Vice President Of Donor Relations

Position: Vice President of Donor Relations

Location: office in Bentonville, AR (hybrid schedule)

Status: Full time, Exempt

Reports to: Chief Development Officer

Position Overview 

Reporting to the Chief Development Officer, the Vice President of Donor Relations is responsible for growing principal, major, mid and planned gifts for Water for Good through strategy development and execution. This position will lead a professional front-line fundraisers’ team to raise $8M+ in annual private philanthropy revenue through transformational large and mid-size gifts. This position will also manage a portfolio of 40-50 qualified major and planned giving donors. This position will be part of the Senior Leadership team of the organization.

Primary Responsibilities 

• Manage one or more employees by providing workflow direction, feedback, coaching, performance reviews, interviewing, hiring, and any other managerial duties as needed to maximize the potential of the employee, in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws.

• Develop and execute strategies for major donor identification, qualification, cultivation, and solicitation, and leveraging data and analytics to drive fundraising performance within the President’s Circle, Major Donors and Major Donor Leads income thrusts of the organization

• In collaboration with the Chief Development Officer, design and execute special Major Giving and Planned Giving campaigns, develop case for support documents, giving strategies, and stewardship programs and collateral for President’s Circle and Major Donors

• Guides the development and management of geographic territories and portfolios for the donor relations team; develops tools, resources, dashboards and analytics for ongoing review of data to monitor and systematically manage donor portfolios/gifts and team performance

• Lead and oversee the scheduling and execution of international vision trips for qualified President’s Circle and Major Donors, to deepen affinity and maximize giving for all participants

• Other duties as assigned

• Manage relationships from varied accounts that represent individuals, churches, businesses, and foundations to qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward these relationships through excellent 12-month planning and intentional outreach

• Develop and cultivate major donors and President’s Circle donors based on yearly goals

• Identify major gift referral prospects by executing a robust referral strategy with established partners

• Draft major donor gift proposals and solicit major gifts from individuals, churches, corporate partners, and foundations

• Identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward donors who have announced a commitment to planned giving

• Recruit, train, and support key influencers who assist in advancement efforts

• Steward and acknowledge donor gifts in a timely and personally appropriate manner, ensuring that donors feel appreciated and understand the significance of their gifts and partnership

• Mobilize and accompany donors to visit Water for Good programs in Africa or Asia

• Actively contribute to development strategies and Development team initiatives, making recommendations related to donor care and program strategies

• Facilitate meetings with high-impact donors with Water for Good’s CEO and Sr. Leadership team members

• Perform all related administrative duties including but not limited to ensuring that records/contacts on the database are maintained accurately and continuously entered and all financial and administrative reports are submitted in a timely manner

• Other duties as assigned

Work Experience and Qualifications 

• Passion for Water for Good’s mission of transforming lives through sustainable access to safe water, and improved sanitation and hygiene in places that need it most

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience from an accredited institution

• 10+ year in a sales or nonprofit fundraising role

• Excellent writing and verbal skills

• Thrive in a fast-paced, ever changing, and fun environment

• Demonstrate patience yet persistence in donor cultivation

• Ability to persevere through challenges in the midst of rejections

• Legally eligible to work in the United States; no sponsorship will be provided

  

Preferred Qualifications

• Proficiency with Salesforce, or a similar CRM donor database

• Experience using project management software, such as Asana

Physical Qualifications

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer

• Must be able to lift up to 25 pounds at times

Travel: up to 20%