Director | Major Gifts (Fairfield County)

Application Deadline: Monday, Oct 31, 2022

Description

As we build our team in Fairfield County we are seeking an energetic, highly-organized candidate to fill the full-time position of Director of Major Gifts.  This position, based in Fairfield County, is responsible for developing and managing all activities related to the identification, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of leadership level ($1,000 and above) and major gift donors to support the Fairfield County expansion. We’re looking for someone who’s a strategic thinker, mission-driven, team-oriented, and has a “can-do” solution orientation.  Our Director will be excited by working in a fast-paced environment, managing multiple priorities, and identifying innovative ways of increasing loyal contributions. The successful candidate will consider big-picture questions, as well as analytical data as we build a deeper culture of philanthropy, more fully developing the major gift portfolio in Fairfield County.

As part of a plan to fulfill its statewide service mission, Connecticut Public is significantly increasing programming in Fairfield County including expanding the number of journalists based in and reporting on Fairfield County; hosting screenings, community conversations and events in partnership with local organizations; providing PBS and PBS 24/7 Kids educational resources to families, caregivers and educators and developing new local programs such as a talk show with topics of particular interest to people who live, work and play in Fairfield County.

General Summary

This position is responsible for securing funds for Connecticut Public by managing a group of donors in a caseload including prospecting new donors and cultivating, soliciting and stewarding prospective and current donors for increased and sustained giving and involvement.

Prospective candidates can expect to play a pivotal role in developing, managing and executing  campaign strategies and developing solicitation plans for each donor and prospect by preparing written proposals, informational materials, and gift illustrations in tandem with Connecticut Public’s mission, vision and plans for Fairfield County programming.  The Director will develop clearly articulated messages to donors through engaging and effective writing inspiring partners to invest with CT Public. The successful candidate will have demonstrated experience in cultivating relationships that have resulted in major gifts and a record of success in achieving development goals.  Experience in the design and implementation of multi-year fundraising campaigns is required. This leadership role requires a team player with a passion for people and the transformative power of cultivating relationships with donors to align their interests and passions with giving opportunities.   This position will report to the Chief Development Officer.  He/she will work with multiple departments in the Company to develop strategic and targeted giving opportunities for major donors in an effort to increase funding each year.

Essential Job Functions
The Director of Major Gifts provides a wide range of services.  Applicants must have the ability to complete the following essential job functions:

• Responsible for annual revenue goals for the leadership / major donor program in Fairfield County by managing a portfolio of leadership and major donors.
• Develop and execute efforts to identify, cultivate, solicit and steward major gifts from individuals/families aligning donor interest with Connecticut Public initiatives and developing appropriate cultivation strategies for them.
• Cultivate, solicit and steward existing donors with a goal of sustained, ongoing and increased giving and initiate contacts with potential major gift donors to grow the donor pool.
• Work with Connecticut Public’s CRM system (NGOC, a Salesforce product) to document donor information, track donor activities and progress to goal and use wealth screening databases and other research methods to identify and qualify donors for the caseload and to analyze major gift opportunities.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of strategies, initiatives, special events and overall results for the Fairfield fundraising plan.
• Attend Connecticut Public and outside events to represent the organization, for networking and external relations.

Connecticut Public’s headquarters are in Hartford with additional offices in New Haven and in Fairfield County.  This position is based in Fairfield County and can be remote or a hybrid structure.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential job functions.

Responsibilities
The Director of Major Gifts has many responsibilities.  Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Overseeing an ambitious, comprehensive fundraising plan with responsibility for stewardship of a portfolio of leadership/major givers monitoring that plan through successful implementation to reach quarterly and annual revenue goals and to ensure that the leadership/major giving effort in Fairfield County is effective, ethical and well leveraged.
• Qualifying a group of donors for the Fairfield County caseload including current donors and with a major emphasis on identifying and qualifying new major givers.
• Creating individual financial goals for each person in the caseload based on the donor’s history of giving, the organization’s knowledge of that donor’s potential and / or research gleaned from wealth screening and other resources for qualifying new donors.
• Creating and executing plans for each donor with identified touchpoints, communications, and ask plan representing the individual donor’s interest, passion, motivation, giving history and ask preferences.
• Working with colleagues in the Institutional Advancement department, content and marketing teams to gather needed information such as project details, budgets, and institutional data to use for cultivation, solicitation and stewardship.
• Creating donor offers and proposals to use during solicitation and work with the Chief Development Officer, Chief Executive Officer and others to determine the best strategy for the ask.
• Developing and managing donor events and meetings for introduction, cultivation and solicitation purposes.
• Ensuring accurate donor information is entered into NGOC-CRM system and confidentiality of all donor information is maintained.
• Ensuring recognition of Fairfield County leadership and major donors as per donor wishes and within the guidelines and procedures of Connecticut Public.
• Creating reports on progress that accurately reflect caseload activity and performance.
• Performing other major donor activities as may be required.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
Knowledge of:

• Fundraising campaign planning and implementation.
• Charitable gift planning vehicles, including how to determine the appropriate vehicles for specific prospects.
• Multi-level fund development strategies.
• Marketing, development, event and project management.

Skill In:

• Cultivating, soliciting and stewarding major gifts from individuals/families with a track record of gifts in the amount of at least $25,000. Strong relationships with donors in Fairfield County strongly preferred.
• Major gift processes, principles, methods and practices, including prospect research.
• CRM practices, strategies, and techniques for donor tracking and wealth screening.
• Relationship management skills that both enhance internal organization relations, external community interactions and business development opportunities
• Presenting and communicating, in both oral and written forms, to interface with various networks, Fairfield County Advisory Committee, board members, departments and levels of management.
• Microsoft Office Suite and donor cultivation resources.

Ability to:

• Develop successful donor relationships through cultivation and stewardship.
• Work effectively with multiple departments, with sometimes competing priorities, to identify and source funding opportunities to advance the Company’s mission.
• Work flexible and variable hours as needed to achieve goals.
• Take initiative, multitask and/or prioritize workload and work in a fast-paced environment.
• Work with diverse constituencies.
• Identify and take ownership of issues, be accountable, and drive them to resolution.
• Possess a visceral distaste for office politics and gossip.

The ideal applicants must have demonstrated effectiveness in a collaborative, highly team-oriented environment, yet possess initiative, self-motivation and demonstrate the ability to work with minimal supervision.

Work Environment
The Director of Major Gifts operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, and photocopiers, as well as database software.  Extensive travel throughout the state is necessary and an integral part of the essential job functions.

Physical Demands
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

While performing the essential functions of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit for prolonged periods, stand, and talk, lift objects of less than twenty (20) pounds, and hear. Manipulative skills, which require hand-eye coordination, such as reading, typing, and writing are also required. Additionally, the employee must have the ability to concentrate for extended periods with frequent interruption and understand and relate to the concepts behind specific ideas.  These physical demands, with or without reasonable accommodations, are required to perform the essential functions of this job.

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work
This is a full-time, salaried, exempt position with supervision requirements.  Days and hours of work vary, but often run Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  Weekend, evening, and holiday hours will be necessary.

Education and Experience
Bachelor’s degree in a relatable field AND a minimum of eight years’ work experience in a major gifts non-profit environment AND/OR a satisfactory equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.  Certified Fundraising Executive Credential desired, but not necessary.

For additional information about this position, please contact: