Application Guide
How to Apply for Regional Development Director
at Teach Plus
🏢 About Teach Plus
Teach Plus is a national nonprofit that uniquely empowers experienced teachers to lead policy and practice changes advancing equity and student success. With a focus on teacher leadership and diversity, the organization offers a mission-driven environment where your fundraising work directly supports educators shaping education reform.
About This Role
As Regional Development Director, you will lead a multi-state fundraising portfolio ($3M-$6M), partnering with Executive Directors to cultivate funders and expand pipelines. This role is impactful because you'll build a new individual giving strand and drive revenue growth in emerging regions, directly fueling Teach Plus's mission to amplify teacher voices.
💡 A Day in the Life
A typical day might start with a virtual check-in with an Executive Director in a different state to review a donor prospect list and coach them on an upcoming meeting. Midday, you'd analyze Salesforce data to identify lapsed donors or new prospects, then draft a grant proposal or stewardship plan. Afternoons often involve virtual meetings with current funders or networking with potential donors, followed by updating Asana tasks and preparing for the next day's outreach.
🚀 Application Tools
🎯 Who Teach Plus Is Looking For
- A fundraising strategist with 7+ years nonprofit experience, including 3-5 years directly cultivating and prospecting funders in a multi-state or regional context.
- Proven track record of developing and executing fundraising strategies that increased revenue and strengthened donor relationships, especially in launching individual giving programs.
- Skilled in using Salesforce and Asana for pipeline management and data analysis, with strong written and verbal communication abilities.
- Comfortable working remotely across multiple time zones, and experienced in coaching executive directors on donor engagement and prospecting.
📝 Tips for Applying to Teach Plus
Highlight specific examples of launching or growing individual giving programs, including metrics like new donor acquisition or revenue growth.
Demonstrate experience with Salesforce and Asana by mentioning how you used them to manage portfolios, track interactions, or analyze data.
Tailor your cover letter to show understanding of Teach Plus's focus on teacher leadership and equity; avoid generic nonprofit language.
Include quantifiable achievements in your resume, such as 'grew individual giving from $0 to $500K in 2 years' or 'managed a $4M portfolio across 3 states'.
Research Teach Plus's current campaigns and recent policy wins (e.g., teacher diversity initiatives) and mention them in your application to show genuine interest.
✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter
['Emphasize your experience in multi-state or regional fundraising and your ability to build pipelines in new markets.', 'Showcase your success in launching individual giving programs, including specific strategies used and results achieved.', "Connect your personal passion for education equity and teacher leadership to Teach Plus's mission.", 'Highlight your collaborative approach, especially coaching executive directors or other non-fundraising staff in donor engagement.']
Generate Cover Letter →🔍 Research Before Applying
To stand out, make sure you've researched:
- → Read Teach Plus's latest annual report and strategic plan to understand their funding priorities and growth areas.
- → Review their blog and press releases for recent policy wins or teacher leadership programs they've launched.
- → Look up their current board members and major funders to understand the existing donor landscape.
- → Explore their social media channels to see how they communicate their impact and engage supporters.
💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics
Based on this role, you may be asked about:
⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Using a generic cover letter that doesn't mention Teach Plus's specific focus on teacher leadership and equity.
- Failing to provide concrete metrics or examples of fundraising success; vague statements like 'increased revenue' without numbers.
- Overlooking the remote, multi-state nature of the role; not addressing how you'll manage relationships across time zones and without in-person meetings.
📅 Application Timeline
This position is open until filled. However, we recommend applying as soon as possible as roles at mission-driven organizations tend to fill quickly.
Typical hiring timeline:
Application Review
1-2 weeks
Initial Screening
Phone call or written assessment
Interviews
1-2 rounds, usually virtual
Offer
Congratulations!