Director of Development

As the world’s leading animal photojournalism agency, We Animals (WA) advocates for animals through photojournalism. Our global investigations and stories expose our complex relationships with animals, create ethical and cultural shifts in society, and empower human capacity for compassion and change. To support our mission, we investigate industries, mentor photographers, operate a stock site to share our visual content, and engage with media and NGO partners to shift attitudes, industries, and policy.

We are seeking a Director of Development to lead and grow our fundraising program. This is a senior leadership role responsible for building upon and evolving our fundraising strategy, driving revenue, stewarding donor relationships, and maintaining the systems required to sustain and scale our work.

This role is both strategic and hands-on. The Director will set direction and lead execution, while also carrying out day-to-day fundraising activities, including donor stewardship, campaign delivery, reporting, grant coordination, CRM oversight, and fundraising administration.

As an ideal candidate for this role, you:  

• Have experience leading fundraising programs that include individual giving, major gifts, grants, and institutional funding
• Can operate at both a strategic and executional level, setting direction while also delivering on campaigns, donor communications, stewardship, reporting, and fundraising administration
• Have a strong understanding of donor retention, donor journeys, stewardship, segmentation, and relationship-based fundraising
• Have a keen interest in the evolving nature of fundraising tactics and tools, including the use of AI, and adapt accordingly
• Know how to reach and connect with external partners, grantors, and supporters
• Can coordinate complex fundraising work across communications, campaigns, donor data, and relationship-building
• Take ownership of outcomes, including revenue targets, campaign performance, donor retention, and long-term fundraising growth
• Are comfortable working in a mid-sized, evolving organization

Mission Alignment: This role requires more than technical skill; it requires deep philosophical alignment. We Animals is dedicated to ending the use of animals by humans—whether for food, fashion, entertainment, experimentation, or tradition. Please read our Mission, Values, and Purpose carefully before applying to ensure this is the right fit for your professional and personal ethics.

We Animals is in a period of growth and transition. We are moving from a founder-led fundraising model toward a more holistic approach to revenue generation. We Animals is a federally incorporated Canadian nonprofit with an annual budget of approximately $1.8M CAD and 14 staff members, or approximately 12.5 FTE.

The Director of Development owns fundraising strategy, revenue performance, donor stewardship, fundraising systems, and the processes required to support long-term, sustainable growth.

You will work closely with the Executive Director on organizational priorities, grant strategy, revenue planning, and high-level donor relationships. In partnership with the Director of Marketing & Communications, you will align fundraising and storytelling. You will also collaborate with the Founder & President on messaging, outreach, donor cultivation, and key donor relationships.

The Director of Development will manage the full fundraising portfolio, including fundraising campaigns, revenue strategy, donor stewardship, donor communications, and internal systems. We recognize that, as fundraising systems mature and revenue opportunities grow, additional support may be needed to ensure the Director has the capacity to lead strategy while maintaining strong execution across campaigns, grants, donor stewardship, and systems.

This role is well-suited to someone who enjoys building structure, keeping up with current tools and trends, improving operational systems, stewarding donors with care, and taking ownership of fundraising in a growing organization.

Strategic Leadership & Fundraising Planning (25%)

• Develop and lead the annual fundraising strategy, which has a current annual revenue target of $1.7M CAD, with clear KPIs across individual giving, monthly giving, major gifts, grants, and institutional funding
• Own revenue forecasting, pipeline development, donor retention planning, and performance tracking
• Partner with the Executive Director to align fundraising priorities with organizational strategy
• Set annual fundraising KPIs and track progress against revenue, retention, donor growth, campaign, and stewardship goals
• Lead campaign planning across the year, including year-end, monthly-giving campaigns, lead generation campaigns, annual matching campaigns, legacy giving initiatives, and special appeals
• Co-develop and maintain donor journey mapping, including audience personas, key touchpoints, stewardship activities, and integration with digital giving platforms
• Analyze data from fundraising platforms, email platforms, donor surveys, digital advertising, CRM records, and campaign results to inform improvements
• Report monthly to the Executive Director and quarterly to the Board on revenue performance, pipeline health, donor trends, and campaign results

Campaign Leadership & Fundraising Communications (20%)

• Lead fundraising campaigns from planning through execution, including creative and authentic messaging, segmentation, timelines, donor journeys, and performance tracking
• Write and review key fundraising materials, including appeals, donor emails, campaign briefs, stewardship communications, donor newsletters, year-in-review materials, and special donor updates
• Ensure fundraising materials are aligned with the We Animals voice, tone, values, and brand
• Work closely with Marketing & Communications to integrate fundraising communications into shared planning, content workflows, website updates, and outreach calendars
• Lead the planning, creation, and delivery of donor-specific communications, including newsletters, annual print mailouts, thank-you campaigns, stewardship updates, and special appeals
• Ensure fundraising information is current and accurate on the We Animals website, donation pages, and digital giving platforms
• Continuously assess and improve campaign performance based on results, donor behaviour, and fundraising best practices

Donor Stewardship, Retention & Major Gifts (25%)

• Set and execute overall donor strategy, including segmentation, stewardship, retention, reactivation, upgrading, and donor pipeline growth
• Develop annual stewardship initiatives for monthly donors, one-time donors, major donors, legacy donors, lapsed donors, and new supporters
• Work alongside the Founder & President to communicate with, cultivate, and maintain strong relationships with current and prospective donors
• Identify and support major donor opportunities in partnership with the Founder & President and Executive Director
• Proactively coordinate meetings and touchpoints with current and prospective major donors, including opportunities connected to travel, events, campaigns, and organizational milestones
• Build and maintain donor stewardship practices that recognize donors’ compassionate choice to support work on behalf of animals
• Engage new supporters after their first donation and identify opportunities to move supporters along the donor journey
• Communicate with lapsed donors where appropriate to better understand giving patterns and reasons for no longer giving
• Lead periodic donor surveys to better understand donor demographics, interests, motivations, and communications preferences
• Oversee donor recognition activities, including thank-you notes, donor updates, holiday cards, special gifts, and print mailings as needed

Grants & Institutional Funding (15%)

• Set direction for foundation and institutional funding
• Work closely with the Executive Director on proposal development, grant strategy, submission processes, and funder communications
• Maintain a clear grant pipeline and calendar
• Ensure reporting requirements are met and funder relationships are maintained
• Coordinate with fiscal sponsors for large international gifts and institutional funding where required
• Submit documentation, reports, and correspondence related to grants, sponsorships, and institutional gifts
• Track grant deliverables, restrictions, reporting deadlines, and renewal opportunities

Systems, Data, Platforms & Administration (15%)

• Oversee CRM integrity and effective use of fundraising systems
• Maintain accurate and timely records of donor interactions, giving history, preferences, segmentation, and stewardship activity
• Oversee digital fundraising platforms, donor database workflows, gift processing systems, and donor records
• Ensure donor preferences, payment details, giving status, and contact information are accurate and up to date
• Monitor payment portals and donation platforms for lapsed payments, failed payments, cancellations, and donor follow-up needs
• Oversee PayPal, Patreon, Aeroplan giving, legacy giving, and other giving programs as applicable
• Research and implement best practices for digital fundraising platforms and donor data workflows
• Maintain email audience segments, donor tags, and fundraising lists in coordination with communications systems
• Respond to donor and prospective donor inquiries
• Coordinate fundraising mailings, documentation, thank-you materials, donor correspondence, and campaign administration
• Improve internal processes related to donor tracking, reporting, stewardship, data hygiene, and campaign workflows
• Use tools such as Keela, FundraiseUp, Asana, Google Workspace, and other fundraising platforms effectively

Note: These percentage breakdowns are general and may vary by time of year and the organization’s specific needs. 

• Values alignment: a demonstrable understanding of, and commitment to, our organizational philosophy regarding animal advocacy. You must be comfortable working in an environment that challenges the status quo of human-animal relationships.
• Demonstrated ability to work remotely effectively
• Ability to travel once per year, minimum, for our annual team retreat and/or conferences
• Strong assets:
  • An understanding of animal advocacy and/or photojournalism
  • Familiarity with the animal advocacy giving landscape
  • Interest in and experience with AI tools in the nonprofit/fundraising sectors

• Flexible hours
• Remote work
• Three weeks’ paid vacation (prorated based on hours worked) plus an extended holiday closure period
• Benefits package
• Remote work stipend
• Paid training opportunities and professional development allowance
• A friendly, funny, talented, and caring team

We are a federally incorporated non-profit based in Toronto, Canada. We are a small (14 staff members (~12.5 FTE), fully remote team distributed across different time zones in North America and Europe. We offer a flexible working schedule, professional development opportunities, and operate with autonomy to support diverse needs and working styles.

If you’d like to apply for this position, please complete this form by Tuesday, July 21, 5 PM ET. Interviews will be held on an ongoing basis until a qualified candidate is found.

Mostly qualified? Please read this!
If you meet most, but not all, requirements and still think you would be a great fit for the role, we encourage you to apply and let us know how we can support you. We encourage individuals from all backgrounds to apply, particularly those from underrepresented groups. We value diversity and believe that work on behalf of animals benefits significantly from collaborating with people from all backgrounds and identities. Accommodations are available during the screening process upon request.

Screening process (subject to minor adjustments):

• Application form
• Skills assessment
• Interview 1
• Interview 2
• TBD: final conversation with director team &/or board members
• Reference check