The Director of Major Gifts will lead the DC Region’s individual giving campaign as a senior member of a Development team responsible for raising over $20 million in operating revenue over the next four years. You will report directly to and work closely with the Head of Development on creating and executing a sophisticated development plan, managing a Manager, Individual Giving, and building meaningful relationships with a portfolio of investors and prospective supporters. You will be responsible for designing and implementing approaches to engage key donors (current, lapsed, and new) around the region’s core mission and vision and soliciting gifts for ongoing operations and agreed-upon special programs. Approximately 70% of your time will be spent outlining strategy, contacting, meeting with, or soliciting donors with measurable outcomes as outlined by the Head of Development.
Cultivation and Stewardship (40%)
- Help maintain excellent relationships with a portfolio of individual donors and prospects, including but not limited to Sponsor A Teacher Family, attendees at our main fundraising events (i.e. Gala, Meet Our Teachers), and annual fund donors
- Support donor engagement with the Executive Director and Head of Development through the preparation of accurate, concise and thoughtful meeting briefs
- Develop and maintain own portfolio of 175 prospects and donors and securing gifts ranging from $5,000-$100,000
- Communicate Teach For America's vision, priorities and goals in a compelling way to individual donors and prospects
- Ensure timely processing and prompt acknowledgement of donations secured
Portfolio Management, Strategy and Planning (30%)
- Creating the long range regional individual giving vision and annual strategic and operating plans to ensure that the D.C. region maximizes opportunities, meets its goals, and significantly grows funding while building long-term sustainability
- Support the Head of Development in managing annual giving campaigns, including Sponsor A Teacher, the Gala, and crafting an annual General Operations campaign (i.e. Annual Fund)
- Analyze the interests of donors and prospects to develop compelling pitches, engagement strategies and stewardship plans
- Analyze historical and market data to inform fundraising goals
- Create high-quality meeting prep materials for the Head of Development and ED to conduct meetings and school visits; occasionally conduct these meetings
- Draft and review compelling fundraising communications about Teach For America’s vision, priorities, and goals, including written appeals, renewal notices, reports, proposals, and event invitations
- Create tailored pitches based on deep understanding of our individual donors, including verbal presentations, PowerPoint decks and “one-pagers focused on local impact and cultivations
Development Operations (20%)
- Manage a Manager of Individual Giving, who will own all gala-related giving
- Utilize Salesforce database to manage and input data related to individual giving portfolio and conduct prospect research
- Regularly assessing team-wide progress to goals, identifying what is driving and impeding progress, developing solutions to address gaps, and adjusting course as necessary
- Maintain meticulous records of donor engagement
Regional Team Responsibilities (10%)
- Support, attend and/or participate in regional team activities including but not limited to: corps member selection and matriculation; corps member and alumni professional development, including some evenings and weekends; and functional team meetings and retreats
Prior Experience
- At a minimum, 5-7 years of professional experience, included 3-5 years development and fundraising experience
Skills
- Uncommon level of personal responsibility with exceptional goal orientation and a proven track record of success
- Strong storyteller with the ability to narrate what is inspiring, compelling, and important about our work
- Superb interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to both motivate and manage superiors, peers, and direct reports to achieve ambitious, concrete results
- Highly organized and motivated to manage self and others around complex projects and work streams
- Able to navigate the many layers of our matrix organization to build credibility, invest others, and tap into other sources of input
- Optimistic, excited by the challenges of achieving very ambitious fundraising goals, and motivated by playing a behind the scenes support role
- Demonstrated pattern of working to develop and better self, teams and organization
- Working in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial, deadline-driven environment
- Strong sense of flexibility, willing and able to change course as needed, particularly to best suit team or stakeholder needs
- Passionate about our mission, believes deeply in the importance of inspiring/investing external people in our mission/work and operates with a customer service mindset
- Must be proficient in MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint
Work Demands
- Some evening and weekend work required