Development Manager in Austin, Texas at Breakthrough Central Texas

About Breakthrough Central Texas

Breakthrough is the leading college access and success nonprofit in Central Texas. For more than 20 years, we have partnered with thousands of middle and high school students who aspire to be the first in their family to graduate with a degree or certificate. We make a radical, long-term commitment to students, to and through college, unlocking the power of education and a lifetime of opportunity. We support the whole student with personalized services, work closely with community partners, campuses, and employers, and advocate for our students with lawmakers. Breakthrough students attend 60+ public schools and persist at nearly 100 colleges and universities. The result is that 55% of Breakthrough students graduate from college, compared to 17% of low-income students in our region. Our work has resulted in more than 550 college graduates, with 4,000 on their way, positively impacting families for generations, our region’s educational access, and the Central Texas economy.

Why Work at Breakthrough Central Texas
By working for Breakthrough Central Texas, you will help hundreds of students achieve their dreams of success and receive the high-quality education they deserve. Breakthrough is an organization committed to its students and recognizes that our greatest resource to support them is our dedicated and talented staff. If you believe all young people deserve the opportunity to achieve postsecondary success and you desire to work at an organization committed to its employees and building the strongest team culture anywhere, then join us!

About the Development Manager

Breakthrough seeks an experienced development professional to strengthen and grow our annual giving program, increasing donor engagement, retention and revenue to support our expanding impact across Central Texas. This role is responsible for executing high-quality, multi-channel fundraising strategies that build meaningful donor relationships and convert engagement into sustained philanthropic investment. As a key member of the Development & Communications team, the Development Manager plays a critical role in advancing organizational fundraising goals and ensuring the resources needed to support student success. We are looking for an organized, results-oriented self-starter who thrives in a high-performing team environment and is motivated to contribute to a transformational mission.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Annual Giving

• Collaborate with staff and volunteers to manage annual giving initiatives including giving days, end-of-year fundraising, and the monthly recurring giving program. Develop content, generate lists, execute segmentation, lead multi-channel outreach efforts, and track results.
• Manage strategies for donor retention, renewal, reactivation, and upgrade across annual giving programs, using donor insights and campaign performance data to increase participation and revenue.
• Monitor and report on annual giving performance against revenue, participation, retention, and recurring giving goals, recommending strategies for improvement as needed.
• Track notes, engagement, interests and preferences in donor database.

Donor Stewardship

• Lead execution of donor standards of service and stewardship initiatives including but not limited to writing acknowledgements and implementing workflows for specific donor segments.
• Lead stewardship projects including but not limited to sharing the student yearbook, student encouragement notes, and event invitations.

Event Coordination

• Manage communications and logistics for fundraising and stewardship events, including the planning and execution of Breakthrough’s signature Benefit Concert, in coordination with the Development and Communications team and other Breakthrough staff.

Supervision

• Supervise the Development Associate.
• Provide oversight of development operations, including data fidelity, gift processing, donor acknowledgement timelines, list and data generations, reporting, and workflow management.

Other Responsibilities

• Collaborate regularly with all team members to ensure successful execution of all development strategies.
• Actively learn about Breakthrough’s programs and effectively communicate mission and priorities to donors.
• Perform other job-related duties as assigned.

ABOUT YOU

You are a mission-driven champion committed to advancing educational equity and supporting students on their path to becoming first-generation college graduates. A strong, detail-oriented self-starter, you bring a track record of executing effective fundraising strategies. You thrive in a collaborative, high-performing team environment, communicate with clarity and inclusivity, and approach your work with curiosity, adaptability, and a commitment to continuous improvement. You take initiative, manage multiple priorities with care and precision, and bring creativity and resourcefulness to solving challenges and advancing ambitious goals. You also bring experience and demonstrated capacity in the following areas:

• Fundraising: 3+ years of direct experience in nonprofit fundraising, including demonstrated skill and expertise in role-specific fundraising functions such as annual giving, direct mail, stewardship, campaign execution, and event management to achieve revenue goals. Working knowledge of fundraising principles and ability to apply fundraising practices in alignment with the ethical standards. Approach fundraising with a strategic, responsive, community-centered mindset, using data, sound judgment, and relationship insights to inform decisions and strengthen overall effectiveness. Proficient with donor databases (Virtuous CRM preferred), event software, Microsoft Office and Google Workspace; comfortable learning and adopting new technologies to enhance efficiency and donor engagement.
• Inclusive Communication and Storytelling: Exceptional written and verbal communication skills that adhere to brand and messaging standards for internal coordination and collateral, external outreach, donor engagement, speaker preparation, and ethical story telling. Effectively engage donors and stakeholders in the organization’s mission and impact. Demonstrate confidence and effectiveness across a full range of donor communication channels, including phone, in-person conversations, email, and direct mail.
• Campaign Design and Execution: Lead the planning and implementation of fundraising campaigns of varying scale for a variety of audiences and platforms. Lead the planning and implementation of signature efforts such as Benefit Concert, end-of-year giving, and Amplify Austin, to drive donor engagement, retention, acquisition, and revenue growth.
• Organization & Planning Abilities: Able to manage multiple projects, meet deadlines, capture data and needed documentation, and handle complex administrative and event planning tasks, engaging staff and volunteers as needed to achieve outcomes. Proactively develop and implement systems, timelines, and workflows that support team efficiency and accountability, while anticipating needs and adjusting priorities to advance fundraising goals and campaign success.
• Board Member, Donor, and Stakeholder Stewardship: Effectively support and steward mission-critical stakeholders through consistent, high-quality engagement, including responsive donor relations for annual (core) donors and strategic cultivation of key philanthropic partners.
• Student-Centered Impact Orientation: Demonstrate dedication to supporting all students’ growth and postsecondary success by setting and achieving ambitious, measurable goals. Commitment to aligning fundraising strategy with measurable outcomes that support student success.
• Inclusive Communication: Operate with cultural humility and demonstrates written, verbal, and digital communication skills in 1:1, small group, and whole group settings, that foster an inclusive environment and effectively engage diverse audiences, including colleagues, students, families, alumni, volunteers, board members, community partners, donors, and other key stakeholders.
• Relationship Building: Build trusting, effective relationships that enable collaboration, authentic partnership, and shared success across colleagues, students, families, alumni, volunteers, board members, community partners, donors, and other key stakeholders. Demonstrate a clear commitment to fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work culture, embedding inclusive practices across all fundraising and stewardship efforts.
• Continuous Learning and Improvement: Embrace and apply feedback, demonstrate curiosity and a growth mindset, and pursue opportunities to strengthen individual and team performance. Bring self-awareness and humility by recognizing personal strengths, growth areas, and positionality, while actively supporting continuous learning and development. Actively seek out and leverage professional development opportunities to enhance skills, stay current with best practices, and contribute to team and organizational effectiveness.
• Prioritization and Resourcefulness: Effectively put time and effort where it is needed most, ask for help, maximize networks and resources, and envision innovative pathways for reaching outcomes. Manage complexity. Take initiative as a self-starter, stepping in where needed and contributing effectively within a high-performing team environment. Share knowledge and skills generously while maintaining the judgment to seek input and support when it will strengthen outcomes. Bring forward new ideas, adopt innovative approaches, and leverage technology to enhance team efficiency and impact.
• Talent Development: Coach, provide effective feedback and training, and support the Development Associate to set priorities, build skills, meet goals, and grow toward professional aims. Provide proactive guidance and leadership by setting clear expectations, modeling best practices, and fostering a supportive environment that encourages accountability and continuous growth.

REPORTING RELATIONSHIPS

The Development Manager is a full-time position that reports to the Senior Director of Development. This role supervises the Development Associate.

LOCATION

Hybrid position requiring in-office collaboration at least 3 days per week.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

• Competitive annual salary between $66,000-$84,000, depending on experience and qualifications
• Health, dental and vision insurance (Breakthrough pays 100% of employee premiums)
• Life insurance
• Matching 401K retirement plan
• Thirty days of PTO annually, with immediate accrual, recognizing that staff have lives outside of work
• Additional leave benefits, including company holidays and FMLA eligibility (varies by year)

Breakthrough Central Texas is committed to a policy of equal treatment and opportunity in every aspect of its relations with its applicants, staff members, and families, without regard to race, color, ethnicity, religion, gender identity and gender expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, marital status, military status, pregnancy, or parenthood. People of diverse backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply.