Director, Strategic Gifts

The mission of Special Olympics is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.

The Director of Foundation Relations, Strategic Gifts is responsible for supporting the cultivation, solicitation and stewardship activities of private foundation donors and prospects of Special Olympics.  This detail-oriented position plays a direct role in the day-to-day functions related to key donors and stakeholders to ensure best-in-class relationship management. 

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Reporting to the Senior Director of Strategic Gifts, the Director of Foundation Relations will work closely with several organizational teams across the movement to ensure the organization’s private fundraising needs are met.  Specific responsibilities include:

• Meet annual financial goals as defined by Senior Director of Strategic Gifts.
• Creating and managing the proposal coordination, development, review, and submittal process for private and family foundations.
• Ability to work cross functionally to identify new foundation prospects, while managing a portfolio of 8-12 existing foundation relationships.
• Understanding the needs of each Division's and Region’s funding opportunities.
• Initiating, managing, and facilitating the stewardship and reporting process to foundation funders, this includes the oversight of writing, approval, submittal of such reports and funder's requirements for financial information.
• Developing a suggested cultivation and solicitation strategy for qualified foundation prospects.
• Serve as a guide and resource to secure funding for the Special Olympics in the most efficient and collaborative way.
• In cooperation with the Senior Director of Strategic Gifts, developing strategic gift revenue forecasting, budgeting, and tracking progress.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

• History of soliciting and securing 6 and 7 figure gifts and building and maintaining long term relationships with foundations or donor.

• Proven ability to manage multiple initiatives simultaneously with a high level of independence and initiative and significant inter and cross department collaboration and support.
• Demonstrated ability to conduct research and analyze complex information in a fast-paced work environment and juggling multiple assignments on deadline.
• 8-10 years of previous experience in development operations, in particular foundation research and stewardship.
• Experience in data management to inform cultivation, stewardship and solicitation efforts of donors and prospects is essential.
• Successful experience in asking for and closing gifts or sales and building and maintaining long term relationships with foundation partners.
• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, excellent communication, and interpersonal skills.
• A proactive and creative problem-solver; and a team player.
• Strong time-management skills and ability to uphold deadline.
• Must have solid computer skills (Experience with a donor development database, Salesforce, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams).
• Bachelor’s degree in a related field.
• High level of competency in verbal and written communications.
• Familiarity with and understanding of the U.S. and global foundation community and a sense for the type of donor who may have an affinity to the mission.
• Comfort and experience working with high-net-worth donors.
• Willingness and ability to travel independently.

Desired Qualifications:

• Special Olympics experience at professional or volunteer level.
• Experience with Salesforce

Special Olympics provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.