AVP - Individual Philanthropy & Family Philanthropy

Morehouse School of Medicine Office of Institutional Advancement/Philanthropy seeks to recruit a talented and experienced advancement professional for the position of AVP – Individual & Family Philanthropy to make significant contributions to the advancement of health equity in pursuit of health justice.  Successful candidate will be a passionate, creative, and mission-driven professional to join our growing team of Philanthropy Professionals.  This team supports current fundraising activities and has the exciting opportunity to engage in a $500M Comprehensive Campaign that will contribute to the major expansion of campus infrastructure, addition of new degree programs, the development of regional medical campuses and research collaborations across the U.S. and the world.     The AVP, Individual & Family Philanthropy will lead MSM’s individual donor and family philanthropy team including annual fund, alumni giving, major individual donors and the development of a planned giving program for the institution.     This is a public-facing role – a key relationship builder who works closely with individual donors and multi-generational family philanthropists to create a comprehensive individual giving program for MSM. As such, this individual must model our core organizational values of being bold, collaborative, and adaptive to change. The ideal candidate will have a firm understanding of established fundraising principles and techniques, strong project and time management skills, and a track record for superb interpersonal, written, and professional communication and relationship management skills.

This position reports to the VP of Philanthropy & Capital Campaign and manages a team of advancement professionals including Annual Giving, Student and Alumni Engagement, Project Coordinator and future Planned Giving Manager.    Specifically, the AVP – Individual & Family Philanthropy will:

• Oversee a high-functioning Individual and family-based resource development efforts to advance health equity, improve care, support biomedical research, interdisciplinary education, and community engagement efforts across the MSM mission areas – education, research, community engagement and clinical services.  
• Will work collaboratively with SVP and VP Philanthropy & Comprehensive Campaign to design, articulate and execute a comprehensive individual donor program including annual fund, strategic moves management, major donor and planned giving program for individuals and multi-generational family philanthropists.
• Personally manage an extensive portfolio of 50-100 individual/family mid-major donor level prospects with an explicit intention to proactively execute a moves management strategy ranging from first gift to estate-planning and planned giving.
• Ability to understand and serve as a thought partner to faculty, staff and researchers in conceptualizing, articulating and translating complex program ideas and evaluation plans into compelling proposals and other collateral materials for use in cultivating individual donors.
• Actively recruit individual donors to attend and give generously in support of MSM’s signature fundraising events, including but not limited to:  Women with Heart, Men’s Breakfast, Hugh Gloster Society Event and Alumni Engagement Events. 
• Serve as a leader and support the professional development of the team through intentional role modeling that is inclusive, transparent, and empowering.
• Represent the Advancement Office at various cultivation, community engagement and fundraising events, working in tandem with MSM’s Advancement Team, SVP and VP Philanthropy & Capital Campaign.
• Ensure MSM Advancement protocols are followed in all aspects of the donor process, including gift processing and acknowledgment, prospecting, soliciting, and stewardship.
• In conjunction with the donor relations team, create written proposals and stewardship reports, craft acknowledgment letters, and respond to requests from faculty, donors, and advancement colleagues.
• Partner with faculty, researchers, clinicians, students, alumni, and advancement colleagues to build the prospect base through the identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of individual donors.
• As part of engagement efforts, initiate appropriate contact and develop meaningful and effective development events for donors and prospective individual donors to showcase unique opportunities for support.
• Track progress and results in CRM/Database System (currently Raiser’s Edge – RE), following MSM’s prospect management guidelines.
• Other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications: 

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited university 
• Ten years management level development/fundraising experience
• A minimum of 7 years of major campaign, fundraising, individual donor portfolio management experience, preferably working with major individual donors and multi-generational family philanthropists locally, statewide, and nationally.  
• Five years managing/supervising a fundraising team or department.
• Proven analytical/problem solving skills. 
• Strong time management, organizational skills, and detail orientation. 
• Experience working in a dynamic environment with a commitment to meeting deadlines. 
• Demonstrated ability to exercise excellent judgment and discretion in handling highly confidential information. 
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and proven ability to communicate clearly and professionally with individuals at all levels, internally and externally. 
• Ability to handle multiple priorities from various constituents with tight deadlines in a fast-paced environment. 
• A high degree of professionalism and a strong work ethic coupled with a sense of responsibility and integrity required. 
• Ability to resolve problems independently and work with a high degree of autonomy and responsibility. 
• Strong computer proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook required. 
• Demonstrated experience in project management. 
• Candidate must possess an extensive and longstanding network of individual donor contacts and documented track record of successfully moving donors along gift growth trajectory.
• Experience in student and alumni engagement in higher education, with desired experience in academic medicine. 
• This is a high-profile leadership role that requires a professional with excellent verbal and written communication, an entrepreneurial thinker, and a problem solver. 
• Candidate must possess strong relationship management skills and oversee the day-to-day operations of the Individual & Family Philanthropy function. 
• A deep commitment to the mission of Morehouse School of Medicine and experience in support of global health equity. 
• Superior thinking, speaking, and writing skills, and an ability to communicate MSM programs, projects, and activities for purposes of fundraising.
• Leadership, collaboration, and consensus-building skills.
• Ability to communicate with a range of people at all levels, including MSM management and program staff, board members, donors, contractors, outside vendors and suppliers, and other administrative staff members, and to proactively seek ways to contribute to team success.
• Proficiency in using Microsoft Suite of products including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and other fundraising-related software.
• Commitment to MSM’s mission, vision, and core values.
• Experience working in complex, deadline-driven environment required.
• Experience using Microsoft 365 suite and Raiser’s Edge (or similar) database.
• Experience planning in-person and virtual fundraising events. 
• Experience conducting and analyzing donor prospect research.

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Master’s degree 
• 10 years of fundraising experience, including some period in higher education with preference given to candidates who possess development experience in academic medicine.
• Experience managing student and alumni engagement programs – volunteering, mentoring, annual giving and major gifts including building endowed scholarships.  
• Major campaign and individual donor portfolio management experience across the annual fund, major donor and transformational giving levels.
• Familiarity working with faculty, top executives, and high-level community leaders.
• Accustomed to and comfortable with receiving and applying feedback and advice to improve performance. 
• Demonstrated history of success in their prior field/position, with a special focus on success in designing, implementing, and administering innovative programs that require creative solutions and energized problem-solving approaches within the individual and family philanthropy arena.
• Experience in a high growth organization, scaling a growing team and department.