Education is more than a basic right – it's essential to our ability to thrive. However, life's challenges can often stand in the way through no fault of our own. We believe that every student deserves access to holistic and wraparound care. Eastside Academy was created as a refuge and place of growth for high school students who may not fit the mold of traditional schools. We are different by design. Our unique and innovative approach to student life reaches beyond traditional education models. We provide an individualized education plan and holistic counseling to all students. Through our housing program, we can provide a safe and stable home environment for students with greater needs.

Director of Development

Location: Bellevue, Washington

Reports to: Executive Director

Status: Full-time, exempt

Salary: $90,000 - $120,000

Because belief requires backing

Eastside Academy believes deeply in the potential of every student. Sustaining that mission requires trusted relationships, generous partners, and a disciplined fundraising program capable of turning generosity into lasting impact.

We are seeking a Director of Development to lead that work.

At Eastside Academy, fundraising begins with gratitude. We believe generosity grows through authentic relationships and meaningful connections to students, our mission, and the impact donors make possible.

The Director of Development will lead the Advancement Team, own EA’s day-to-day fundraising performance, steward significant donor relationships, and build the systems and team capacity needed for long-term financial sustainability.

This is a role for a relationally intelligent and results-oriented leader who can balance people and performance—someone who builds trust naturally and brings the focus, persistence, and organizational discipline required to move fundraising opportunities into meaningful philanthropic partnerships.

About Eastside Academy

Eastside Academy is a nonprofit alternative high school and support program in Bellevue, Washington. Our mission is to inspire change in the lives of youth through high school education, counseling, recovery, housing, and life skills in a Christ-centered environment.

Our students often come to Eastside Academy after not finding meaning, value, or success in traditional school settings. We walk alongside students and families through an integrated model of education, mental health care, and relational support that helps young people rediscover hope, purpose, and the possibility of a different future.

What winning looks like

The Director of Development builds a fundraising function that generates strong revenue, deepens donor trust, develops capable people, and becomes increasingly disciplined and sustainable over time.

Success means:

• Fundraising performance is strong, increasingly predictable, and supported by a healthy pipeline.
• Significant donors experience authentic partnership, thoughtful stewardship, and meaningful opportunities to deepen their investment in EA.
• Fundraising plans, portfolios, forecasts, data, calendars, and operating rhythms provide clarity and continuity.
• Advancement staff understand what they own, execute their responsibilities well, and grow in capability and autonomy.
• Donors consistently experience gratitude, responsiveness, trust, and a meaningful connection to the impact of their generosity.
• EA develops both the resources needed today and the Advancement capacity required for its future.

What you will lead

Fundraising Strategy + Performance

Develop and lead EA’s annual fundraising plan, own philanthropic revenue goals, and maintain reliable visibility into revenue performance, forecasts, and pipeline health. Establish clear strategies and activity expectations for the Advancement Team, identify opportunities to strengthen and diversify revenue, and respond early to emerging risks and opportunities.

Major Donor Development + Stewardship

Manage an assigned portfolio of significant donors and prospects. Develop thoughtful cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies; conduct meaningful donor conversations; maintain clear next steps; and ensure consistent follow-through. Partner with the Executive Director on transformational relationships and significant solicitations.

Advancement Systems + Operations

Build the systems, rhythms, information, and accountability that allow Advancement to operate as a coordinated and sustainable function. Maintain the annual fundraising calendar, donor portfolios, forecasts, relationship information, performance measures, and cross-functional Advancement projects. Strengthen processes so fundraising effectiveness does not depend on individual staff knowledge.

Team Leadership + Development

Lead, coach, and develop the Advancement Team. Establish clear priorities, responsibilities, expectations, and decision ownership. Create consistent rhythms for individual coaching, team accountability, performance, and professional development. Monitor team capacity, remove barriers, and increasingly delegate meaningful ownership.

Donor Experience + Organizational Stewardship

Champion EA’s gratitude-first approach to fundraising. Ensure gifts are acknowledged promptly, stewardship is consistent, and donors receive meaningful communication about student and organizational impact. Partner across EA to translate our work into compelling and authentic donor communication that strengthens trust and long-term partnership.

Leadership and decision-making

The Director of Development owns the day-to-day leadership, execution, and performance of Eastside Academy’s Development function.

The Director has authority to:

• Establish and execute annual fundraising plans, priorities, and team rhythms within EA’s approved strategy and budget.
• Assign donor portfolios, fundraising responsibilities, and Advancement Team ownership.
• Determine cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies for assigned relationships.
• Establish Advancement workflows, reporting rhythms, performance expectations, and operating practices.
• Direct and evaluate assigned staff and adjust priorities based on performance and capacity.
• Coordinate fundraising campaigns, appeals, donor communications, and stewardship efforts.

The Director partners closely with the Executive Director on fundraising strategy, transformational donor relationships, major solicitations, organizational priorities, and the health of the Advancement Team. Decisions with significant financial, staffing, strategic, or reputational implications are made with or escalated to the Executive Director.

What you bring

We care less about whether your experience follows a particular timeline and more about what you have successfully led, built, and achieved.

The strongest candidates will demonstrate:

• Fundraising Leadership: You have developed and implemented fundraising strategies that generated meaningful philanthropic revenue.
• Major Donor Development: You can cultivate authentic relationships, understand donor interests, make clear invitations, and steward partnerships over time.
• Ownership + Results: You accept responsibility for fundraising performance, act without waiting to be directed, and adjust your approach when results or evidence require it.
• Tenacity: You follow relationships and opportunities consistently without becoming transactional or losing sight of the person behind the gift.
• Organizational Discipline: You establish clear plans, maintain accurate information, follow through, and keep complex fundraising work moving.
• People Leadership: You create clarity, coach effectively, establish accountability, delegate meaningful ownership, and develop the capability of others.
• Strategic Judgment: You connect daily fundraising activity to broader revenue needs, organizational priorities, donor relationships, and long-term sustainability.
• Communication: You can translate EA’s mission, student impact, organizational needs, and future direction into compelling and authentic donor communication.
• Emotional Maturity: You remain grounded amid rejection, uncertainty, financial pressure, and difficult conversations.
• Integrity + Discretion: You handle donor relationships, financial information, student stories, and organizational matters with exceptional care and trustworthiness.
• Mission Alignment: You understand and communicate Eastside Academy’s mission with authenticity and conviction and align with EA’s values, relational commitments, and Christ-centered identity.

Relevant experience may come from nonprofit development, major gifts, institutional advancement, philanthropic partnerships, donor relations, or another setting requiring both relationship development and revenue accountability.

Experience leading an Advancement team, managing a major-donor portfolio, using donor-management systems, partnering with executive or Board leadership, or fundraising in a school or youth-serving organization would be especially valuable.

You do not need to meet every preferred qualification to apply. If you can demonstrate that you have built trusted donor relationships, led people and systems, and produced meaningful fundraising results, we would like to hear from you.

Compensation and benefits

Salary: [Insert salary range], depending on relevant experience, demonstrated capability, and qualifications.

Eastside Academy offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes:

• EA-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees
• A flexible spending account
• An employer-sponsored 403(b) retirement plan
• EA-paid life insurance
• Two weeks of paid time off
• Paid holidays and school breaks
• Sick and safe time, along with additional leave benefits
• Professional-development support
• An Employee Assistance Program

Eligibility requirements and the terms of the applicable benefit plans govern coverage.

Other compensation: [Describe any additional compensation offered, or state that no additional compensation is currently anticipated.]

How to apply

Please submit a résumé and cover letter.

In your cover letter, tell us what draws you to Eastside Academy’s mission and how your experience has prepared you to build trusted donor relationships, lead a Development team, and create a sustainable fundraising program.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.