Description
About FairWays to Leadership
FairWays to Leadership (FWTL) is a 501(c)(3) leadership development organization built on a distinctive
premise: golf can be both a classroom for leadership and a doorway into professional relationships and
opportunities. Founded in 2020, FWTL introduces college students, many of whom have had little or no
previous exposure to golf, to the game while helping them build the confidence, leadership capabilities,
professional language, and relationships that can broaden their access to opportunity.
FWTL’s mission is to promote access to leaders and leadership opportunities through golf literacy. Its
immersive six-week program intentionally connects the experience of learning golf with the development of
six leadership traits: adaptability, mindfulness, integrity, curiosity, empowerment, and strategy. Students
participate in leadership learning and on-course instruction, using real moments in the game to practice
judgment, self-awareness, resilience, relationship building, and strategic thinking.
The goal is not simply to create more golfers. FWTL equips emerging leaders with enough fluency in the
game, confidence on the course, and understanding of golf’s role in business culture to participate in
professional spaces that may once have felt unfamiliar or inaccessible. Through its curriculum, Executive
Forum, university relationships, golf-industry partners, and growing alumni network, FWTL helps students
connect what they learn on the course to how they lead, network, and pursue opportunities beyond it.
FWTL now has a strong programmatic foundation, an engaged Board of Directors, committed partners,
and a growing alumni community. The organization is entering a pivotal next phase: expanding its reach
while building the revenue, partnerships, staff capacity, systems, and infrastructure required for sustainable
growth.
We Are Looking for a Builder and a Fundraiser
The next Executive Director will be responsible not only for leading FairWays to Leadership, but for
building a sustainable nonprofit that serves students on a national level. The defining requirement for
this role is a demonstrated record of growing organizations and raising the funds needed to
sustain that growth.
This is a highly external leadership role. The successful candidate will build and personally steward
relationships with corporate sponsors, foundations, major donors, university partners, golf-industry leaders,
and other champions of the mission. They will turn those relationships into a stronger and more diversified
revenue base, while working with the Board to make disciplined choices about where and how FWTL
expands.
The right leader will be equally comfortable setting direction and rolling up their sleeves. In a small, growth-
stage organization, strategy and execution are closely connected. The Executive Director must be able to
articulate an ambitious vision, build the case for investment, close funding commitments, strengthen
organizational systems, support staff, and ensure that program quality remains high as the organization
scales.
The Opportunity
- Lead FWTL’s next phase of growth, translating an ambitious vision into a focused multi-year strategy
with clear priorities, milestones, and measures of success. - Build a sustainable fundraising engine by developing and managing a robust pipeline of corporate
sponsors, foundations, major donors, and other funding partners; personally cultivate, solicit, close, and
steward significant support. - Expand and diversify revenue so that organizational growth is supported by a durable financial model
rather than one-time opportunities. - Develop strategic partnerships with universities, corporations, golf-industry organizations,
foundations, and other institutions that can extend FWTL’s reach and deepen its impact. - Identify and pursue new markets and campus opportunities while ensuring that expansion is mission-
aligned, financially sound, and operationally sustainable. - Serve as FWTL’s chief ambassador, representing the organization with donors, business leaders,
universities, golf partners, alumni, and other stakeholders. - Protect and strengthen the FWTL experience, preserving the integrity and quality of the six-week
golf and leadership curriculum as the organization grows. - Build organizational capacity, financial discipline, data practices, communications capacity, and
operational infrastructure required for a growing national nonprofit. - Partner with the Board of Directors to create a governance relationship grounded in transparency,
accountability, candor, and shared stewardship of the mission.
Requirements
The Leader We Are Seeking
We are especially interested in candidates who have demonstrated that they can grow and manage
an organization.
- A proven record of leading or helping to scale a nonprofit, social-impact organization, entrepreneurial
venture, or similarly complex growth-stage organization. - Significant, demonstrated fundraising success, including personally cultivating and securing support
from corporations, foundations, major donors, or other institutional partners. - Evidence of building new revenue streams, partnerships, programs, markets, or organizational
capacity. - The ability to develop trusted relationships with senior corporate, philanthropic, university, community,
and industry leaders. - Strong strategic judgment paired with the willingness and ability to execute directly in a small
organization. - Experience leading and developing staff and creating the systems, expectations, and culture that help
people perform at their best. - Strong financial and organizational management skills, including budgeting, reporting, and stewardship
of resources. - Exceptional communication and storytelling skills, with the ability to make a persuasive case for
investment in FWTL’s mission. - Experience working productively with an engaged Board of Directors.
- Success leading in a virtual environment and the discipline to build connection, accountability, and
momentum across a distributed team. - An entrepreneurial mindset: someone who sees possibilities, creates opportunities, builds relationships,
and turns promising ideas into sustainable results.
Connection to the Game
Golf expertise is not the defining qualification for this role, and the Executive Director does not need to be a
competitive golfer or a golf-industry professional. The successful candidate should, however, be well
acquainted with the game. They should be comfortable on a golf course; understand basic rules, etiquette,
terminology, and golf culture; and be able to participate credibly in conversations, events, and rounds with
sponsors, partners, business leaders, and members of the golf community.
This is not a role for someone encountering golf for the first time. The Executive Director should
understand why golf literacy matters to FWTL’s mission and be able to represent that mission authentically
to both experienced golfers and students who may be stepping onto a course for the first time.
Why FairWays to Leadership?
FairWays to Leadership occupies a distinctive space at the intersection of leadership development,
professional access, higher education, business networking, and golf. The organization takes a game that
has historically provided access to influential relationships and turns it into an intentional learning
environment—one where students can develop leadership judgment, confidence, professional networks,
and a sense of belonging.
The next Executive Director has the opportunity to build on a strong foundation and expand the reach of
both the game and the leadership lessons embedded within it. The central challenge is clear: create the
partnerships, funding base, organizational capacity, and strategic discipline that will allow substantially
more college students to benefit from the FairWays to Leadership experience.
We are looking for the leader who can help FWTL build that next chapter.
Position Details
- Location: Fully virtual/remote.
- Salary: $75,000–$80,000 annually.
- Health Insurance: A stipend is provided toward the purchase of individual health insurance.
- Professional Development: A stipend is provided to support continued learning and professional
growth. - Travel: Frequent travel for program oversight, relationship building with donors and partners, and
attendance at significant gatherings; commitments may reach 40% during peak seasons.
How to Apply
Candidates should submit a résumé and letter of interest that addresses the following:
- Why FairWays to Leadership’s mission and this stage of the organization’s development are compelling
to you; - An example of an organization, program, or initiative you helped grow, including the role you personally
played; and - Your fundraising track record, including examples of relationships, gifts, sponsorships, grants, or
revenue strategies that produced measurable organizational results.
Application materials should be sent to Holley Waldron at executive.director@fwtl.org by October 1, 2026.
FairWays to Leadership welcomes candidates with a wide range of professional and personal backgrounds
who share our belief that access, relationships, leadership capability, and opportunity can change the
trajectory of a career.
