Position Title: Director of Development
Reports to: CEO of Madison College Foundation
Position Type: Full-Time exempt
Summary: Garner financial support for the Madison College Foundation by growing the base of support through cultivation of relationships with a portfolio of major donors, and solicitation of major charitable gifts and grants.
Primary Responsibilities and Duties include, but are not limited to:
1. Donor Engagement and Solicitation (70%)
a. Garner financial support by creating and maintaining a qualified portfolio of 150+ donors and corporate partners with capacity for giving major gifts.
b. Identify and qualify donor prospects, including identification and referral of potential grants from corporate and family foundations.
c. Create, implement, and maintain a custom relationship plan for each qualified prospect. Create effective offers and asks.
d. Build and nurture relationships with donors ensuring the donor’s interests and passions are fulfilled by visiting, calling, e-mailing, serving as the primary contact, and educating donors regarding annual needs and transformative opportunities – all to secure future gifts.
e. Develop resources, research funding sources, and assist when necessary, in writing grant proposals and execution of grants received.
f. Play a lead role in soliciting and closing major gifts and managing donor matched gifts.
g. Cultivate and engage board and volunteer leadership in the identification, evaluation, cultivation, and solicitation of major donors.
h. Conduct prospect research to identify potential major donors and prospects.
i. Build strong relationships with college administrators, faculty, and staff to support college and foundation priorities and fundraising efforts.
j. Manage acknowledgment and fulfillment of gifts and pledges.
k. Manage and steward a Planned Giving program for the Madison College Foundation to secure legacy gifts.
2. Donor Stewardship (20%)
a. Manage personal relationship communications as needed.
b. Create strategies to increase donor engagement, retention, and stewardship.
c. Manage correspondence with donors including pledge and gift reminders, thank you letters, donor meeting follow-up activities, etc.
d. Interface with the finance department to create ad hoc lists of donor queries as needed (Top 100 by lifetime gift amount, Top 100 by # gifts, etc.) to effectively increase donations from existing donors and to help better manage and steward donors.
3. Monitoring, Reporting and Supporting the overall Organization (10%)
a. Monitor weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual activity to achieve major gift revenue goals.
b. Assist with review and verification of major gift donor recognition lists.
c. Track and report relationship management activities using Raiser’s Edge NXT, including identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of prospective and current individual major donors.
d. Update Raisers Edge NXT regularly.
e. Oversee writing and create copy intended for direct donor communication or solicitation. Work with CEO to create framework and content for newsletters & other donor communications.
f. Provide support in both annual giving development and marketing activities, as needed.
g. Plan and implement cultivation and stewardship events for the Madison College Foundation.
h. Participate in organizational planning, strategy, and program development, as needed.
i. Working with MCF staff, maintain a catalog of impact stories and pictures.
4. Perform other duties as assigned by the CEO.
Minimum Qualifications
· Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree preferred.
· 5+ years’ experience in non-profit fundraising, including leadership and capacity building; higher education fundraising experience a plus.
· Demonstrated successful fundraising experience, major gift solicitation/cultivation, volunteer management, project management with proven track record of closing major gifts.
· Successful experience in making cold calls, and developing cultivation, solicitation and closing strategies.
· Ability to interact with high-level donors; be discreet and maintain a significant level of confidentiality.
· Be customer service oriented - demonstrate ability to respond with urgency to the needs and requests of others, internally and externally; ensure a high degree of responsiveness, including donors without regard to their giving level; understand the impact of their work on others.
· Ability to analyze information, plan, and set goals.
· Possess exceptional oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills.
· Exceptional analytical, strategic, and tactical ability.
· Demonstrated diplomacy and collaboration skills to work effectively with donors, board members, foundation and college colleagues, and other volunteers.
· Proven ability to exercise good judgment and discretion in work with sensitive, confidential information and with other team members in the organization.
- · Proficient with MS Office (especially Word, PowerPoint, and Excel). Familiarity with fundraising software preferred.
