Director of Philanthropic Engagement

About Tergar Schools

Tergar Schools is a Buddhist-inspired K–12 education nonprofit building a new model of learning. We operate a pilot school in Kathmandu, Nepal, and are constructing a larger campus in the Yolmo valley (~600 students) in the Himalayas.

Our model rests on a simple starting point: every child possesses basic goodness and its qualities of awareness, love, compassion, wisdom, and joy. And it is our job as educators to help them recognize this and give them tools to sustain this recognition. Our long-term aspiration is to help form people who are resilient, altruistic, and joyful.

Why this role exists

Tergar Schools needs to build a major-donor engine from close to scratch to cover $600,000+ in annual recurring operating funding, and then keep scaling in the years after. We also carry a significant capital need for constructing a secondary campus in Nepal (Yolmo campus).

Today, that strategy and those relationships rest on our Executive Director (who splits his time across two organizations) and our Community Giving & Events Manager (who is part-time and also helps oversee social media and communications). This is not sustainable, and we need additional capacity.

This is a critical position within the organization. We have vision, and we have a program taking shape; what we don't yet have is a major philanthropy function that can stand on its own. This role builds it, and owns it.

The opportunity

This is a builder's role. You will not inherit a mature pipeline, a full case for support, or a team to run. You will help create those things, then run them.

If you are energized by shaping something from the ground up and by working in a small, self-directing team with real autonomy, this is fertile ground.

What you'll own

Fundraising strategy

• Co-create, with Tergar Schools leadership, the organization's fundraising strategy — a realistic path to ≥$600k in annual recurring operating funding, with a credible ramp.
• Ensure the plan for the Yolmo capital campaign continues running smoothly (currently $3.9M in Phase 2, with subsequent $10M to come in additional phases), in coordination with the Executive Director.
• Design the revenue mix across donor tiers, major donors, foundation relationships, and campaigns; set tier targets, engagement plans, and stewardship sequences, with major-donor cultivation at the center.

A major-donor portfolio

• Along with the Executive Director, carry and cultivate a portfolio of at minimum 50 major-donor relationships and prospects. The Director of Operations and Community Giving & Events Manager each carry a smaller set (~10 apiece) alongside you.
• Own visit targets, solicitation, and closing for your portfolio, utilizing the ED for key prospects — this role holds real gift responsibility, not advisory hours.
• Own your pipeline and moves-management records in our CRM (Keela) — you keep your own portfolio data clean and current.
• Cultivate foundation relationships that behave like major gifts: principal- and program-officer-driven, relationship-based — not open-application grant cycles (at the moment).

Enabling the Executive Director

• Translate the Visionary (Mingyur Rinpoche) and Executive Director's vision into an executable fundraising strategy — you can hear where he's pointing and build the structure that gets there.
• Structure and make the most of their donor-facing time: create the right meetings, prepare them well, and follow through afterward.

Leading the fundraising function

• Supervise the Community Giving & Events Manager and align all staff-run fundraising activity to the annual strategy.
• Recommend workflow and staffing refinements where they strengthen execution.

Board partnership

• Partner with the Board on fundraising, and support Board recruitment, retention, and engagement.

Case for support and donor messaging

• Shape the case for support and the framing of donor communications so they are clear, honest, and aligned with the wider Tergar Mandala narrative. (You guide and shape; staff draft routine copy.)

How the work is divided

You own fundraising strategy and lead the function, and you personally carry and (with the ED) close a major-donor portfolio. The following are executed by others on the team — but as the function's lead, you're accountable for how well they serve the strategy:

• Mass donor communications and newsletters — you shape major-donor messaging and the case for support; you don't produce broadcast copy.
• Event logistics — you design cultivation moments and work the room; sometimes you roll up your sleeves to run operations, staff tables, or do anything else required to get the job done.
• CRM administration and data hygiene — you own your own pipeline and moves-management records in Keela; you're not the system administrator or the bulk-data owner.

Outside this role entirely:

• Open-application / RFP grant prospecting, writing, and reporting (this may shift in the future)
• General administrative, clerical, and production work — including social media and graphic design

Who you are

What we're really looking for

• A go-getting strategist, not an order-taker. You are excited by building something and can help construct the case while you raise against it — not someone who needs a finished business plan handed to you first.
• A demonstrated record of building a major-donor pipeline from a cold or thin base. You can name the donors you've brought in, the timelines, the ask sizes, and the retention. Closing ability matters more than polish.
• Someone who can translate a founder's vision into strategy and execution and is comfortable shaping how senior leaders spend their time. This is as important as the gift experience itself, and rarer.
• Fluency, or fast credibility, in US and Asia major-gift philanthropy. Strong US high-capacity individual networks are a significant plus. European individual-gift networks are not a priority for this role.
• Comfort in a very small, distributed, high-autonomy team (~2.8 FTE, no management layer). Self-directing and energized by constraint.
• Genuine resonance with the mission. You can speak to Basic Goodness and our model of learning authentically — not as something bolted on. A Buddhist practice is not required.
• Education- or mission-space fluency is a plus, not a requirement. Experience in higher-ed or health-system development is welcome but not expected; what transfers is the major-gift craft and the ability to build.

Experience

• 8+ years of progressively responsible frontline development experience, with a track record of personally closing five- and six-figure gifts (seven-figure a plus).
• Some experience supervising, coaching, or mentoring — you'll oversee the Community Giving & Events Manager and more staff in the future.
• Comfort owning your pipeline and moves-management records in a CRM (we use Keela).

Personal qualities

• An inspiring communicator who can translate vision into action.
• Grounded, collaborative, and highly relational — able to hold complexity with steadiness and clarity.
• A genuine and embodied resonance with contemplative practice and our mission. You don't need to be Buddhist or hold a meditation practice, but you can speak to the value of inner development sincerely and without irony — and help donors feel why this work matters.

How we work together

• Weekly alignment with the Executive Director (Director of Operations / Community Giving & Events Manager as needed)
• Monthly strategy realignment
• Quarterly retrospectives to evaluate progress and refine
• A team that values deep, steady, skillful work over speed — across Vermont, Wisconsin, Ireland, Kathmandu, and Minnesota

Compensation & logistics

• Full-time, remote (ideally US-based)
• Compensation: $85,000 to $120,000 DOE
• Benefits: Flexible working schedule, Unlimited PTO, Health care reimbursement up to $1000 per month

Originally posted on Himalayas