Moms First is a national nonprofit leading the fight for America's moms. Founded by Reshma Saujani in 2021, we're driven by the belief that motherhood is the unfinished business of gender equality. Today, our community of 1.5 million moms and supporters is fighting for a world where mothers are valued and supported in our workplaces, communities, and culture.

Fueling that fight requires bold, strategic fundraising — and we're looking for the leader to drive it. This is a unique opportunity to work directly alongside Reshma, our CEO and lead fundraiser, as her closest strategic partner in growing and sustaining the resources behind our mission.

You'll lead a lean, three-person development team: you, a capable Development Manager, and Reshma, to whom you'll report directly. You'll build on a strong foundation of relationships across foundations, corporations, and individual donors, supported by an established pipeline in Salesforce. Your mandate is to sharpen our fundraising strategy, cultivate new opportunities, strengthen donor relationships, craft compelling pitches, and personally drive gifts across the finish line.

You'll be both the architect and the builder of our fundraising strategy. That means thinking several years ahead while staying close to the work happening today, from identifying new prospects and strengthening our pipeline to preparing Reshma for major donor conversations and closing gifts yourself. We're looking for someone who doesn't just develop a plan, but takes ownership of making it happen.

If you've been the person who turns a visionary leader's ideas into results—whether as a chief of staff, a partnerships or business development lead, or a development leader at an early or growth stage organization—we want to hear from you.

Why this role matters

Moms are one of the most overlooked causes in philanthropy, and that's the opportunity. Few funders have a strategy for moms today. The person in this role will help define what investing in moms looks like for foundations, companies, and individual donors.

The work is already moving and our next stage of growth depends on bringing in new kinds of funders: companies that care about their workforce, funders focused on economic mobility, the care economy, or the future of work, and individual donors who've never been asked to invest in moms. If you want your fundraising to help open up a field, not just meet a budget, this is the job.

What success looks like in your first year

• A sharper pipeline. Our Salesforce pipeline across foundations, corporations, and individuals is accurate by stage and likelihood, and it produces a forecast Reshma and leadership rely on.

• Reshma's time goes further. You've built a rhythm for briefing, prep, and follow-up, so every meeting she takes has a clear ask and a next step, and no warm lead goes cold.

• New sources of revenue. You've secured new funding for our narrative-change work, or opened a funder category Moms First hasn't tapped before.

• Deeper institutional partnerships. Our key foundation and institutional funders are renewing at larger or multi-year commitments, and you've brought new institutions into the portfolio.

• A stronger individual giving program. You've refined how we engage major individual donors, through giving circles, the Advisory Council, and 1:1 cultivation, and gifts are growing.

• Corporate partnerships that scale. Our sponsorship offerings for events and campaigns are easier for partners to say yes to, and more partners renew.

• A stronger team. The Development Manager has clear goals, is growing, and owns more of the function than when you arrived.

What you'll do

Set the strategy

• Partner with the CEO to set fundraising goals, a revenue forecast, and a multi-year development plan, then adjust them as opportunities open up.

• Track the funding landscape and spot where new money is moving toward moms, caregiving, and economic opportunity.

• Own the development budget and report progress to the CEO and senior leadership.

Grow and work the pipeline

• Own a data-informed pipeline across foundations, corporations, high-net-worth individuals, and grassroots donors, with Salesforce as the system of record.

• Cultivate, solicit, and close gifts yourself, especially with institutional funders and corporate partners.

• Turn a name and a hunch from Reshma into a researched prospect, a plan, and a meeting within days.

Make the CEO and the case more powerful

• Prepare Reshma for discovery and pitch meetings with C-suite executives, foundation leaders, and major donors, and own the follow-up.

• Shape the pitch materials, proposals, and reports that make the case for investing in moms, and approve what goes out the door.

• Keep donors connected to the impact of their investments.

Build the team and the systems

• Manage and coach the Development Manager as a player-coach, in the work alongside them.

• Build the processes, metrics, and tools that let a two-person team raise like a much larger one.

• Work across the organization so fundraising reflects our narrative and program priorities.

You bring

• 10+ years driving revenue or growth at mission-driven organizations, with real time close to fundraising. That might be as a development leader, a chief of staff, a partnerships or business development lead, or a growth leader who worked hand in hand with fundraisers.

• A record of landing six- and seven-figure gifts or partnerships. Maybe you made the ask, or maybe you designed the strategy, built the pitch, and prepared the executive who did. Either way, you're ready to own the close.

• Proof that you've built something from scratch: a function, a program, a revenue line. You can tell us what existed before you and what existed after.

• The range to move between strategy and execution in the same day, and to enjoy both.

• Experience as a trusted operator to a fast-moving, visionary leader. You can spar with them, translate big ideas into plans, and then make the plans happen.

• Comfort with ambiguity and speed. Handed a name and "figure it out," you have a plan within 48 hours.

• Fluency with pipeline and data. Salesforce or a comparable CRM is second nature.

• Experience managing and developing at least one direct report.

• Humility, a low ego, and a real commitment to Moms First's mission and to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Nice to have, not required

• Experience with individual major donors, giving circles, or advisory councils

• Corporate sponsorships tied to events or campaigns

• Experience in advocacy, policy, or narrative-change organizations

This may not be the right fit if you need a large team, dedicated prospect researchers, or grant writers to do your best work. We're a lean operation, and you'll need to be resourceful, hands-on, and excited to build the infrastructure as we grow.

Where and how we work

• Location: This role is a hybrid role based in New York City. You will be in office 2-3 times per week and should expect to travel for meetings or events once every six weeks.