Vice President of Development

DescriptionVice President of Development

Job Description | August 2026

The Organization

Girl Scouts River Valleys (GSRV) serves over 13,000 girls across southern Minnesota, western Wisconsin, and surrounding communities, supported by thousands of volunteers who deliver the Girl Scout Leadership Experience every day. We are one of 111 councils nationwide, united by a shared mission: building girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place.

We believe all girls belong here. That belief is embedded in how we operate, how we hire, and how we lead. Our work is grounded in five core values that are not aspirational, they are our standard:

Be Joyful
Be Willing to Work Through It
You Can Count on Me
Community First
Girls Are at the Center of Everything We Do

GSRV operates within the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) - aligning leaders through clear accountability, scorecards, Rocks, and weekly L-10 meetings.

Position Information

Position Title: Vice President of Development

Job Code: VPDEV

Reports To: Chief Revenue Officer

Department: Development

FLSA Status: Exempt

Salary Grade: 09

Last Updated: August 2026

Hiring Range: $120,000-$140,000

About This Role

Bold Fundraising, Lasting Relationships

The Vice President of Development is an executive leadership team member responsible for designing and executing a comprehensive fundraising strategy to secure financial support for the organization’s mission. This role oversees and executes major gifts, corporate and foundation partnerships, grants, annual giving, planned giving, and special events and donor stewardship.

This role builds and maintains a strong donor pipeline, with particular focus on donor retention, alumni engagement, and sustainable contributed revenue growth. This role partners with the Chief Revenue Officer to translate fundraising goals into practical plans, use data to monitor progress.

This role provides coaching and leadership for development team members who support grant writing, annual fund activity, donor communications, gift entry, and fundraising operations

The successful candidate is a mission-driven, relationship-centered, and metrics-oriented development professional who can grow contributed revenue, strengthen donor relationships, supervise team members, and operate effectively within an Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) environment.

Key EOS Accountability

The Vice President of Development is accountable for executing the Development function’s annual contributed revenue goals, maintaining a healthy donor pipeline, supervising assigned development team members, and using EOS tools to improve focus, accountability, communication, and results.

Essential Functions

Strategic Leadership and Governance

Develop and execute a multi-year fundraising plan aligned with the organization’s strategic plan.
Partner closely with the CEO and Chief Revenue Officer to identify, cultivate, and solicit major donors.
Serve as an active member of the Executive Leadership Team, contributing to organizational strategy, budgeting, and operations.
Staff the Board Development / Fundraising Committee and empower board members to act as effective fundraisers.

Fundraising and Revenue Generation

Major & Planned Gifts: Manage a portfolio of high-net-worth individual donors; oversee major gift solicitations and planned -giving strategies to achieve a minimum of $1M.
Institutional Giving: Direct foundation and corporate grant proposals, ensuring rigorous reporting, compliance, and donor stewardship.
Annual & Digital Giving: Oversee direct mail, online campaigns, monthly giving programs, and peer-to-peer fundraising.
Capital Campaigns: Lead strategy, feasibility assessments, and execution for capital or endowment campaigns when applicable.
Events: Oversee major fundraising events, galas, and donor appreciation initiatives to maximize ROI and donor engagement.

Donor Engagement, Stewardship and External Relations

Serve as a visible ambassador for the organization and communicate a compelling case for support rooted in youth outcomes, community impact, and organizational need.
Build authentic relationships with donors, families, volunteers, community leaders, businesses, civic groups, and funding partners.
Create donor stewardship practices that deepen engagement, demonstrate impact, and improve retention.
Partner with program leaders to translate youth services outcomes into strong donor communications, proposals, reports, and presentations.

Team Leadership & Operations

Manage, mentor, and build a high-performing development team (e.g., Development Managers, Grant Writers, Event Coordinators).
Oversee donor database (CRM) management, gift processing, donor research, and data integrity.
Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) for fundraising metrics and track team progress against annual targets.
Manage the department budget, ensuring cost-effective operations and optimal return on investment.

Equity & Community Integration

Apply GSRV’s equity framework to fundraising strategies, donor communications, stewardship practices, and community engagement.
Build relationships with donors and partners in ways that reflect community voice, remove barriers to participation, and support belonging across the GSRV service area.

Scorecard: What Success Looks Like

Success in this role is defined by:

Achievement of fundraising goals and scorecard metrics that reflect weekly, quarterly, and annual performance expectations for the Development function.
A high-performing, engaged team with clear accountability
Strong cross-departmental relationships
Demonstrated use of equity-centered practices

Metric

What We Measure

Contributed Revenue

Progress toward annual fundraising goals across assigned revenue streams.

Donor Pipeline

Number and quality of active prospects, donor visits, solicitations, renewals, and stewardship touchpoints.

Grant and Proposal Activity

Timely completion of grant applications, reports, proposals, and funder follow-up.