Associate Director, Major Gifts

Position Summary

The Associate Director, Major Gifts plays a critical role in shaping and executing strategies for establishing and growing the major gifts portfolio in support of the organization’s strategic fundraising efforts and annual fundraising goal. This includes supporting executive and senior team members in securing and executing five to seven-figure solicitations, stewarding current major gift donors and researching and building a major gifts pipeline. The successful candidate will have a proven track record as a frontline fundraiser, excellent communication and relationship-building skills, and the ability to align the organization’s program and policy efforts with donor funding interests. This position reports to the Senior Director of Development.

About Us

We believe in an America where everyone has the freedom and stability required to thrive.

We are strongest when people are the authors of their own lives. But the inequalities in wealth and power created by bad actors, structural racism, and outdated ideas on how the economy should work have left us all more insecure and less resilient. We can make a different set of choices.

The Economic Security Project advocates for ideas that build economic power for all Americans. We legitimize bold ideas by supporting cutting edge research and elevating champions, win concrete policy victories for the communities that need to see change now, and provoke the conventional wisdom to shift what’s considered possible. Our team of academics, organizers, practitioners and culture makers disburse grants, run issue campaigns, develop creative interventions and research products, and convene to encourage investment and action from others.

We pick our fights based on our analysis of where strategic mobilization of people and resources could turn emerging trends into concrete policies. Our current efforts include putting cash into people’s pockets with a guaranteed income and policies like the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit; and keeping corporations out of them by checking the unprecedented concentration of economic power with antimonopoly action. We believe these fights will get us closer to a world where families can pay the heating bills and make the rent, where consumers have choices and small businesses, a fighting chance. A future where we all have a chance not to just survive, but thrive with dignity.

Our Track Record

We’ve convened thousands in briefings, workshops, and marquee events to strategize and set the agenda for a more just political economy. We passed policies in over seven states to modernize the tax code, won over $1 trillion in checks for families in response to the pandemic, and spearheaded the federal fight for a guaranteed income for kids in the form of the expanded Child Tax Credit. These cash-based policies reduced poverty in the middle of a recession, in the words of one observer, “defying gravity”.

And we’ve built the field by investing over $25 million directly into groundbreaking research; pilots and task forces; coalitions and campaigns; new initiatives and organizations; and trend-setting narrative and cultural interventions to advance racial and economic justice and reset the conversation. As a result, ideas that were once considered impossible are now at the center of a vision for an economy where people are the authors of their own lives.

We’ve worked alongside thousands across the country exercising political muscle, moral imagination, and on-the-ground experimentation. It’ll take this and so much more in the years ahead; we are in a broader fight for a multiracial democracy and an economy that works for all. Our task is to deliver and we’re looking for talent to join us in the fight.

Our Team & Culture

Our successes are due in large part to the diverse team we’ve assembled from a wide range of fields – from campaigners to policymakers to activists to academics. We’re building an organization that supports and resources our staff to drive forward work that is critical to our mission.

We are committed to creating a best-in-class staff experience that promotes growth and performance, which requires a culture of active problem-solving, feedback, communication, and accountability. As a fully remote organization, ESP staff can work from anywhere in the country. We actively support and encourage people taking time away from work, including two weeks of full office closures and a six-week sabbatical at 5 years of service, in addition to our standard PTO. You can find more information on our full benefits offerings below.

Our internal work is deeply rooted in our values around diversity, equity, and inclusion, ensuring that our policies and processes are equitable and informed by a wide range of lived experiences. We invest in our people’s professional development and promote regular conversations about career goals and growth opportunities. We provide opportunities to come together in person for both strategic planning and relationship-building, and we’re always up to take a game of trivia a little too seriously.

Responsibilities

Fundraising & Stewardship (70%)

• Serve as a trusted thought partner to the Senior Director of Development, and Principals in managing and growing ESP/ESPA’s major gifts portfolio, proactively providing strategic recommendations, identifying opportunities, and driving innovative approaches for donor engagement.
• Implement the major gifts donor strategy with the Senior Director of Development, setting benchmarks for sustainable long-term growth and gift solicitations and ensuring alignment with the organization’s fundraising strategy.
• Solicit existing and prospective major donors and family foundations capable of giving $25,000 to $250,000+, collaborating with colleagues to develop compelling solicitations in alignment with organizational priorities.
• Independently and proactively forge strong relationships with major donors and prospects to understand their interests, develop strategic touchpoints, and create engagement and recognition opportunities to drive relationships forward, accurately tracking moves in Salesforce.
• Partner with and support the Senior Director of Development to ensure proper moves management and tracking of the leadership portfolio by surfacing priority prospects, supplying research and talking points, scheduling, and staffing donor meetings, and drafting donor correspondence and other materials needed to move relationships forward.
• Develop highly polished, persuasive donor materials - including letters of inquiry, program overviews, proposals, reports, and impact updates - by translating ESP/ESPA’s Theory of Change, impact, and programmatic work into inspirational narratives.
• Streamline donor communications by drafting emails, presentations, acknowledgment letters, and other development materials as needed.
• Lead internal meetings with Principals to ensure a high level of stewardship of donors.
• Set up donor visits for cultivation and solicitation purposes; create before and after reports outlining the potential and realized outcomes of each visit within each donor’s cultivation plan.
• In conjunction with the Development Operations Associate, conduct regular research on all prospects within major gifts portfolio and develop recommended solicitation strategies.
• Develop and maintain positive and fruitful relationships with senior leadership, staff, Board of Directors and all donors, including high-profile constituents.

Communications and Project Management (30%)

• Track and manage all proposal and grant requirements, deadlines, communications and follow-ups in ESP/ESPA’s CRM platform. Ensuring CRM accuracy and up-to-date records of donor interactions.
• Lead on individual donor screenings to help identify new major donor prospects and manage the screening process.
• In conjunction with other development staff, work with the Communications department on email content and printed materials strategy for major donors, including but not limited to building and reviewing outreach lists and drafting content.
• Collaborate with other departments to ensure alignment and integration of fundraising efforts with overall organizational objectives.
• Perform other duties as assigned or needed to advance ESP/ESPA fundraising strategy, goals and objectives.

Work Environment

As a fully remote organization, ESP staff can work from anywhere in the country.

Experience and Qualifications

• Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, or equivalent experience is required.
• Six plus years of frontline fundraising experience.
• Demonstrated ability to independently engage and develop relationships with high-net-worth donors and close 5-7 figure gifts.
• Strong executive functioning, project management, and organizational skills, and the ability to independently prioritize and plan.
• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills, demonstrating a level of professionalism and polish in engaging internal and external stakeholders.
• Experience in event fundraising and execution.
• Extensive experience prepping organizational leaders and program staff for donor meetings and working with colleagues to produce compelling funding proposals and reports.
• Knowledge of principles and best practices in prospect identification, donor cultivation, and stewardship strategies.
• Highly sociable, emotionally intelligent, and motivated to meet new people, build relationships, and spark engaging cause-focused conversations.
• Ability to work effectively and respectfully in a fast-paced environment with diverse, bi-coastal co-workers and executive leadership.
• Experience using donor databases to research and track moves management and key metrics; knowledge of Salesforce and iWave is a plus.
• Ability to travel when needed.
• Sense of humor and adaptability.

Preferred Attributes & Skills

• Familiarity with 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) regulations is a plus, but not required.