VP of Philanthropy

HomeStart Inc.

VP of Philanthropy

Job Description

October, 2024

Position Overview:

Reporting to the President and Executive Director (ED), the VP of Philanthropy is responsible for the fundraising operation at HomeStart. As a key member of HomeStart’s senior leadership team, the VP of Philanthropy will partner closely with the ED, Deputy Director, VP of Human Resources, VP of Finance and program directors to chart HomeStart’s future growth and strategic opportunities in response to an ever-increasing demand for the organization’s services. The VP of Philanthropy will have both internal and external facing responsibilities as well as oversight of HomeStart’s development/fundraising team.

In close partnership with the ED, the VP of Philanthropy will guide the strategy as well as the division of responsibility within the fundraising operation. The VP of Philanthropy will collaboratively lead and nurture the development team as they partner to deliver the fundraising and communications strategy that promote HomeStart’s impact in the community. The VP of Philanthropy will have the authority to direct all fundraising activity, including fundraising events and donor relations strategies, including prospect and major gifts management responsibilities that involve setting strategy, proposal development, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of donors with a special focus on building and nurturing major gift partnerships to support HomeStart’s programs. Major Gifts at HomeStart starts at $10,000 and includes gifts from individual donors, corporations and family and corporate foundations.

The VP of Philanthropy must excel at building relationships with current and potential donors and working in a relationship-first environment, while fully subscribing to HomeStart’s five core values: (1) Having compassion/respect, (2) Pursuing diversity and equality, (3) Committing to seeing everyone housed, (4) Empowering others to live better lives, and (5) Striving for excellence. These values guide everything we do at HomeStart, including how we work with clients and how we work together as an entire organization and community.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Responsibilities

• Champion and be a thought and practice leader in support of HomeStart’s commitment to anti-racism ideology inside and outside of the organization, specifically focusing on representing HomeStart’s value system in all teamwork, donor relations and communications.
• Lead the collaboration with the ED, board of directors and development team to develop and implement a comprehensive development strategy to include corporations, foundations, government grants, individual stewardship, events, and communications.
• Hire, coach, mentor, and oversee a fundraising team and support their commitment to implementing HomeStart’s development strategy while representing HomeStart’s value system in every activity; and specifically, nurture and continually develop HomeStart’s BIPOC Development Fellowship Program.
• Have primary responsibility for development and execution of all grant proposals; write and archive all proposals with a long-term relationship-management approach and maintain a calendar of all reporting requirements with HomeStart’s foundation and corporate partners.
• Have primary responsibility for development and execution of strategies to secure and maintain annual and multi-year support from individual donors.
• In collaboration with the ED, create and monitor budget for the development department
• Maintain and track major donor strategies and progress through HomeStart’s donor database system (Donor Perfect).
• Oversee prospect research and trends to help position HomeStart ahead of major funding changes or trends.
• Oversee and co-manage HomeStart’s CRM system (Donor Perfect) to maintain the integrity of donor information; provide and present statistical analysis to board and senior leaders.
• Develop and implement a stewardship program aimed at cultivating deeper ties with donors
• Ensure that donors are accomplishing their philanthropic goals and ambitions through relationship building.
• In partnership with the ED cultivate, solicit, and steward a portfolio of 100+ current donors and embrace the exciting opportunity to build a more robust pipeline of prospective donors.
• Create and implement moves management plans, increasing the number of mid and high-level donors and upgrade the giving levels of existing donors.
• Make direct and face-to-face solicitations.
• Use DonorPerfect to track and cultivate donors and prospective donors.
• Use wealth screening tools for prospect research.
• Steward donors through public and private recognition.
• Develop strategies to prepare the ED and others to conduct successful requests, demonstrating an understanding of donor interests and their philanthropic habits.
• Develop revenue goals for major giving, tracking progress to ensure that targets are met and strategies are reviewed to ensure achievement of goals.
• Plan and implement high-level strategic donor cultivation events enlisting the support of donors to host events and introduce new prospects to the organization.
• Write solicitation letters, proposals, donor recognition pieces for publications, and other materials as needed.
• Support the launch of a planned giving program.
• Track and report progress using specific metrics to be determined by the Director of Philanthropy and the ED.
• Support the ED with projects that contribute to the Department’s overall goals and other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• 15-plus years of professional experience in a nonprofit organization; demonstrated success in a development function (managing and forging relationships with multiple donor sources), including a proven track-record of successful solicitation and major donor acquisition strategies.
• Managerial experience with direct reports
• HUMILITY & EMPATHY (“Others focus”)
• AUTHENTICITY
• A SENSE OF HUMOR!!!!
• Ability to construct, articulate, and implement annual strategic development plan
• Tangible experience of having expanded and cultivated existing donor relationships over time
• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral; ability to influence and engage a wide range of donors and build long-term relationships
• Strong organizational and time management skills with exceptional attention to detail
• Passion for HomeStart's mission is essential
• Flexible and adaptable style; a leader who can positively impact both strategic and tactical fundraising initiatives
• Ability to work both independently without close oversight, and also as a team player who will productively engage with others at varying levels of seniority within and outside of HomeStart
• High level of comfort with taking initiative as well as managing multiple tasks and projects at a time Experience in moves management, assessing capacity through prospect research, and managing donor relations.
• Strong interpersonal skills and high emotional intelligence, with the ability to interact successfully with donors, board members, work colleagues, and the public at large.
• High degree of comfort with Microsoft office suite.
• Knowledge and experience with Donor Perfect or other philanthropy software.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills and the ability to inform and inspire.
• Strong organizational skills with demonstrated ability to manage and prioritize multiple tasks.
• Ability to build strong internal partnerships and work within cross-functional teams.
• Highly motivated self-starter; able and willing to take initiative and action.

To perform the job successfully, an individual should demonstrate the following:

• Written Communication – Writes clearly and informatively; Edits work for spelling and grammar; Varies writing style to meet needs; Presents numerical data effectively; Able to read and interpret written information.
• Oral Communication – Emphasis is on authenticity; Speaks clearly and persuasively in positive or negative situations in individual communication; listens and gets clarification; Responds well to questions; Demonstrates group presentation skills; Participates in meetings.
• Adaptability – Adapts to changes in the work environment; Manages competing demands; Changes approach or method to best fit the situation; Able to deal with frequent change, delays, or unexpected events.
• Motivation – Sets and achieves challenging goals; Demonstrates persistence and overcomes obstacles; Measures self against standard of excellence; Takes calculated risks to accomplish goals.
• Planning/Organizing – Prioritizes and plans work activities; Uses time efficiently; Works well independently; Plans for additional resources; Sets goals and objectives; Organizes or schedules with/for the ED and supports those activities; Develops realistic action plans.

To apply, please send a resume and a cover letter stating salary requirements to HR@homestart.org. Applicants that do not include salary requirements in their cover letters will not be considered.