Associate Director Individual Giving and Donor Relations

You will build and manage the individual giving program from the ground up. You will qualify prospects, manage a major-gifts portfolio, create cultivation and solicitation strategies, develop multi-year giving plans, and secure unrestricted funding. You will work with executive leadership and the Board to build donor relationships, fundraising infrastructure, stewardship practices, and a sustainable pipeline.

Responsibilities

• Qualify prospective donors and manage a major gifts portfolio.
• Develop cultivation and solicitation strategies for individual donors.
• Build multi-year giving plans.
• Engage executive leadership and the Board to advance donor relationships and giving opportunities.
• Design and implement the individual giving and major gifts strategy.
• Build a donor pipeline, stewardship philosophy, and fundraising infrastructure.
• Secure unrestricted funding that supports strategic priorities.
• Develop systems and stewardship practices that enable the function to scale.
• Build visibility among philanthropic individuals interested in science serving the public interest.
• Travel to meet prospective donors and funders across the country.

Requirements

• Demonstrate a track record of designing fundraising strategies or significantly expanding an individual giving program and delivering measurable revenue growth.
• Demonstrate fluency working with high-net-worth donors and making the case for unrestricted giving.
• Demonstrate executive-level relationship skills, including partnering with a CEO and Board.
• Demonstrate the ability to design multi-year giving strategies and close six-figure gifts.
• Have 10+ years of major gift fundraising experience.
• Demonstrate success planning, designing, implementing, and executing fundraising strategies focused on high-net-worth individuals.
• Have experience managing an active major gifts portfolio throughout the donor lifecycle.
• Demonstrate the ability to steward relationships with donors, board members, and constituents from varied backgrounds.
• Understand professional fundraising ethical standards, donor confidentiality, and stewardship practices.
• Be proficient with Salesforce, WealthX, RelSci, or equivalent databases.
• Demonstrate excellent written communication skills, including developing proposals, correspondence, and briefings.
• Demonstrate the ability to identify and engage prospective donors without an established pipeline.
• Be eligible to work in the United States.

Benefits

• 403(b) retirement plan
• Medical coverage
• Dental coverage
• Vision coverage
• Short-term disability insurance
• Long-term disability insurance
• Life insurance
• Employee assistance support
• Healthcare FSA
• Dependent care FSA
• Commuter benefits