Chief Development Officer

ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION

Brooklyn Org was founded in 2009 as Brooklyn Community Foundation, the first and only public foundation dedicated to New York City’s largest borough. Brooklyn is home to a vast community of high-impact, innovative, locally-led nonprofit organizations.

Nevertheless, only 8% of New York City’s philanthropic dollars reach Brooklyn organizations. Since its founding, Brooklyn Org’s mission has been to address this alarming disparity. In 2022 alone, Brooklyn Org distributed a record high $15.6 million in grants – pushing its lifetime total to over $100 million in funding to not-for-profit organizations – making Brooklyn Org one of the borough’s largest grant makers and its largest funder for racial justice.

Brooklyn Org is a champion for Brooklyn. The organization celebrates Brooklyn’s brilliance and resilience, its incomparable culture and uncompromising grit—and demands more for its communities.

Over its 15-year history, the organization has reimagined the role of philanthropy and provided immeasurable support to communities and nonprofit partners that are leading transformational change for Brooklyn. With a new model for community philanthropy, the organization is bringing together Brooklynites, Brooklyn backers, businesses, and broader believers in equity and justice to make Brooklyn a beacon for the world.

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Chief Development Officer (CDO) is an entrepreneurial, results-oriented, and seasoned fundraising professional responsible. The incumbent will lead fundraising strategies to develop and grow new individual, corporate, and foundation prospects, including building a broad base of emerging donors through the Brooklyn Org membership program.

The Chief Development Officer is a full-time, exempt position reporting to the President and CEO and serve on the Executive Leadership group, which is comprised of the President and CEO, Chief of Staff, and Chief Operating and Financial Officer.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Rapidly gain a thorough understanding of the scope and diversity of Brooklyn Org’s history, programs, constituents, donors, and special events.
• Quickly establish relationships with our existing donors and donor advised fund holders who are currently supporting Brooklyn Org.
• Establish credibility with the President and CEO, Board of Directors, development leadership, program officers, and staff to gain an understanding of the substantive priorities of the current strategic plan and translate those priorities into successful fundraising initiatives.
• Set and achieve ambitious but attainable fundraising goals for new individual donors, foundations, and corporate prospects with the President & Chief Executive.
• Strategically execute and grow the new membership program to develop a broad base of new lower-level individual donors, families, and small businesses to build connections to the Brooklyn nonprofit community and develop long-term relationships and donor leadership.
• Lead the research, identification, engagement, and cultivation of new individual, corporate, and foundation prospects, completing research profiles and tailored cultivation strategies for each prospect.
• Strategically engage the President and CEO and all key staff in public outreach and fundraising activities, providing meaningful engagement opportunities and effective support.
• Oversee and implement Brooklyn Org's institutional giving strategy, including research, reporting, underwriting, and management of corporate partnerships.
• Represent Brooklyn Org at donor meetings and events, articulating the organization’s unique value to the borough, community engagement practices, strategies, and successes.
• Ensure the growth of Brooklyn Org’s donor base through list acquisition, direct marketing strategies, and broad-based fundraising campaigns.
• Manage fundraising revenue reporting and reconciliation with Finance team.
• Develop budget projections based on historical and market assessments.
• Ensure documentation of all development activity related to donor identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship in CRM platform.
• Direct and coordinate the work of relevant consultants and vendors.
• Oversee growth, maintenance, and enhancement of the organization's development database in collaboration with the Vice President of Donor Engagement and Vice President of Philanthropic Initiatives.
• Manage staff and consultants responsible for all fundraising activities, events, grant writing, and Donor Advised Funds.
• Other duties as assigned.

REQUIRED SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE, AND QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree required; master’s degree, CFRE, or CAP certification highly desired.
• Demonstrated experience in raising a minimum of $2.5 million annually with a track record of growing revenue year over year.
• Passion, commitment, and understanding of Brooklyn Org’s mission and values, with a deep commitment to racial equity, justice, and Brooklyn communities.
• Proven track record of providing strategic direction, leadership, and operational management of fundraising initiatives, resulting in marked improvement and growth.
• Demonstrated ability to provide supportive leadership and effective management.
• Demonstrated ability and skill to enhance the infrastructure of Brooklyn Org’s prospect and grant writing programs, with knowledge of prospect research methods and tools.
• Collaborative and enthusiastic leader with the ability to adapt to changing priorities, refine strategies after feedback, and multi-task to meet deadlines.
• Genuine team player with the ability to build long-term, collaborative relationships based on good judgment, collaboration, mutual trust and confidence, integrity, and discretion.
• Excellent communication (writing, speaking, presentation and listening) skills and keen attention to detail, with the ability to effectively communicate with key internal and external constituencies.
• Affirmative, positive, and motivational style, combined with a strong, results-oriented work ethic.
• Grace, poise, confidence, and history of meticulous follow-through in staffing top leadership.
• Experience with Salesforce preferred.

DIVERSITY

In alignment with its Racial Justice Lens, the Organization is committed to maintaining a staff that diversifies philanthropy, including lifting up the leadership of people from communities historically underrepresented in the field and those directly affected by structural racism, centering them in decision-making. Additionally, BKO does not base any hiring decisions on an applicant’s history of involvement in the criminal justice system.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

Brooklyn Org is an equal opportunity employer. The Organization does not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability, marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.