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Make-A-Wish® Greater Bay Area

Senior Director of Individual Giving

THE ORGANIZATION

 

Overview

 

Make-A-Wish® Greater Bay Area creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. Its work brings joy and healing to the children who receive wishes — and to those who help grant them. Wishes not only bring children hope, they also strengthen their families and communities by making life better for everyone involved in making each wish a reality. Wishes have also been shown to have tangible physical and emotional benefits that can give children with critical illnesses a higher chance of survival, empowering them to fight harder against their illnesses.

 

Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area serves children from Monterey to the Oregon border and grants over 400 wishes a year. It has a committed network of board members and advisors as well as an extensive network of over 650 volunteers throughout its Northern California territory. Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area has an ambitious three-year goal to grant the wish of every eligible child within its territory, ultimately granting over 500 wishes per year.

 

THE POSITION

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To achieve its ambitious short-and long-term fundraising goals, Make-A-Wish seeks an experienced and motivated leader to join its fundraising program. Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, the Senior Director will design, implement, and manage comprehensive programs and strategies to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward individual donors. S/he will work to help diversify and grow the organization’s revenue streams, by establishing a program of best practices and identifying and developing the critical processes required to increase both the number of donors and the level of support for the organization.

 

The Senior Director will oversee all areas of individual giving as well as development operations, including database administration and analysis. S/he will manage, mentor, and provide strategic direction for the Development and Events Team, including the Development Manager, Database Administrator, Development Associate, and Events Director and his/her team. The Senior Director will manage a personal portfolio of donors and prospects and partner with the CEO on recruiting and managing the organization’s Development Committee and its regional Advisory Councils.  

 

Responsibilities:

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    Individual Giving/Leadership

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  • Oversee and lead all individual giving programs, including: major gifts, annual and workplace giving, direct response, planned giving, vehicle donation and grants. Provide leadership and strategic direction to set priorities for individual giving

  • Establish annual revenue goals and the strategies and metrics required to meet or exceed them. Develop timelines and revenue forecasts and lead efforts to identify new opportunities to grow revenue from the individual giving portfolio

  • Manage a tailored portfolio of approximately 50 assigned prospective donors at various stages of the fundraising cycle from identification through solicitation and stewardship

  • Establish fundraising and activity goals in collaboration with staff, monitor staffing needs, and leading the Development team toward its annual revenue goals

  • Develop and manage development budget and monitor monthly revenue and expense projections for areas of responsibility

  • Manage and review the performances of the Development team, including the Development Manager, Database Administrator and Development Associate. Mentor and support staff and ensure that they have appropriate opportunities for training and professional growth

  • Collaborate with Program team to develop integrated approaches for both monetary and in-kind proposal asks for partnerships that crossover both departments

  • Collaborate with Marketing team to develop effective collateral to use with donors

  • Lead and manage the chapter’s adopt-a-wish program

  • Serve as primary contact for Make-A-Wish America and other chapters in individual major gifts

  • Assign major gift portfolio to the CEO and provide support on cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of that portfolio

  • Provide leadership and strategic direction to build a more robust planned giving program

  • Represent Make-A-Wish positively and professionally throughout the community

 

    Events Oversight

 

  • Oversee the planning, implementation, and evaluation of all fundraising and cultivation/stewardship events, including evaluating ROI and ensuring that all internal processes related to events, including gift acknowledgment, donor recognition, and the integration of online and internal/external event donors are completed appropriately and successfully

  • Supervise, support, and review the performance of the Events Director and the overall performance of the events team under the direction of the Director   

  • Administer and monitor the events budget, fundraising goals, and activities

  • Work closely with the CEO, Events Director and Board of Directors to formulate and implement policies and plans to meet the organization’s short and long-term objectives

  • With the CEO and Events Director, recruit and lead volunteer steering committee

 

      Donor Relations

 

  • Collaborate with CEO on stewardship for individual donors

  • Develop and manage a comprehensive donor recognition program

  • Oversee and update all solicitation and acknowledgment processes, maintenance of the organization’s CRM database (Raiser’s Edge), and fulfillment of donor recognition, ensuring compliance with IRS guidelines and the highest ethical standards

  • Establish a program of annual stewardship and recognition events

 

     Board of Directors and Advisory Councils

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  • Assist with staffing of Development Committee and nominations for Board of Directors

  • Support and recruit all Advisory Councils and other committees

 

 

CANDIDATE QUALIFICATIONS/EXPERIENCE

 

Experience:

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  • Seven to ten years of progressively responsible non-profit development experience, including a minimum of three years staff supervisory experience

  • A strong record of raising major gifts, either as a professional fundraiser or from a combination of professional and volunteer fundraising activities

  • Proven success inspiring people and managing positive working relationships with boards, volunteers, and staff to meet organizational goals

  • Experience identifying giving opportunities and thinking creatively to establish matches between donors and funding priorities

  • Experience in developing donor-centric cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies

  • Demonstrated ability to engage and support volunteer leadership with their efforts in fundraising, consultation, and advocacy

  • Experience developing and managing strategic fundraising plans and budgets

  • Demonstrated record of successfully building relationships and supporting and servicing donors, prospects, and other relevant constituencies

 

​Education:

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      A Bachelor’s degree is required or combination of education and work experience.

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​COMPETENCIES/ATTRIBUTES

 

The successful professional will have or be:

 

  • An effective team leader

  • A high level of initiative, attention to detail and strong organization skills

  • Strong verbal and written communication skills 

  • Skill in successfully managing multiple projects on tight deadlines and under pressure in a dynamic and open environment

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

  • Ability to articulate programs in ways that meet the interests and passions of donors

  • Significant level of computer proficiency, including MS Office and relational databases; Raiser's Edge experience preferred

  • Commitment to the Make-A-Wish mission and ability to work as part of a collaborative team

  • A successful record of meeting fundraising goals

  • Able to travel and undertake occasional weekend work

  • Must possess a valid driver’s license

  • Physical ability to drive a motor vehicle and to lift 40lbs

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COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

 

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 resume to:

 

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David N. Randall

Principal

Randall Search Associates

415 767 3814

david@randallsearchassociates.com

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