Position Overview
Bartram’s Garden seeks a full-time Director of Development to oversee all fundraising activities within a strong and successful team. The Director of Development reports to the Chief Advancement & Experience Officer, who previously held this role, and serves the Bartram’s Garden mission through all aspects of contributed income, including both operational and capital fundraising.
As a dynamic and values-driven non-profit, Bartram’s Garden generates roughly $4–5 million in contributed income each year to support ongoing operations, programming, and special projects. The Garden is also in the midst of a multi-year, multi-million-dollar capital campaign to support major campus investments and the organization’s long-term sustainability. In a sign of the organization’s fundraising prowess and strong reputation among regional and local philanthropists, elected officials, and partners, the first phase of the campus plan is projected for completion in 2028—perfectly timed to align with the 300th anniversary of the Garden’s founding.
The Bartram’s Garden Director of Development is responsible for leading and implementing the fundraising programs for Bartram’s Garden with efficiency, a goal-oriented mindset, and clear alignment with both the Garden’s strategic plan and the mission, vision, and values.
Responsibilities:
Fundraising
- Work closely with the Chief Advancement & Experience Officer to plan and oversee all fundraising for the organization, with operational goals of at least $4–$5M annually
- Cultivate, secure, and manage new and renewing sources of support with an emphasis on diversified revenue streams, including grants from private foundations, corporate sponsors, awards from public sources (city, state, and federal), and individual giving, including major and planned gifts
- Play a lead role in developing and implementing the campaign associated with the Garden’s 300th anniversary in 2028, with a focus on advancing the strategic plan and growing the endowment
- Drive the success of longer-term campaigns and project-specific fundraising, including capital investments, by developing cases for support, meeting with or supporting meetings with donors, managing donor stewardship and naming opportunities, and facilitating prospect research
- Oversee the management and coordination of all galas and cultivation events for the organization, including event planning, solicitation of sponsorships from individuals and corporations, and outreach to honorees and stakeholders
Supervision & Department Management
- Oversee, train, and assess the Development Manager, Development Coordinator, and any consultants
- Lead and model effective, timely, and mission-aligned funder stewardship through relationship cultivation, reporting, and other outreach
- Manage and evaluate internal systems, vendors, and tools, such as CRM software and tracking practices
- Support staff from all departments to deepen capacity for fundraising and donor relations as a component of effective public space and program management
- Collaborate with the Advancement & Experience team to ensure that site-wide visitor experience drives increased contributed revenue through strategies such as messaging, signage, staffed interactions, and more
Strategy & Planning
- With input from the Executive Team and Development department, create the annual fundraising plan in coordination with the Garden’s strategic initiatives as well as annual goals
- In coordination with the Development and Finance teams, provide timely and accurate budget projections towards both operating and project-specific goals
- Identify potential barriers and challenges to meeting revenue goals and collaboratively implement strategies to overcome these issues
- Share progress updates in writing and verbally with key stakeholders, including our Board of Trustees, Executive Team, and staff
- Facilitate the Board of Director’s Advancement Committee through preparing agendas and materials, capturing notes and action items, and working closely with the committee chair to advance the board’s engagement in fundraising
- Oversee development and update of policies for gift acceptance, donor recognition, and similar
Qualifications and Requirements
- 7+ years of experience and demonstrated success in non-profit fundraising, with at least some in a leadership role. The ideal candidate will have proven success in securing and managing at least two the following:
- Major individual gifts ($100K+)
- Multi-year foundation support
- State or federal grants
- Planned gifts
- Fundraising campaigns in support of capital investments, endowment growth, or other targeted initiatives
- Demonstrated ability to supervise and manage staff and consultants.
- Excellent communication skills.
- Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to effectively communicate with staff, visitors, and donors from diverse backgrounds in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, class, and religion.
- Strong writing skills with an ability to prepare thought-provoking, compelling, and timely proposals, reports, responses, and pitches on a range of subjects for varying audiences.
- Comfortable engaging stakeholders over the phone, via email, and in person.
- Confident making projections and analyzing data.
- Proficient reading, interpreting, and talking about budgets.
- Experience using a customer relationship management platform to input and track data.
- Organized, detail-driven, and willing to take initiative.
- Exemplary time management skills and able to manage multiple competing priorities and deadlines effectively without close supervision.
- Ability to navigate and assess varied online and technological resources independently.
- Purpose-driven and equity-oriented.
- Familiarity and alignment with the mission of Bartram’s Garden.
- A demonstrated commitment to racial equity and enthusiasm to thoughtfully communicate our mission and work to funders.
- Experience working in communities of color and a commitment to racial, economic, environmental, and social justice.
- Personal or professional familiarity with Southwest Philadelphia is a plus.
- Physically present and capable of minor physical tasks.
- Capacity for occasional evening and weekend responsibilities on-site at Bartram’s Garden in support of board meetings, funder activities, and special events.
- Must be able to lift 30 pounds.
- Must be able to work at a computer and look at a screen for extended periods of time.
Hours and Compensation
This is a is a full-time, non-exempt, year-round position. This role will largely work a typical M–F schedule, with occasional evening and weekend responsibilities in support of special events, funder activities, and Board meetings.
The anticipated start date for this position is January 2027.
This position requires regular on-site work at Bartram’s Garden in Southwest Philadelphia. This position is eligible for occasional remote work at the discretion of the supervisor.
Annual salary is between $80,000–$85,000, depending on experience. Benefits include employer-paid healthcare, dental coverage, short and long-term disability coverage, holidays, vacation, sick time, and professional development opportunities.
To Apply
Email cover letter with resume, three professional references, and two work samples to jobs@bartramsgarden.org, with subject line “Director of Development.” No phone calls or visits, please. Deadline to apply – October 20, 2026
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Finalists will be contacted to interview with the Chief Advancement & Experience Officer and with additional members of the Bartram’s Garden staff between mid-October and early December.
Bartram’s Garden recognizes the value of promoting a diverse workforce. All individuals, including those from historically under-represented groups, are strongly encouraged to apply. In addition, any form of personal or professional connections to Southwest Philadelphia will be considered a plus for all applicants. If desired, applicants are invited to reflect in their cover letter or other written statement on how their professional and lived experiences position them for their requested role.
ABOUT BARTRAM’S GARDEN:
Bartram’s Garden is a 50-acre public park and National Historic Landmark in Southwest Philadelphia, situated on Lenape territory on the banks of the Tidal Schuylkill River. Welcoming more than 125,000 visitors annually, it is a venue for art, and access to the tidal river and wetlands, an outdoor classroom, and a living laboratory. Bartram’s Garden attempts to hold the colonial legacy of the land with a commitment to learn and share the whole truth about the plants of Southwest Philadelphia and the people who grow them. The site encompasses the Bartram family’s 18th-century house and farm buildings, the country’s oldest surviving botanic garden, a reclaimed meadow, tidal wetlands, the Sankofa Community Farm, recreational trails, and the riverfront with an accessible public boat dock and community boathouse.
The Garden is operated and maintained by the non-profit John Bartram Association in cooperation with the City of Philadelphia Parks and Recreation Department. The mission of the John Bartram Association is to co-create equitable relationships among people and nature through immersive, community-centered experiences that activate the Bartram legacy, Garden, and House, on land and on the Schuylkill River, in Southwest Philadelphia.
Bartram’s Garden has been working to build its local Southwest-focused programs and activities and strengthen its community partnerships with nearby families, schools, and neighborhood groups. Thanks to plans for significant upcoming site investments, including major construction projects and expanded partnerships, the Garden is in the midst of transformation, with unprecedented opportunities for growth and renewal.