Summary

Description

About the Colorado Mountain Club (CMC)

The Colorado Mountain Club (CMC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting adventure, recreation, conservation, and education in the outdoors. Founded in 1912, CMC provides access to year-round activities, events, and schools tailored to a wide range of outdoor enthusiasts, from novices to experts. With over 6,000 members, CMC facilitates more than 3,000 trips annually and offers 250+ courses, fostering a dynamic community of adventure seekers and conservationists. The club serves a diverse population, including 7,000 K-12 students through youth programs across Colorado.

Position Overview

The Colorado Mountain Club is seeking a Development Director to lead the next phase of growth and evolution of our fundraising program. This position represents an opportunity to build the foundation for long-term philanthropic success by strengthening donor relationships, improving development systems, and creating a clear pathway for members and supporters to become increasingly engaged with CMC.
The Development Director will serve as the organization's fundraising leader, responsible for developing and executing strategies that increase annual giving, expand major donor relationships, strengthen institutional partnerships, and position CMC for future campaign and legacy giving opportunities. This role is not simply focused on hitting annual revenue targets. It is focused on building a stronger culture of engagement and philanthropy among the thousands of individuals who already connect with CMC through membership, recreation, education, volunteerism, and conservation.
The successful candidate will help transform CMC's development efforts from a transactional fundraising approach into a relationship-based advancement model, creating systems and strategies that move individuals along a lifelong journey from public audience, to CMC member, donor, loyal supporter, and major or legacy donor. The Development Director will report directly to the CEO, serve as a member of the senior leadership team, and work closely with the Board of Directors and Development Committee. Over time, this role may evolve into broader advancement leadership as CMC continues to align development, membership, communications, and community engagement efforts.

Key Competencies

Development Strategy & Fundraising Leadership

Execute a multi-year fundraising strategy aligned with CMC's organizational priorities around donor retention and progression.
Build and manage a comprehensive fundraising program spanning individual annual giving, major gifts, planned giving, foundation support, corporate partnerships, and event engagement.
Establish clear fundraising systems, processes, and performance metrics to support sustainable growth.
Create strategies to increase donor retention, second gifts, recurring giving, and long-term donor loyalty.
Partner with the CEO, Board members, and staff leadership on donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies.

Development Operations & Infrastructure

Strengthen development systems, policies, and processes to support effective fundraising operations.
Manage and improve data quality, reporting, and relationship management practices within Salesforce and other development systems.
Establish consistent practices for gift tracking, donor communications, stewardship, and reporting.
Partner with finance and operations staff to ensure accurate gift processing, reporting, reconciliation, and accountability.
Create dashboards, reports, and internal tools that help leadership understand fundraising performance and donor pipeline progress.

Donor Engagement & Relationship Building

Build authentic relationships with members, volunteers, donors, foundation program officers, corporate partners, and community supporters.
Manage a donor pipeline through research, identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
Create meaningful engagement opportunities including donor cultivation events, outdoor experiences, stewardship activities, and personalized outreach.
Serve as a visible ambassador for CMC within Colorado's outdoor community and philanthropic landscape.
Develop personalized donor strategies that strengthen connection to CMC's mission, programs, conservation work, education, and community impact.

Community Engagement & Organizational Collaboration

Work collaboratively with membership and communications staff to create a unified approach to member engagement and donor development.
Help build an integrated community engagement strategy that strengthens the connection between participation, belonging, and philanthropy.
Collaborate on communications, campaigns, events, and storytelling that demonstrate CMC's impact and inspire support.
Support the continued evolution toward an integrated Community Engagement and Advancement model.
Partner across departments to identify donor stories, program outcomes, volunteer experiences, and member journeys that communicate CMC's value and impact.

Institutional Partnership Management

Identify, cultivate, and steward relationships with foundations, corporations, and other community partners.
Manage foundation grant strategy, proposals, reports, and relationship development.
Cultivate existing corporate partnerships and renew lapsed partners that align with CMC's mission, membership community, and outdoor industry relationships.
Develop sponsorship, grant, and partnership strategies that support CMC programs, events, conservation initiatives, education, and organizational sustainability.
Maintain clear records of institutional deadlines, deliverables, reports, contacts, and relationship history.

Board, CEO & Leadership Partnership

Serve as the primary staff partner to the CEO on fundraising strategy, donor priorities, and development planning.
Support the Board of Directors and Development Committee with donor engagement strategy, fundraising materials, reports, and meeting preparation.
Prepare leadership briefings, donor profiles, solicitation plans, stewardship updates, and campaign materials as needed.
Help build shared accountability for philanthropy across board, staff, volunteers, members, and community partners.

Success in This Role Will Include

Within the first 12-24 months, the Development Director will:

Establish a clear development strategy and operating rhythm.
Improve donor data quality, reporting, and fundraising processes.
Increase engagement and retention among current donors and members.
Build a stronger pipeline of individual and institutional supporters.
Develop stronger relationships with key donors and prospects.
Create a sustainable foundation for future major giving, planned giving, and campaign readiness.

Experience & Qualifications

The ideal candidate will be a relationship-focused fundraising professional who combines strategic thinking with the ability to execute. They will enjoy simultaneously building systems, engaging people, and creating meaningful connections between individuals and CMC's mission.
CMC recognizes that strong candidates may bring different combinations of experiences and skills. If you are excited about this opportunity and believe you can contribute to our mission, we encourage you to apply even if you do not meet every qualification outlined below. We value diverse career paths and experiences, transferable skills, and a willingness to learn and grow.

Required

5+ years of nonprofit fundraising experience with demonstrated success in individual giving, institutional giving, or relationship-based fundraising.
Experience managing donor relationships, pipeline strategies, and fundraising campaigns.
Proven ability to work collaboratively across teams, as well as with volunteer leadership.
Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
Experience using fundraising databases and CRM systems.
Ability to work independently, prioritize multiple initiatives, and build effective partnerships.
Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
Successful completion of a criminal background check.

Preferred

Experience with Salesforce.
Experience with major gifts, planned giving, or campaign preparation.
Experience working with membership-based organizations or community-driven nonprofits.
Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience.
Passion for outdoor recreation, conservation, and connecting people to the mountains.

Work Environment & Physical Requirements

Work is primarily office-based in Golden, Colorado, with hybrid flexibility available.
Regular in-person collaboration, donor meetings, board or committee meetings, and community engagement activities are expected.
Occasional evenings, weekends, outdoor programs, member events, donor events, and community events are required.
The position requires frequent computer work, donor and partner communications, meetings, presentations, and occasional local travel for cultivation or community engagement.

Compensation

CMC will offer the successful candidate a competitive compensation and benefits package comparable to nonprofit organizations of similar size and scope.
Salary Range: $75,000-$90,000 annually. Benefits include:

Health, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance.
Generous vacation and sick leave.
Employer-matched retirement plan.
Discounts on outdoor gear and CMC technical schools.

Application Process

This search is being managed by the South Franklin Advisory Group. Please submit a resume and cover letter to southfranklinadvisory@gmail.com, and include "CMC Development Director – First Name Last Name" in the subject line.
Top candidates will be contacted for interviews or additional candidate screening. No phone calls please.

Non-Discrimination

Colorado Mountain Club firmly supports the principle and philosophy of equal opportunity for all individuals, regardless of age, race, gender, creed, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other protected category, pursuant to applicable federal, state, or local law.