The SEED Foundation – Major Gifts Officer Executive Summary As our first Major Gifts Officer, you have lots of opportunities. And the Board is eager to work with you. SEED has already identified a pool of prospects with untapped potential and now we need your expertise to guide board members and staff through the fundraising process. You will put the structure and support systems in place to create long term, sustainable income streams from five and six-figure relationships. You will work in close collaboration with the Chief Strategy and Philanthropy Officer and gather input from SEED founders and executive leadership, to design a sustainable plan that strategically aligns donor interest and support across all of our programs. And we will look to you to share our objectives and views with donors, explore mutual interests, and build long term partnerships. You will also help to develop programmatic engagement strategies and support small cultivation events. The SEED Foundation has already proven that students from any background can succeed – now we’re tackling the next series of difficult challenges, like building a successful, long term institutional giving program. As Major Gifts Officer, you will communicate our mission and build relationships with private donors to secure programmatic and unrestricted funds. You will create a formal major gifts function that serves as a pillar for the Foundation’s long term sustainability. We’re fully funded for 2009-2010, so your focus can be on the future. Our initial goal is to raise an additional $500K for our next fiscal year (beginning in July 2010), and your input and leadership will be critical in helping us to define a campaign strategy with realistic yearly fundraising goals for the Foundation. You will manage a portfolio of about 150 prospects, support about 125 visits/year and 20-25 solicitations. As a young and expanding organization, we are in a target rich environment. New opportunities are constantly emerging. And while we've been wildly successful at getting our students into college, we still have room to improve our development processes and infrastructure. As we take our organization to the next level, you will help the development team build our processes, identify additional resources, and strengthen infrastructure items like our donor database. As part of our five member development team, you won't have dedicated administrative support, but yu will be able to count on the full support of your colleagues. Ultimately, it is your ability to see the big picture and drive support to strategic priorities that will ensure the wise growth and long-standing sustainability of our mission and of our programs. About SEED The SEED Foundation is a nationally recognized education non-profit and a catalyst for change in urban education. SEED opened its first urban, public, college-preparatory boarding school in 1998, The SEED School of Washington, D.C., and opened its second school in Maryland in August 2008. We understand the profound impact a single college graduate can make on an entire family and are passionate about making public education work for everyone. As public boarding schools, SEED schools are tuition-free and do not choose their students. In every year of our existence, the number of applications to attend SEED schools has exceeded the number of spaces available; to determine enrollment, SEED schools hold an annual lottery. (To learn more about the lottery, please read Tom Friedman’s column about it in the New York Times.) The SEED boarding school model integrates a rigorous academic program with a nurturing boarding program, which teaches life skills and provides a safe and secure environment. SEED developed this innovative model to provide a comprehensive solution to the challenges facing urban students, and it now serves as a prototype for expansion nationwide. Our model has proven successful: 97 percent of SEED graduates have been accepted to four year colleges and universities throughout the country and two in three SEED graduates remain enrolled in college or have already earned college degrees. Essential Experience, Skills and Competencies of the Major Gifts Officer We will want you to demonstrate the following: - Experience in major gifts and institutional giving; experience in both restricted and unrestricted fundraising techniques. Must have experience with donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
- Four years of related and proven experience.
- Experience managing cultivation and stewardship for five- and six-figure relationships.
- Ability to develop and maintain relationships across all levels of the organization with a broad spectrum of stakeholders.
- Exceptional project management skills, including designing, implementing, and tracking campaigns and programs.
- Proven experience in developing a budget, tracking and measuring results.
- Proficient with MS Word, Outlook, Excel.
- Working knowledge of documenting visits, writing briefings, major gift proposals and reports as well as familiarity with fundraising software.
- Superior written and verbal communication – in this role you will be responsible for writing your briefings, reports and proposals.
- Baccalaureate degree or higher degree or equivalent experience.
Attributes of a successful Major Gifts Officer - Champion for the mission: You understand the big picture, learn what is important to donors, what best serves the mission, and can easily translate our objectives into community impact. You care, profoundly, about serving people and possess a personal commitment to the SEED mission.
- Flexible: You have an entrepreneurial spirit. You seize opportunities in challenges. You are comfortable with ambiguity. And you are able to easily shift gears, reprioritize, and stay focused on key priorities.
- Supreme relationship builder: You share your insights, seek out other opinions and listen to the needs and concerns of others. You expertly navigate through challenges with a sense of fortitude, bringing out the best in others as you build trust and buy-in from both colleagues and donors alike.
- Problem solver with strong task management and execution skills: You are a critical thinker. You are hands-on, ask questions and “come up to speed” quickly. You work with a sense of urgency and dive in without being asked.
- Politically astute: You are energized by the challenge of building on-going successful fundraising campaigns. You are able to understand, respect, and appreciate the challenges and constraints that colleagues, board members and donors may be facing, and you are able to confidently guide and direct them.
- Self-assured, direct, and ego-less: You work well with all levels throughout the organization. You are self confident, flexible, open to feedback, comfortable with peer review, and offer unflinching support for your colleagues.
- Highly organized and methodical: You know what’s expected of you and you plan carefully to ensure your results.
- Accountable: You are impeccable with your word and consistent with your follow-through. You are known for how you ‘get things done.’
- Service-driven: Whether it’s staffing the Board or executive management, you understand the importance of managing timelines and clearly outlining expectations to garner results. You take delight in running a highly organized fundraising function and you deeply enjoy exceeding others expectations.
- A “builder” with a “can-do” attitude: You build from the ground up, and possess a sense of resolute focus on the future.
- Collaborative work-style: You share information, coordinate effectively, and execute your piece while working well across teams. You work cooperatively, are able to seek out relevant information, decide the appropriate steps and facilitate to get the desired results. You are known for your poise, tact and diplomacy.
What’s Attractive to the Right Candidate? - With a solid prospect list already in place, you can jump right into building relationships.
- The mission drives the money – you have the power to put the mission first, attract the dollars, and build relationships with those who have a direct interest in the mission.
- You will be working directly with a high-powered board that wants to engage in fundraising.
- You are creating a better future that will profoundly impact the lives of students and their families and will have a long-term, generation-altering impact.
- You have the opportunity to build a critical development function that is essential to creating long term sustainability as we grow and expand our programs. Your experience, opinions, and expertise are valued. What you bring to the table is vital to our success.
- You will be a part of an innovative organization with staff that is extremely focused and intent on creating long term value. Your colleagues are professional and committed to their work, and respectful and responsive to each other.
- You’ll enjoy a close working relationship with a seasoned Chief Strategy and Philanthropy Officer, who is experienced and supportive, but won’t micromanage.
- You can take pride in knowing that your efforts will be in service to furthering the educational opportunities of underserved children and their families.
- SEED is poised for growth: we have opened and learned from the first school, and we are successfully replicating the process in Baltimore. Now, demand for the SEED model has grown and our institutional understanding for how to grow is also developed and ready.
- You will be inspired every day working with colleagues who are bright, effective, and undaunted in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.
To Apply for the Major Gifts Officer for the SEED Foundation: The fastest way to apply for this position is to create a profile and apply through the link at the top of this page.
If you prefer, simply email a Word version of your resume and cover letter to Jennie Kinsfather at resumes@staffingadvisors.com with the title of the position in the Subject line of the email. (We do acknowledge every resume received, but please note that it may take us an extra day or two to get back with you if you choose to apply via email).
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