How can I become a better development director?

To become a better development director, a person should increase their skills and abilities within their role. This involves growing leadership skills and developing the four major functions that the director role fulfills.

How To Become A Development Director: What It Is and Career Path

What is a development director and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

A development director manages and coordinates fundraising efforts for non-profit organizations. They implement strategies to generate revenue, cultivate donor relationships, and oversee grant applications. A development director also collaborates with others to ensure fundraising efforts align with the organization's mission. They budget, forecast, and report on fundraising activities. In addition, a development director often represents the organization to donors and stakeholders at events and speaking engagements. The role requires strong communication, leadership, and organizational skills.

ScoreDevelopment DirectorUS Average

Salary

7.8

Avg. Salary $107,044

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.7

Growth rate 8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.42%

Asian 5.14%

Black or African American 6.05%

Hispanic or Latino 9.19%

Unknown 4.67%

White 74.54%

Gender

female 49.82%

male 50.18%

Age - 41

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 41

Stress level

8.7

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.3

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.8

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a development director?

Pros

High earning potential
Potential for growth within the organization
Opportunities for travel and networking
Exposure to diverse cultures and communities
Opportunity to be a part of positive change in society

Cons

High levels of stress and pressure
Long hours and unpredictable schedules
Difficulty maintaining work-life balance
Potential for burnout and fatigue
Working in a highly competitive field

Key steps to become a development director

Explore development director education requirements

Most common development director degrees

Bachelor's

72.2 %

Master's

18.1 %

Associate

4.9 %

Start to develop specific development director skills

Skills	Percentages
Digital Marketing	7.64%
Oversight	5.85%
Patients	5.64%
Lead Generation	4.86%
ROI	4.41%

Complete relevant development director training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New development directors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a development director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real development director resumes.

Research development director duties and responsibilities

Manage CRM program for coordination and partnerships with marketing resources.
Manage website re-launch, create communications plan, co-le rebranding taskforce.
Manage clients and internal production team to meet budget and scope of contract eLearning solutions.
Help manage the CRM system with input and output for the resource development department and the entire organization.

Get development director experience

Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become a development director. The most common roles before becoming a development director include executive director, director team lead and consultant.

Prepare your development director resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your development director resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a development director resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable development director resume templates

Build a professional development director resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your development director resume.

Apply for development director jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a development director job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do development directors rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Development director reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2020

Pros

My Experiencia and Knowledge

A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2019

Pros

Attending and meeting people at events

Cons

- The pressure of securing funds. - comparing the role with sales and/or fundraising - lack of response from donors you are reaching out to. It made me feel as if I wasn't doing my job of connecting with them.