Managing Director, Advancement

About Slingshot Memphis:

Slingshot Memphis aims to create a demonstrable reduction in poverty by disrupting prevalent models of philanthropic investment and promoting an evidence-based poverty-fighting ecosystem in Memphis, TN.

Slingshot is an independent assessor of poverty-fighting impact. We help identify nonprofits with the evidence or potential to create the most poverty-fighting impact and provide an objective assessment of their performance. We then work alongside nonprofits to identify opportunities for growth to enhance their capabilities and impact. Finally, we directly invest in nonprofits and influence further investments to help amplify high-impact interventions and address opportunities for growth.

To create a better quality of life for our under-resourced neighbors, Slingshot has created a feedback loop that helps nonprofits and funders understand the poverty-fighting impact of their efforts. Nonprofit leaders receive actionable intelligence on their strengths and opportunities for growth while funders receive critical data and insights to make informed investment decisions. 

As Slingshot’s portfolio of nonprofits grows, so does our understanding of what creates the greatest poverty-fighting impact. Slingshot believes widely disseminating insights from our impact assessments will improve the local philanthropic ecosystem by enhancing transparency, promoting equity, and influencing future investments that support high-impact poverty-fighting interventions.

Role of the Managing Director, Advancement:

Slingshot is currently seeking a Managing Director of Advancement to help accelerate the fight against poverty in Memphis, Tennessee. This role is part of the leadership team that oversees a group of skilled, passionate, and driven people who are highly motivated to achieve Slingshot's mission. The Managing Director of Advancement is personally responsible for securing investments while building out  Slingshot’s advancement strategy, infrastructure, playbook, and team.

The Managing Director of Advancement will help to disrupt prevailing models of philanthropy in Memphis by leading Slingshot’s efforts to fund its impact assessment strategy and the high-impact poverty-fighting interventions of its nonprofit partners. We need an influencer who demonstrates belief in  Slingshot’s results-driven approach and personal and professional values that align with Slingshot’s mission and core values. 

A qualified candidate has exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, a comprehensive understanding of the sales/donor development cycle, and a track record of closing large sales and/or investments.

Reporting Relationship: Reports to the CEO.

Measurement Fund & IMPACT Fund:

Measurement Fund. This fund covers all of Slingshot’s annual operating expenses. The Managing Director of Advancement is responsible for securing these funds. For 2021, this requires investments of $1,750,000. This amount will increase annually as Slingshot continues to grow. Measurement Funders guarantee that none of the funds invested in the IMPACT Fund are used for Slingshot’s operations.

IMPACT Fund. Each year, nonprofits in Slingshot’s portfolio that demonstrate high impact or the potential for impact are eligible to receive funding through Slingshot’s IMPACT Fund. 100% of the funds raised for the IMPACT Fund are invested directly into our nonprofit partners to support our city's highest-performing poverty-alleviating programs. Slingshot solicits individual investments and pools investments to support the work of our nonprofit partners. The Managing Director of Advancement is responsible for securing these funds. For 2020, this required investments of $2,000,000. This amount will increase annually as our portfolio of partner organizations expands.

The Managing Director of Advancement is responsible for securing investments for both the Measurement Fund and the IMPACT Fund. Slingshot’s CEO and Board of Directors will partner in these efforts; however, ownership for achieving fundraising goals lies with the Managing Director of Advancement.

Primary Responsibilities:

Development & Fundraising

• Clearly articulate the benefits of Slingshot’s impact assessments and investment model to potential donors, convincing others to invest in Slingshot’s IMPACT Fund and Measurement Fund.
• Secure the dollars needed for Slingshot’s IMPACT Fund in support of our nonprofit partners, with cooperation from the CEO and the Board of Directors. For 2020, we raised and allocated $2,000,000. This amount will increase annually as our portfolio of partner organizations expands.
• Secure the dollars needed for Slingshot’s Measurement Fund in support of the organization’s operational budget with cooperation from the CEO and Board of Directors. For 2021, this required $1,750,000. This amount will increase annually as our organization continues to grow.
• Serve as the principal fundraiser to raise the funds needed to advance Slingshot's mission by strengthening relationships with existing investors and increasing the number of investors in the Measurement Fund and IMPACT Fund.
• Develop a three-year fundraising plan, with input from the CEO and Board of Directors, to support Slingshot's portfolio of partners expanding to 70 organizations by the end of 2023.
• Expand development efforts to support Slingshot's future expansion to other strategic locations across the country starting in 2022.
• Over time hire and manage a development team to provide operational support for the fundraising efforts of Slingshot.
• Build out a development board consisting of volunteer ambassadors to assist with fundraising efforts in the community.
• Drive Slingshot’s effort to accomplish the goals and objectives in its strategic plan for fundraising and development. Monitor and report outcomes to the CEO (See Goal 3 and Objectives 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3 below under Institutional Goals and Measurable Objectives for Slingshot Memphis).
• Continually review, refine, and advance approaches to building investor relationships.
• Maintain strong rapport/buy-in with current funders as evidenced by achieving agreed upon retention rates for our IMPACT Funders.
• Maintain ongoing dialogue with Measurement Funders as evidenced by speaking, meeting, or otherwise communicating with each funder (individual and/or family) no less 1x per month.
• Raise substantial funding outside of Memphis as evidenced by attracting no less than 1 major funder (non-local) in 2021 ($150,000 Minimum) and additional amounts to be determined for 2022 and beyond.
• Accelerate our work among local foundations as evidenced by formalizing alliances (and getting major funding) from no less than two additional foundations.
• Plan and manage events and fundraisers.

Marketing & Messaging

• Increase community awareness of Slingshot through marketing efforts, public speaking engagements, and social networking.
• Promote brand recognition and work with the CEO to develop and manage a comprehensive marketing strategy.
• Oversee the design and production of the organization’s communication strategy relative to donor appreciation and recognition.
• Streamline our stakeholder communication, working with Slingshot’s staff to provide meaningful quarterly reports.
• Execute an efficient and meaningful communication strategy to keep stakeholders informed of Slingshot’s accomplishments.
• Oversee social media marketing and grow Slingshot’s online presence.
• Leverage social media to keep donors and potential donors informed about our work and the work of our partner organizations as evidenced by doubling the number of posts in 2021.
• Widen brand awareness in the community by issuing no less than 3 articles, press releases, or interviews in 2021.

Administration & Management

• Develop Slingshot’s advancement infrastructure, including Salesforce functionalities, automation, and donor cycles in order to accurately forecast progress toward funding goals.
• Work with Slingshot’s Impact Council to monitor progress on achieving organizational goals and objectives.
• Maintain updated mailing lists, donor lists, and donor profiles. Analyze fundraising data as needed and prepare reports using Salesforce software.
• Retain existing donor commitments through face to face meetings and regular communication efforts.
• Draft annual and special appeals to build Slingshot’s donor base.
• Receive, acknowledge and track contributions and pledges through Slingshot’s Salesforce database.
• Research and write grant proposals.
• Assist in the development, production, and dissemination of support materials for fundraising.

Qualifications:

• Passion for leading disruptive change and not settling for the status quo.
• Personal interest in alleviating poverty and building equity.
• Excellent verbal and written communication, including the ability to succinctly and persuasively communicate Slingshot’s value proposition.
• Possesses a servant leader mindset, focuses on empowering staff and board members.
• Strong empathy and listening skills.
• Exceptional emotional intelligence with a consistent track record of successfully working with diverse personalities.
• Strong collaboration skills and the ability to work with a team to meet its objectives.
• Proactively seeks constructive feedback and can share feedback with others in a way that inspires them to be their best.
• Self-directed, can produce exemplary work with minimal supervision.
• Demonstrates project management skills, including effective organization, efficient process management, and ability to structure ambiguous situations.
• Flexibility to meet with constituents during times that are conducive to their schedules.
• Demonstrates a strong desire to promote equity and transparency within the philanthropic sector for the benefit of our neighbors.
• Relevant postgraduate degree and/or 5+ years of applicable work experience.

Compensation and Benefits:

• Annual Salary Range: $100,000 - $120,000
• Slingshot offers a competitive benefit package

Application:

To apply, send your resume and a brief statement of interest to Justin Miller at careers@slingshotmemphis.org with Managing Director, Advancement in the subject line. Your statement of interest should describe why you are interested in working with Slingshot and how your skills and experience fit with the responsibilities for this role. Slingshot will follow up with selected applicants to schedule an interview, at which time professional and personal references will be requested.

Slingshot is an equal opportunity employer.

Institutional Goals and Measurable Objectives for Slingshot Memphis:

Goal 1: Establish the standard for useful and transparent measurement of poverty-fighting impact.

Objective 1.1: Report the number of nonprofit impact assessments Slingshot completes annually.

Objective 1.2: Increase the knowledge base and transparency around the poverty-fighting interventions that are effective in Memphis and those that are less effective, by reporting summaries of our findings on our website, with permission from our partner organizations. Our last partner survey indicated that 96% of our partner organizations would be comfortable publicly sharing the rating for each dimension of their impact assessment. 

Objective 1.3: Demonstrate how our impact assessment can be used to show the trajectory of a nonprofit’s poverty-fighting impact. This will be possible by measuring the changes in ratings and opportunities for growth over time for a partner organization.

Goal 2: Support nonprofits to maximize their poverty-fighting impact. 

Objective 2.1: Record the number of nonprofit organizations applying for partnership with Slingshot annually.

Objective 2.2: Increase the poverty-fighting return on investment for partner organizations by annually calculating their benefit cost ratios and measuring improvement overtime. We will influence this by encouraging organizations to reallocate resources to their interventions with the highest impact. Summaries of each organizations’ benefit-cost analysis are included in their impact profiles and assessment deliverables.

Objective 2.3: Report the number of nonprofit partners in Slingshot’s portfolio who improve their rating in at least one of the four impact assessment dimensions.

Goal 3: Attract new and more resources for high-impact programs.

Objective 3.1: Record the number of unique donors contributing to Slingshot’s IMPACT Fund annually, keeping an eye toward the number of donors that would not have invested in the fight against poverty otherwise.

Objective 3.2: Record the total amount of money allocated to nonprofit partners through Slingshot’s IMPACT Fund annually.

Objective 3.3: Record the number of large donors who invest and the amount of money allocated to nonprofit partners as a result of Slinsghot’s efforts to influence the philanthropic community. 

Goal 4: Promote a results-driven poverty-fighting ecosystem.

Objective: 4.1: Record the number of messaging opportunities for Slingshot including events, public facing reports, and social media posts.

Objective 4.2: Record the number of partnerships with influential stakeholders.

Objective 4.3: Increase the number of organizations adopting Slingshot’s standard for assessing poverty-fighting impact using benefit-cost analysis, use of best practices, measurement infrastructure, and systems-level change.