JOB SUMMARY

Responsible for the identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of individual donors with a focus on securing leadership-level major gifts of $100,000 or more, in addition to unrestricted or loosely restricted, $10k+ annual support. Reporting to the Vice President of Philanthropy, the Director of Philanthropy works closely with senior National Trust staff (program, regional and sites), key volunteers, and others to cultivate and solicit major donors. Works as a team with other Development Division staff, with close coordination with other gift officers, as well as colleagues in Foundation Giving and Planned Giving.

While we are open to candidates from across the United States, the Director of Philanthropy will manage a portfolio of individual donors primarily located on the West Coast with significant travel t0 the region expected.

DUTIES

• Responsible for identifying, cultivating, solicitating, and stewarding major donors to the National Trust with a focus on gifts of $100,000 or more,
  • Work closely with the Vice President of Philanthropy and other National Trust staff to develop strategic, donor-centric fundraising cultivation and solicitation plans.
  • Maintain a portfolio of approximately 120 qualified prospects and build relationships with donors and prospects through regular visits, phone calls, emails, letters and other activities. Frequent travel required.
  • Gifts and strategies often will include planned gifts in coordination with the Director of Planned Giving and with special attention to combination gifts of multi-year cash support and planned giving.
  • Meet an annual goal of dollars raised, and engagement metrics including numbers of visits and solicitations to be set by the Vice President of Philanthropy in collaboration with the Director and their projections.
  • Work with the Vice President to develop solicitation strategies that secure annual unrestricted and/or restricted operating support from assigned donors/prospects, and work with colleagues and volunteers to execute these strategies.
  • Work with the Prospect Research Team to develop and implement strategies that identify/cultivate new donors and that result in additional major gifts from existing donors.
  • Utilize the database to actively maintain donor outreach efforts and manage the pipeline of donors.
  • Engage program staff as appropriate to support fundraising goals by directly soliciting donations and by advising others on effective solicitation techniques.
  • Advise other National Trust entities such as National Trust Historic Sites and Field Offices in establishing meaningful relationships with targeted donors and prospects.
  • Work with Development team colleagues to steward and grow donor gifts, collaborating to ensure smooth handoffs as needed.

Provide fundraising leadership for special programs as assigned by the Vice President of Philanthropy.

• • Lead the overall fundraising effort for specific programs or special projects as assigned.
  • Lead the identification, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of donors for assigned programs.
• Engage and steward volunteer leaders as needed– including Trustees, members of Campaign and Regional Committees, and others -- as a means to identify, cultivate and solicit major gifts.
• Collaborate with Donor Engagement to develop strategic donor cultivation and stewardship events.
• Develop proposals, gift acknowledgement letters, and stewardship reports to donors working independently and in collaboration with the Philanthropic Communications team.
• Engage the CEO/President and other senior Trust staff as needed in the cultivation and solicitation of prospective donors. Develop strategy memos, prospect research, draft talking points, and schedule and conduct visits to targeted donors/prospects jointly with the CEO/President and senior staff with a focus on gifts of $100,000 or more.
• Report on donor/potential donor contact by keeping call reports and departmental tracking tools current, ensuring timely and accurate entry into the donor database.
• Responsible for ensuring the Trust effectively engages with a larger, broader and more culturally diverse audience.
• Continually enhance skills related to use of rapidly changing technology and communications best practices.
• Responsible for achieving high quality results with limited supervision.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Progressively responsible development experience, including significant direct donor solicitation and prospect management, with a proven track record of successfully soliciting five-figure donations. Number of years experience may vary depending on size and type of institution.
• Demonstrated ability to leverage and sustain relationships of individuals with a high net worth, with experience securing planned gifts and hybrid gifts, with attention to annual support in addition to transformational support.
• Demonstrated working knowledge of fundraising best practices.
• Self-motivated, goal-oriented with a sense of urgency and proven track record of results. Passion and interest in the mission of the National Trust. Persuasive, inspiring, polished presentation skills. Experience working within a large, complex non-profit setting preferred.
• Advanced analytical skills, problem solving (issue identification and prioritization) skills, communication and presentation skills are essential for this role.
• Advanced project-management, team-management and client-management skills. Ability to achieve results with limited supervision.
• Experience successfully managing key internal and external stakeholders and relationships.
• Effective presentation skills. Excellent writing, spelling, grammar, and proofreading skills, as well as strong verbal communication and customer service skills. Strong organizational skills. Excellent attention to detail.
• Experience successfully managing key stakeholders and relationships. Proven ability to collaborate across departments to implement processes and achieve results. Track record of building and maintaining productive relationships with multiple stakeholders. When working in the office, public contact and ability to work successfully in close proximity to others required. When working off site, ability work effectively in a remote environment, maintaining productivity and communications to meet deadlines and goals, is required.
• Demonstrated success in engaging culturally diverse colleagues and stakeholders. Bi-lingual language skills a plus. Demonstrated success engaging historically underrepresented communities, constituents, and partners. Ties to culturally diverse affinity groups, professional organizations, or related associations are a plus. Able to talk effectively about identities such as race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, class, ability, or gender in plain, specific terms as they relate to the workplace and cultural heritage.
• Ability to prioritize, multi-task efficiently and respond to a high volume of ongoing requests in a timely fashion. Ability to adapt and be flexible in a dynamic work environment. Ability to work effectively with frequent interruptions required. Able to handle frequently changing and/or unscheduled tasks with accuracy. Entrepreneurial spirit and skill set a plus.
• Proven ability to continually develop skills related to use of rapidly changing technology and communications best practices.
• Regular and reliable attendance required.
• Travel required.