Application Guide
How to Apply for Vice President of Fundraising
at Book Trust
🏢 About Book Trust
Book Trust is a mission-driven nonprofit that puts books into children's hands—books they choose and keep—to spark joyful reading and lifelong opportunity. Since 2001, it has grown from three Fort Collins schools to serving 677,108 students across 23 states, with 94% of teachers reporting that book choice supports joyful reading. Working here means joining a team that believes joy transforms learning and is committed to equitable access for all children.
About This Role
As Vice President of Fundraising, you will lead Book Trust's fundraising strategy to sustain and scale its impact, ensuring more children experience the joy of reading. You will oversee individual giving, major gifts, institutional partnerships, and campaigns, while building a culture of philanthropy across the organization. This role is pivotal in expanding Book Trust's reach from 136 school partners to many more, directly fueling its mission.
💡 A Day in the Life
A typical day might involve meeting with the fundraising team to review donor pipelines, strategizing with the CEO on a major gift proposal, and connecting with a school partner to gather stories for donor communications. You could also be preparing a presentation for the board on fundraising progress or cultivating a new corporate partnership. The work is dynamic, blending strategy, relationship-building, and mission-driven storytelling.
🚀 Application Tools
🎯 Who Book Trust Is Looking For
- Proven track record of securing major gifts and managing a fundraising team, ideally in education, literacy, or youth-focused nonprofits.
- Deep commitment to equity in education and belief in the power of joyful reading experiences for all children.
- Experience developing and executing comprehensive fundraising strategies, including individual, corporate, and foundation giving.
- Strong leadership skills to inspire staff, board members, and donors, with excellent communication and relationship-building abilities.
📝 Tips for Applying to Book Trust
Highlight specific fundraising achievements that connect to Book Trust's mission—e.g., how you've helped expand access to books or literacy programs.
Demonstrate familiarity with Book Trust's model: mention their focus on book choice, joy, and teacher feedback in your materials.
Use language that mirrors Book Trust's values: joy, equity, possibility, and reading motivation.
Show experience in remote leadership and cross-functional collaboration, as the role is remote and likely involves working with distributed teams.
Quantify your impact—e.g., funds raised, donor retention rates, or programs scaled—to show you can drive growth for Book Trust.
✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter
Emphasize your passion for equitable literacy and how your fundraising expertise can accelerate Book Trust's growth. Connect your past successes to their model of putting books into children's hands. Highlight your ability to lead a remote team and build donor relationships that sustain long-term impact. Show that you understand the importance of joy in reading and can translate that into compelling donor narratives.
Generate Cover Letter →🔍 Research Before Applying
To stand out, make sure you've researched:
- → Explore Book Trust's website, annual reports, and impact metrics to understand their growth and current fundraising needs.
- → Research the literacy nonprofit landscape and key funders in early childhood education to identify potential donor prospects.
- → Look into Book Trust's leadership team and board to understand their backgrounds and philanthropic networks.
- → Review recent news or press releases about Book Trust to stay updated on new initiatives or campaigns.
💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics
Based on this role, you may be asked about:
⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Focusing only on fundraising numbers without connecting to Book Trust's mission and values—they prioritize joy and equity.
- Neglecting to mention remote work experience, as this role requires managing a distributed team effectively.
- Using generic language about 'helping children' without specific references to book access, choice, and reading motivation.
📅 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!