Development Director at Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans – Saint Paul, Minnesota

About MACV

Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans (MACV) is a statewide nonprofit organization committed to ending veteran homelessness in Minnesota. With a team of approximately 115 dedicated staff, an annual operating budget of $21 million, and a portfolio of 230+ housing units, MACV provides comprehensive services that support stability, housing, and long term success for veterans and their families.

Approximately 75% of MACV’s funding comes from federal and state government grants, supplemented by a broad and growing base of philanthropic support from individuals, corporations, and foundations. As MACV continues to evolve services and meet rising demand, strategic development leadership is essential to fulfilling and sustaining our mission.

Position Summary

The Development Director is a senior leadership role responsible for designing, leading, and implementing MACV’s statewide development and communications strategy. Reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer (COO), this position oversees all fundraising, marketing, and communications activities that advance MACV’s mission and brand presence. The focus of this role is intended to be on fundraising strategies and building direct relationships with individuals and institutions to advance philanthropic support of our mission.

This role supervises the Marketing and Public Relations Coordinator, Grants Manager, and a portfolio of contracted marketing and public relations partners. The Development Director will guide MACV’s philanthropic growth, accelerate major gifts efforts, and ensure compelling communication of MACV’s impact across Minnesota.

The ideal candidate is a mission-driven, strategic, and relationship-oriented leader with experience in both fundraising and communications—capable of elevating MACV’s visibility and strengthening diversified revenue streams. This position does have occasional travel expectations and requirements to attend events or meetings outside of normal business hours.

Why Join MACV?

• Play a key leadership role in a respected, mission-driven organization.
• Lead philanthropic growth for a statewide nonprofit with ambitious goals.
• Contribute directly to ending veteran homelessness in Minnesota.
• Collaborate with passionate professionals dedicated to service, equity, and community impact.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• Develop and execute a comprehensive annual and long-term development strategy aligned with organizational goals.
• Partner with executive leadership to expand philanthropic revenue and reduce reliance on government funding.
• Lead cross departmental collaboration to ensure consistency of messaging, brand alignment, and donor-centered communications.

Major Gifts & Donor Relations

• Build and manage a portfolio of major donors and prospects, driving meaningful relationships that result in transformational investments.
• Directly engage with individual major donors, build and sustain relationships generate new philanthropic support opportunities that align with the needs of the organization.
• Lead strategies for donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship across individual, corporate, and foundation supporters.
• Support board members and senior leaders in donor engagement activities.

Grants & Institutional Funding

• Supervise the Grants Manager and ensure timely, high-quality proposal development, submission, and reporting.
• Build relationships with key institutional funders to advance their support of MACV programs.
• Identify new prospective opportunities for grant funding through research and networking.
• Partner with program and finance teams to align funding opportunities with organizational priorities.

Communications & Public Relations

• Oversee marketing, communications, and public relations efforts, including supervision of marketing and public relations coordinator position and contracted partners.
• Provide leadership of communications function to ensure clear and compelling storytelling, conveys MACV’s impact, promotes community awareness, and connects to broader development and organizational priorities.

Team & Operations Management

• Provide leadership, coaching, and performance oversight to the development and communications team.
• Manage departmental budget, forecasting, and resource allocation.
• Oversee CRM and donor management systems to support data driven decision making.

Organizational Advancement

• Represent MACV at community events, fundraising activities, and stakeholder meetings, which can occasionally involve travel or occur outside of normal business hours.
• Cultivate collaborative relationships with community organizations, veterans’ groups, and government agencies.
• Support MACV’s capital needs strategy tied to its 230+ housing units and ongoing real estate initiatives.

Required:

• 7+ years of progressive experience in nonprofit fundraising, development, communications, or related fields.
• Proven success leading major gift strategies and managing donor portfolios.
• Experience overseeing communications or marketing functions.
• Strong leadership, team management and supervision experience.
• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication abilities.
• Demonstrated ability to develop strategic plans, meet financial goals, and steward donor relationships.
• Ability to travel and occasionally work outside of normal business hours for events and donor engagements.

Preferred:

• Experience working with veteran services, housing/homelessness, or human services organizations.
• Knowledge of government-funded nonprofit environments.
• Familiarity with donor CRM systems and data management best practices.