Position Title: Director, Institutional Fundraising
Reporting To: Managing Director
Location: Remote, US
Website: www.lapafundraising.com
THE OPPORTUNITY
LAPA Fundraising seeks to hire a Director, Institutional Fundraising to support our rapidly growing global client base. This position requires expertise in private foundations fundraising, and experience with government grants. The Director, Institutional Giving will deploy this knowledge and experience to implement strategies that will enable clients to reach their strategic fundraising and capacity-building goals.
The Director is responsible for the following core areas:
Client Management: The Director will manage or support 3-4 client relationships, attending meetings, managing work plans to achieve on-time delivery of results, and representing fundraising among volunteer and board leadership. The Director will play a key role in maintaining strong, trusting relationships, embodying LAPA’s values and commitment to service. Fundraising Implementation: The Director will lead and implement fundraising activities on behalf of our clients, including submitting grant proposals, attending funder meetings, and partnering with client leaders on developing and implementing funder strategies. The Director will be directly responsible for independently stewarding funder portfolios for clients and reporting on progress. Research and Strategy: The Director will conduct research on prospective funders, qualifying prospects identified by LAPA’s research team. The Director will use research to drive funder strategies, particularly around program development, funder meeting preparation, and proposal submissions. Roles & Responsibilities
- Serve as the “Trusted Advisor” to 3-4 clients, partnering with them to meet their fundraising goals.
- Partner with board and executive leadership to develop and manage portfolios, identifying institutions that they will solicit, and building and implementing strategies to meet revenue goals.
- Manage pipelines of grant opportunities for client partners, setting goals for revenue and relationship development, and building and implementing strategies to meet these goals.
- Prepare funding proposals, attend conferences, and facilitate relationships with private foundations, family foundations, and governmental organizations.
- Schedule and attend meetings with grant prospects to cultivate involvement and make requests for support.
- Manage deadlines, including funder requirements as well as client reporting requirements. These include, but are not limited to, letters of inquiry, proposals, cultivation communication, appeal letters, weekly update e-mails, and bi-annual reports.
- Conduct research to qualify prospects identified by LAPA’s research team, expanding the donor pipeline.
- Utilize research to develop strong strategies for funder outreach.
- Record activities in client databases and LAPA project management software, enabling clear reporting.
- Participate in special projects and perform other duties, as needed.
THE INDIVIDUAL
LAPA’s vision of a successful candidate is an intelligent, self-motivated, and mission-driven seasoned development professional with a desire to continually exceed expectations. This individual must have experience in multiple areas of development, including a strong demonstrated background in grants and program development.
The successful candidate will have excellent communication skills and an ability to thrive in a results-oriented culture. Strong project management skills, writing skills, and attention to detail are critical. Most importantly, the candidate must have a positive attitude and a strong work ethic while also being respectful, friendly, and caring.
This Job Might Be for You If …
- You have the ability to engender trust and build strong relationships with donors, colleagues, and executive and board leadership, bringing people in line with a vision and motivating them to reach goals.
- You love seeing the “big picture” of fundraising programs, connecting the dots among various initiatives to develop informed, high-impact strategies.
- You are a strong writer, with experience developing proposals and reports for grant funders.
- You speak the language of numbers, with experience preparing budgets and analyzing financial information, such as audits and 990s.
- You have a knack for details. You check your work multiple times before submission and never assume information is correct until it is verified.
- You excel at planning and preparation. You understand how to break big projects down into actionable steps and communication about progress so that you can meet deadlines.
- You ask great questions. You make sure you understand the goals of each project before setting out and communicate with team members about progress along the way.
- You are a collaborator. When problems arise, you work in partnership with teammates to solve them. You are committed to delivering outstanding results to your team, our clients, and the communities they serve.
- A minimum of seven years’ experience in nonprofit fundraising, with a varied background in a wide variety of revenue areas.
- Proven success securing grants from private foundations and corporate sponsors, and possibly from governments.
- High level of expertise managing a portfolio of funders, setting goals, creating plans to achieve these goals, and taking steps necessary to realize plans.
- Experience developing and analyzing budgets.
- The ability to work interdependently as a team-player.
- Very skilled in balancing the role of ‘technician’ with funder and client-facing responsibilities including phone calls, e-mails, and in-person meetings.
Other qualifications include:
- Superior written and oral communication skills.
- Excellent quantitative analytical skills, creativity in problem-solving, and a keen business sense.
- Highly self-motivated and willing to proactively take on leadership.
- Exceptional interpersonal skills and ability to work collaboratively with all levels of client staff, board, funders, and prospective funders.
- Outstanding organizational skills and ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously.
- Computer proficiency.
- Professional demeanor.
- Strong work ethic, enthusiasm, and confidence.
- Flexible, adaptable, and excited to work in an environment that is rapidly growing and changing.
Location and Travel Requirements:
- This position is remote, with periodic travel required for client and business development meetings.
- While we are still adjusting to the pace of on-site work, 3-4 trips per year are anticipated.
- Base salary of $130,000 , commensurate with experience and geographic location.
- Extensive benefits including health, vision, and dental insurance, unlimited PTO, and 401K.