Job Description

Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), you serve as a key management team member and an active participant in making strategic decisions affecting us. In partnership with the CEO, you will be responsible for all fundraising and development activities and be responsible for cultivating and leveraging key relationships and contacts with high-net worth individuals, foundations, and philanthropists to build a loyal donor base, ensure engaged donors and secure 6 and 7 figure gifts. You will have primary responsibility for establishing and implementing the infrastructure needed to raise $5 million annually and, expanding and diversifying the organization’s donor base/pipeline as well as working closely with other team members to secure support for new initiatives. You will oversee research on funding sources with foresight to help position us ahead of major funding changes, opportunities or trends. You will implement a stewardship program aimed at cultivating deeper ties with donors.
To succeed in this role, you believe that the capital markets can be a driver of social change. You comprehend the language of business as well as the language of philanthropy and foundations. You understand the motivations for giving and volunteering. You are a skilled researcher who also knows how to identify a funders’ priorities for impact. You know how to crystalize diverse and technical information into a brief distillation that captures the main points and engages people’s interests and motivations. You have learned how to cultivate and secure major gifts through prospecting, research, proposal writing, relationship development, and face-to-face solicitation. You have demonstrated proficiency and confidence in asking people to contribute time and money.
You are comfortable working directly with the CEO, COO, Board Development Committee members, Directors and members of other internal teams. You are motivated to train, develop, lead and mentor two development team members.
Reports to: CEO

Areas of Responsibility

Our work is fast-paced and, while the primary areas of responsibility are as follows, we value adaptability and a collaborative mindset.
Development
• Understand our work and develop compelling narratives to explain our theory of change and build a case for support
• Create and execute a strategy for a sustained base of 6 to 7-figure multiyear gifts from key donors including planning, prospect research and prioritization, development of briefing and engagement materials, cultivation, execution of meetings, strategic follow ups, asks, and stewardship
• Identify and cultivate new relationships with major donors and prospects
• Work with Director of Global Communications and other staff to craft effective donor communications and messages which help engage, educate and steward prospects and donors to maintain interest and excitement for our vision and mission
• Ensure our messaging continuously signals to our stakeholders that the organization is a necessary and worthy charitable organization they can support
• Develop and maintain a strong collaborative partnership with CEO to ensure her strategic engagements with prospects and funders including identification and cultivation of new Board members
• Aid the CEO with engagement of our Board of Directors in annual giving and in mobilizing their network of potential funders
• Oversee the writing and tracking of timely proposals and reports for funders
• Devise relevant reports to inform Development Committee and our Board on key priorities for Development function including a pipeline of funder prospects
• Ensure the team leverages Salesforce and other knowledge management platforms for data entry, relationship management, gift processing, and personal thank you correspondence

Organizational Leadership & Effectiveness

• Support short and long-term development team planning and strategy
• Consult with leadership team on matters related to fundraising, business structure, messaging, organizational priorities and growth
• Drive initiatives within the development team that contribute to long-term organizational success
• Manage internal development-related functions and liaise with other functional staff
• Work with Director of Finance to manage assumptions on timing of receipt of development funds

Qualifications
• Commitment to our mission
• Enthusiasm for startup environments, comfort with fast-changing conditions – flexibility is important
• Demonstrated success in achieving fundraising goals of $5 million+ annually and success in executing solicitations from individuals, foundations and corporations
• Ability to devise creative stewardship plans and execute successfully to build lasting relationships and further funders interest and awareness of our work and impact
• Demonstrated talent in working strategically and collaboratively with Boards and other volunteer leaders
• Excellent interpersonal, managerial and organizational skills and a collaborative work style
• A demonstrated commitment to high professional ethical standards and a diverse workplace
• Strategic mindset, with the ability to prioritize and manage many tasks simultaneously
• Execution-oriented, able to get tasks and projects done quickly while maintaining excellent quality
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office (PowerPoint, Excel etc.) and solid experience with Salesforce.com or similar CRM programs
• Knowledge of sustainable finance, the Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) field, and/or climate funding preferred
• Credibility and rapport with senior business professionals—ability to understand their world, explain ours, and highlight the connections between them
• BA plus a minimum of 7 years fundraising experience in a professional position required
• Master’s degree in Business, Public Policy or related field a plus