Director of Major Gifts & Planned Giving

ABOUT CHILDREN’S COUNCIL

For more than 45 years, Children’s Council has been at the heart of child care in San Francisco. By advocating for quality early care and education, empowering families with information and financial support, and building the capabilities of educators, we ensure that every child in San Francisco has the opportunity to reach their full potential. Parents need reliable child care so they can work, and children need nurturing care and early education to prepare them for school and for life. If you want to be a child care champion in our community, we want you on our team.

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Director of Major Gifts & Planned Giving (MGPG) is a key member of the Advancement Team during a compelling moment of rapid change and increased visibility for our cause. S/he/they will be responsible for developing and implementing strategies designed to engage and steward individual major donors and prospects in ways that encourage their substantial philanthropic investment in Children’s Council of San Francisco. The MGPG is responsible for cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding individuals for gifts to Children’s Council of five-figure gifts and above. The MGPG  will manage a portfolio of at least 75 high net-worth individuals to raise support for the organization’s ambitious strategic plan initiatives, capital needs, community-based work, and other important programmatic activities that align with Children’s Council’s mission and objectives. The MGPG will work with the Chief Advancement Officer to design and implement a Planned Giving for the organization. The Director of Major Gifts & Planned Giving reports to the Chief Advancement Officer. This position is a senior member of the Advancement team and provides strategic, well-formulated, and proactive fundraising approaches.

KEY QUALITIES:

1. You have a willingness to build from the ground up a program for bringing in major gifts/donations
2. You have the drive to meet or exceed fundraising goals
3. You are committed to our mission, the services we provide, and to addressing the challenges faced by families and child care educators in San Francisco.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• In collaboration and with guidance from the CAO, work with the Board of Directors, CEO, and other appropriate executive-level ambassadors, as needed, to cultivate and secure funding. Work with this group to best leverage their expertise and maximize their contacts to result in increased funding.
• Annually raise $250,000+ from individuals
• Secure at least one, $50,000+ gift for capital needs annually.
• In collaboration with the CAO, design, develop, and implement a major individual giving program that deepens and expands the existing donor base at all levels of giving, with special focus on growing high-end annual fund and individual major and estate gifts.
• Develop and personally manage a pool of 75+ individual donors and prospects who have the ability to make contributions of $10,000 or more.
• Work collaboratively across other departments to identify and craft strategies to cultivate and solicit individual funders to achieve robust revenue goals, leveraging existing strategies and infrastructure combined with database tools, metrics, and analytics to the segment.
• Oversee planned giving solicitations and agreements working with legal and planned giving experts
• Participate in the development of short and long-term fundraising plans and projections and provide progress/status reports.
• Track the progress of prospecting and stewardship efforts in the database and via moves management, with the support of the Development Associate.
• In close collaboration with the Development Manager and the Communications and Marketing Team, give feedback and share ideas for fundraising materials targeted to major individual and planned giving donors and prospects.
• Work collaboratively and thoughtfully with all Children’s Council colleagues including advancement, programs, and finance staff in order to provide the highest level of service to donors and prospects.
• Contribute to a culture of trust, teamwork, transparency, and efficiency.
• Help organize and attend quarterly program development brainstorm meetings with program staff.
• Maintain best practices and an understanding of the fundraising landscape including local, national, and international marketplace trends.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Minimum 5-7 years of fundraising experience with at least three years of successful experience directly and regularly soliciting gifts $10,000 and above
• Proven track record of meeting or exceeding annual goals of at least $100,000
• Minimum of two years working directly with senior management and a non-profit Board of Directors
• Ability to motivate and interact effectively with Board, volunteers, donors, and program staff at all levels
• Experience in preparing and conducting solicitations via correspondence, virtually and in-person, including making qualification calls for major donors
• Outstanding interpersonal skills; a high level of comfort with direct donor interaction, including discussions of personal and family finances
• Passion for the mission of Children’s Council
• Experience in devising strategies for cultivation and solicitation of donors, organizing events, and other stewardship activities
• Ability to be self-motivated to meet deadlines, manage multiple priorities, be organized, and be detail-oriented to keep up with rigorous relationship tracking that benefits Children’s Council’s program over time
• Exceptional written and verbal communications skills
• Proficiency of Microsoft Office Suite and basics of fundraising CRMs
• A background clearance is required

 PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Baccalaureate degree or equivalent work experience
• Knowledge of Bay Area philanthropic community
• Knowledge of early childhood education
• Public speaking and meeting facilitation experience

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:
• Mental acuity to perform the essential functions of this position in an accurate and timely fashion.
• Dexterity to use office equipment; the ability to sit and work at a desk for extended periods of time.
• Ability to speak, hear, and understand speech at normal room levels.
• Physical agility to bend, stoop, walk, climb four flights of stairs if required.