JOB TITLE: Senior Director of Fundraising & Development
REPORTS TO: Chief Executive Officer
FLSA STATUS: Exempt
LOCATION: Washington, DC, will consider remote
Since 1999, WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease has been the nation’s only patient-centered organization solely devoted advancing women’s heart health through patient support, community education, and advocacy. Our mission is to improve the lives of women with or at risk for heart disease while fighting for equity in heart health. WomenHeart is both a coalition and a community of thousands of members nationwide, including women heart patients and their families, health care professionals, health advocates, all committed to helping women live longer, healthier lives. This $2.3 million organization just celebrated its 25th anniversary and is poised for strategic growth as a thought leader in the field.
Position Summary
Reporting to the CEO, the Senior Director will lead the strategic transformation towards revenue growth in supporting this $2.3 million non-profit organization to become a $5 million organization in the next 3 years, with non-corporate funding making up at least 30%. They will manage the organization’s fundraising and development activities, including strengthening and managing the infrastructure to raise funds in order to build WomenHeart’s core programs and initiatives. The Senior Director will work in partnership with the CEO and the WomenHeart team to develop a robust fundraising program to enable individuals, families, philanthropic organizations corporate funders expand beyond the pharmaceutical industries to support the mission, programs and growth of WomenHeart. In addition, the Senior Director will work in concert with the WomenHeart team to ensure alignment of messaging, priorities, and impact.
This role will be crucial in advancing the organization, guaranteeing its scalability, sustainability, and long-term success.
Duties and Activities
Organizational Leadership – 15%
- Oversees WomenHeart’s fundraising strategy and implementation, is part of the Senior Leadership Team, serves as an organization representative for WomenHeart.
- Leverages a strong portfolio of existing corporate relationships, while building out an individual donor program and charting the course for new funding relationships and opportunities.
- Utilizes expertise and experience to lead the cultural change to evolve WomenHeart and all its stakeholder groups into a robust fundraising organization for the cause of women + heart disease.
Fundraising Management & Operations – 25%
- Oversees all revenue-generating activities–including giving from individuals, corporations, and foundations; donor communications; events; and Board engagement.
- Cultivates new sources of funding in support of WomenHeart’s strategic priorities. This includes identifying and strengthening relationships with community stakeholders, ensuring consistent messaging, and serving as the main point of contact for fundraising.
- Works in concert with the WomenHeart team to maintain healthy funding pipeline and development database (CRM).
- Supports leadership and program staff in donor engagement, including preparation and follow-up for meetings and speaking engagements.
- Looks after WomenHeart’s fiscal health including tracking revenue and fundraising trends in order to identify future opportunities for expansion.
- Oversees effective virtual and in-person donor cultivation and stewardship events, and guide donor engagement at flagship WomenHeart events, including the WomenHeart Summit and Wenger Awards.
- Oversees the creation of written and online fundraising materials, including grant proposals, solicitations, decks, reports, appeal letters, impact reports, annual reports, and fundraising event invitations.
Donor Cultivation & Stewardship – 25%
- Oversees the development and management of relationships with funders, donors and external stakeholders, sets and manages major gift objectives and goals, and facilitates donor engagement events, campaigns and challenges.
- Maintains a donor portfolio of five- and six-figure donors and prospects, with an emphasis on building out a major donor program, including planned giving, legacy giving, Donor Advised Funds, etc.
- Cultivate and solicit gifts independently or in partnership with the President & CEO, Senior Leadership, and members of the Board of Directors.
Data-Driven Decision Making – 10%
- Utilize data analytics and donor research tools to identify, prioritize, and qualify prospects, continuously refining and adapting strategies based on performance metrics and donor feedback to maximize fundraising effectiveness.
Board Cultivation and CEO Support – 15%
- Leads annual board-giving strategy, supports CEO and Chair with Board engagement and, and is accountable for meeting Board fundraising targets.
Financial Management – 5%
- Manages the Development function’s annual expense budget and partner with the finance team to develop and update revenue projections.
- Maintains an environment that attracts, retains, and motivates a diverse team of top-quality staff.
- Supports the maintenance of the donor database, ensuring the accuracy and timeliness of information; oversee gift processing and acknowledgment.
- Establishes and maintains appropriate Development policies and procedures, as well as to ensure thorough and accurate record keeping.
Other – 5%
- Attends required meetings, assists with recruitment, contributes to summer tours and events, helps with WomenHeart merchandise design and sales, and fulfills other responsibilities as needed.
Supervisory Responsibilities: None
Staff Support:
- Grant-writing and relationship management from Director of Strategic Alliances
- Database Support from Executive Coordinator
- Program Development from Programs Team
- Operations Support from Operations Manager
Overall Responsibilities
- Be a passionate spokesperson for WomenHeart
- Connect with people and tap into their passion to make a difference in the lives of women living with and at risk for heart disease
- Achieve revenue generation goals by implementing established fundraising best practices
- Develop profiles on the targeted corporations with a documented plan to secure their involvement and funding
- Support implementation of WomenHeart’s Strategic Plan to determine the stepped focus approach, based on the mission and annual strategic priorities
- Implement comprehensive development strategies that will yield the greatest benefit to WomenHeart and ensures generation of revenue
- Develop prospect lists, create new opportunities for partnerships and collaborations, develop cultivation and stewardship plans to yield results
- Determine appropriate grant and sponsorship proposal submissions aligned with mission and strategic plan in collaboration with programs, communications and advocacy functions
- Support implementation of a proactive online donor strategy
- Oversee the maintenance of the CRM
- Achieve overall fundraising goals, as designated by the CEO
- Perform other duties as assigned
Qualifications
Experience:
- Bachelor’s degree in nonprofit fundraising with 7+ years (or Master’s degree with 5+ years) of front-line fundraising experience, successfully soliciting five-figure gifts, and 3-4 years of experience in event planning, implementation, and strategic planning. CFRE certification preferred. Have strong knowledge of fundraising best practices and current trends in charitable giving.
- Documented success of increasing overall revenue for a small, national nonprofit with budgets in the $3M-$5M range; and an increase in unrestricted funding 100% per year.
Additional Required Experience:
- Demonstrated ability to build successful working relationships internally and externally that translate into financial results.
- A flexible and enthusiastic approach to work, including ability to work effectively with others in a fast-paced and collaborative workplace; demonstrated ability to work independently and proactively in a fast-paced entrepreneurial environment, lead projects, meet multiple concurrent deadlines, and organize time and priorities.
- Strong professional network and experience developing cause-marketing or CSR/corporate philanthropic partnerships in the industry, a plus.
- Demonstrated interest and commitment to improving women’s heart health, and/or corporate philanthropy; high energy and demonstrated passion for WomenHeart’s mission is a plus.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams) and other internet-based applications, including Zoom and Google. EveryAction CRM management experience a plus.
- High level of integrity, trust, and accountability along with excellent judgment, intuition, and common sense, as well as the right blend of professional confidence with a keen sense of diplomacy.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience working in women’s health or cardiovascular disease
- Familiarity with the women’s health funding landscape
- Knowledge of graphic design, layout, and professional printing/publishing
- Knowledge and understanding of marketing and communications practice strategies
- Interest in women’s health patient engagement, advocacy and systems change
Compensation
Salary:
- Salary commensurate with experience, within the range of $125,000-$140,000. This position offers a remote work environment. A comprehensive benefits package, including paid time off, medical, dental and vision care, employer contributions to retirement account, family leave, wellness and staff development benefits, home office allowance.
Travel:
- Approximately 10% of this position requires travel. Travel occurs specifically for training, conferences, programmatic and fundraising events, or other relevant events.
Work Environment:
- WomenHeart is currently operating in a flexible remote, home-based environment, with several team virtual meetings per week. The Senior Director/VP of Development’s work schedule is Monday – Friday with occasional weekend and evening work as required. The remote work environment and work schedule are subject to change based on the organization's needs and as determined by the CEO. This role operates Monday through Friday with a remote working model. Occasional team-building activities, as well as weekend and evening work, may be required.
