questions.
• You’re extremely efficient and organized. People are always complimenting your to-do lists, and how you manage to fit so much into the day.
• You thrive on winning others over, and on finding the “yes’ wherever you can.

You’re a team player. It’s more important to you that someone gets the win, than that you personally get the credit.

Compensation and Benefits

Our compensation philosophy ensures that we are both externally competitive with tech-forward nonprofits of a similar size and internally fair in our pay practices. The following ranges represent the target offer range given the scope and experience expectations for this role.

• The hiring salary range for this role is $66,000 - $77,000
• We have a hiring salary range of $73,000 - $85,000 for specific higher cost of labor locations, which include New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston, and Washington, D.C.

Once employees are hired, everyone at DonorsChoose is eligible to receive annual performance-based raises as they grow in their role. We are open to a variety of experiences, and recognize that the person we hire may be less experienced or more senior than this job description as posted. If you don’t check every box listed here, or you know you’d bring additional experience to the table, we hope you’ll submit your application. 

In addition, we offer full-time staff 25 paid vacation days per year and 11 paid holidays, a rich employer-paid individual and family health plan, a matching 401(k) plan (up to 5% of base salary), annual professional development stipend, and casual and flexible work environment. To learn more about what it is like to work for DonorsChoose, visit our careers page.

Hybrid Workplace and Other Details

In this role, you’ll have the option to work a flexible hybrid schedule in our NYC office, or to work fully remotely from CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, IL, IN, ME, MA, MD, MI, NJ, NY, OR, PA, RI, TX, VA, WA, or WI. 

Candidates who are not in the NYC area should expect to travel to our NYC office on an as-needed basis, about 4-6 times per year. All work-related travel expenses will be covered by the organization and proper safety precautions will be taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19. 

DonorsChoose is a fully vaccinated workplace and all new employees, regardless of their work location, will be asked to share proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 within two weeks of their hire date or request an exemption from this policy due to a disability or sincerely held religious belief or practice. This policy does not apply to employees in states with state restrictions on vaccine mandates.

DonorsChoose participates in E-Verify. We will provide the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) and, if necessary, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with information from each new employee’s Form I-9 to confirm work authorization.

To Apply

Please submit your resume online and answer the application questions. A cover letter is optional and may be addressed to, Ali Rosen, Vice President of Business Development.

A Final Note

The DonorsChoose team works toward a nation where students in every community have the resources needed for an excellent education. To do this we hire and support a diverse team of the best and the brightest talent available.

We are an organization increasingly representative of the varied races and ethnicities, genders and sexual orientations, religious and political beliefs, and abilities that comprise our nation. DonorsChoose focuses on attracting, retaining, and advancing diverse talent because it makes us more effective, high-performing, creative, and resilient.  

If you are passionate about our mission, highly skilled in your field, and looking for a place where you can bring all of yourself to work, we want you.