THE ORGANIZATION

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Horizons Foundation has been dedicated to serving, funding, and helping to lead the LGBTQ community for 40 years. Established in 1980 as a San Francisco–based community foundation, Horizons’ mission statement reads:  

 

As the world’s first community foundation of, by and for LGBTQ people, Horizons invests in LGBTQ nonprofits, strengthens a culture of LGBTQ giving, and builds a permanent endowment to secure our community’s future for generations to come.

 

Horizons is a national leader in promoting LGBTQ philanthropy, recently recognized as one of the LGBTQ movement’s “Top 10” funders by the national advocacy group Funders for LGBTQ Issues. Last year, Horizons distributed grants totaling $5.4M to hundreds of nonprofits throughout the country, with more than half supporting organizations in the Bay Area. Grants were awarded to LGBTQ nonprofits and to LGBTQ-focused programs at non-LGBTQ-specific organizations. Through its donor-advised fund (DAF) program, Horizons also makes grants to non-LGBTQ nonprofits regionally and nationally.

 

Last year, Horizons provided critical funding to both LGBTQ and non- LGBTQ organizations, including support for projects that addressed violence and bullying, teen suicide and literacy; provided training and leadership development to mental health professionals; fueled advocacy for transgender rights, ensured adequate and culturally-sensitive healthcare to the LGBTQ community, and facilitated efforts to provide asylum to LGBT immigrants fleeing persecution and violence in their native countries. Horizons has responded aggressively to the COVID-19 pandemic and will soon have made more than $900K in emergency grants to over 65 Bay Area nonprofits through its LGBTQ COVID-19 Response Emergency Fund, including San Francisco LGBTQ Center, Transgender Law Center, Lavender Seniors of the East Bay, Homeless Youth Alliance, Openhouse, Positive Resource Center (PRC), the South Bay’s Billy deFrank Center, GLBT Historical Society and LGBTQ Connection Napa and Sonoma.

 

In 2016, Horizons undertook the most ambitious fundraising campaign in its history. The Now and Forever campaign raised over $115M, including $3.7M in outright gifts from a broad base of donors that enabled Horizons to increase its programs, capacity, and breadth of services to the community and beyond. The campaign also achieved another milestone, identifying over $110M in future legacy gifts as part of efforts to build its endowment and ensure long-term support of organizations in the region. Horizons currently has over $36M in assets under management and a growing endowment of roughly $14M.

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THE POSITION

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The Chief Philanthropy Officer (CPO) position offers a rare opportunity to make a profound and lasting impact on the LGBTQ community in the Bay Area and beyond and to promote and support LGBTQ philanthropy in general. As a member of the senior management team, the CPO will play an integral leadership role within the organization and work closely with the president, board, and colleagues to develop and implement the foundation’s strategies and initiatives.

 

Horizons seeks an exceptional and strategic fundraiser who thrives in an entrepreneurial environment and can continue to build a comprehensive 21st century development program for an organization with a remarkable track record, widespread impact, and a powerful long-term vision for the LGBTQ community. The CPO is responsible for managing and strengthening key functional components of the foundation’s fundraising program, including annual, major, and planned giving, institutional giving, events, and development operations, including donor recognition and stewardship. The CPO will supervise and lead a team of three FTEs.

 

The CPO will also oversee Horizons’ DAF program and its highly active legacy (planned) giving program. The DAF program currently includes 150 funds, with significant future growth anticipated. The CPO and their team will work closely with and provide counsel to donors who have established DAFs to help them realize their philanthropic goals. Horizons’ legacy giving program is a recognized leader in the Bay Area community and the national LGBTQ rights movement. The program lies at the core of Horizons’ long-term vision and strategic plan for the LGBTQ community. As with the DAF program, the CPO will work regularly with individual donors on developing and structuring what Horizons calls their “Legacies of Pride.”

 

The CPO will oversee the foundation’s educational and community-building programs among both donors and professional financial-planning and estate-planning advisors and serve as one of the foundation’s most important external voices. They will also work closely with Horizons’ communications team to design and implement effective development communications materials and strategies.   

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RESPONSIBILITIES

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Annual Fundraising

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• Develop and implement diverse strategies to grow and sustain Horizons’ revenue base and meet its private fundraising goals

• Design and lead the foundation’s annual fundraising campaign, securing support from individuals, corporations, foundations, events, and other sources

• Work in close partnership with the president, board, and volunteer committees to build the organization’s philanthropic capabilities. Staff Horizons’ development committee, providing fundraising counsel and direction and identifying and recruiting new members

• Build Horizons’ fundraising infrastructure to increase support, steward donors, and ensure adequate operational support for fundraisers, volunteers, and foundation leadership

• Strengthen Horizons’ major gifts program by ensuring best practices and systems to develop a robust prospect pipeline and increase the number of engaged donors capable of making gifts of $10K+

  • Strengthen and build relationships with institutional funders, particularly diversifying and increasing support from corporations and increasing outreach to foundations

  • Conduct a strategic review of Horizons’ program of annual events. Plan and manage internal and external fundraising and cultivation events

• Manage the development budget. Ensure best practice use of analytics, data, and metrics to track progress and success of fundraising strategies and tactics

• Design and implement an effective donor relations and stewardship program; create new opportunities for donor and volunteer engagement

 

 

Legacy Giving and Donor-Advised Fund Programs  

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• Develop and implement strategies to increase the pipeline of deferred/planned gifts to ensure long-term support for Horizons’ LGBTQ Community Endowment Fund. Oversee efforts to promote planned giving opportunities in the LBGTQ and allied communities

• Support legacy prospects and donors by developing giving plans and providing philanthropic advice to them and their professional advisors. Work with estate-planning attorneys and other advisors as needed Oversee creation and implementation of a limited number of high-quality educational activities for donors and professional advisors

• Support and provide counsel to the board’s planned giving committee

• Oversee and strategically grow Horizons’ Donor-Advised Fund program  

 

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Management

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• Serve as an active and contributing member of the senior management team. Actively participate in foundation strategic, operational, and financial planning and help ensure effective inter-departmental communication and the smooth running of the foundation.

• Recruit and provide leadership to the development team; motivate, inspire, manage, and develop staff, enabling them to exceed goals; advise and direct process improvement of fundraising activities

 

 

CANDIDATE QUALIFICATIONS/EXPERIENCE

 

Experience
 

• Minimum of seven to ten years of progressively responsible fundraising experience with proven success in a leadership role

• Experience working closely with donors, building key donor relationships, and creating opportunities for their philanthropy

• Experience building and/or strengthening a development program and successfully raising major and/or planned gifts  

• Experience leading a development program, including managing and mentoring a staff

• Experience implementing a multi-level donor identification, engagement, solicitation, and stewardship plan as well as developing strategies and tactics to sustain and increase giving and attract new individual and institutional donors

• Proven experience serving in the role of resource/coach/mentor to board members and colleagues and leveraging board/volunteer relationships to maximize development opportunities and strengthen capabilities in fundraising, consultation, and advocacy

 

Education

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• Bachelor’s degree preferred. Relevant experience and a successful track record are equally important.

 

COMPETENCIES/ATTRIBUTES

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The successful candidate will have/be:

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• A supporter or friend/ally of the LGBTQ community with a commitment to the foundation’s mission and vision and a desire to encourage and increase LGBTQ philanthropy

• Passion for helping individuals, couples, and families realize their philanthropic goals and maximize their philanthropic impact

• Ability to work collaboratively with the president, management team, staff, and key members of the board and volunteer committees

• Demonstrated ability to take initiative, think strategically, and develop effective work plans

• Effective communicator with excellent written and verbal communication skills

• Open, supportive, and encouraging leadership style with the ability to create and maintain a collegial, positive, and productive work environment and to motivate and mentor staff

• Strong financial skills, including the ability to develop and review budgets and to develop management reports that present a clear financial picture of fundraising activities

• Experience interacting with individuals from diverse backgrounds and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace

• Understanding of current trends in philanthropy and the ability to recommend new or different approaches to increase donors, contributions and identify new opportunities

• Unquestionable integrity and commitment to professional ethics, and the ability to responsibly handle sensitive and confidential information with discretion

• Significant computer proficiency, including MS Office. Salesforce experience a plus   

• Knowledge of Bay Area and LGBTQ philanthropic communities and organizations a plus

 

 

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

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This is a full-time, exempt position. A competitive salary and generous employee benefits package will be offered. To be considered for this position or for additional information on the opportunity, please contact or send cover letter and resume to:

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David N. Randall
Principal

Randall Search Associates

415 767 3814

david@randallsearchassociates.com

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Horizons Foundation is committed to diversity and invites all qualified people to apply, particularly people who identify as transgender, people of color and/or people with disabilities.