Advancement Director

Gideon’s Promise is a nationally recognized criminal justice reform organization whose mission is to transform the criminal justice system by building a movement of public defenders who provide zealous representation for marginalized communities. The organization focuses on specialized mentoring, training and support to change the culture of public defense.

The successful candidate for the Advancement Director (AD) position at Gideon’s Promise must be an energetic, amicable and highly organized individual who will give direction to the Advancement Team and supports the efforts of the Executive Director. The AD is a professional who will manage relationships between the organization and its constituents. As a nonprofit organization with an annual budget of $2.3 million, Gideon’s Promise relies on individual, foundation and philanthropic funding to support its mission.

The Advancement Director is responsible for overseeing and coordinating a team that is collectively responsible for donor stewardship and management; managing grants and foundation relationships; event planning and related sponsorship development; campaign coordination and execution; and public relations strategies, including marketing and communications, designed to raise awareness and support.

Responsibilities

●Provide strong leadership to the design and successful execution of the organization’s annual and multi-year fundraising plans, including establishing quantitative and qualitative goals for revenue from all philanthropic sources and the strategies to achieve them.

●Develop and implement a comprehensive short and long-term development plan to meet established goals and objectives. This includes, but is not limited to, strategic initiatives for securing major gifts, annual events and appeals, corporate and foundation grants, defining stewardship and prospecting tactics, cultivation events, and developing new approaches to grow Gideon’s Promise’s donor base.

●Provide daily management of Advancement staff including establishing annual goals (to support overall goals established in the advancement plan), provide regular performance reviews and appropriate recognition, and support ongoing professional development opportunities.

●Serve as the campaign director and provide direct daily management of specifically focused initiatives to secure major gifts and leadership gifts in support of campaign goal.

●Work collaboratively and creatively with the team to integrate messages in publications, grant submissions, reports, and collateral materials for cultivating and stewarding donors.

●Clearly articulate and promote a strong case of need for philanthropy and build opportunities to create and sustain a culture that understands the relationship between philanthropy and Gideon’s Promises services.

●Oversee management of gift processing and donor acknowledgement, the donor database, and financial reporting and manage accompanying information systems.

●Manage prospect research and cultivation initiatives with a special emphasis on pursuing strategies to secure or increase giving from donors.

●Meet regularly with the Executive Director regarding program goals and initiatives and routinely report to the Board of Directors and appropriate committees.

●Attend networking events and activities that support strategic objectives.

●Represent Gideon’s Promise at speaking engagements and external events.

●Direct the Advancement and Marketing team to ensure marketing strategies align with Advancement goals, including:

oAdvancing the organization’s presence in multimedia platforms,

oEnsuring brand consistency and logo visibility across media channels.

oMaintaining content and updates on websites, social media channels, and advertising.

oMonitoring web analytics and reports to ensure effectiveness.

oCollaborate with Defender Development Department to promote programming.

●Develop and manage Department budget.

Skills Required

●A passion for relationship building and donor cultivation.

●Proven track record of fundraising success, particularly by securing major gifts, successfully managing campaigns, and engaging a community of motivated supporters.

●Proven track record in achieving over $1 million in annual revenue including individual, corporate partnerships, public and private grants.

●Minimum of seven (7) years of increasing responsibility in non-profit fundraising.

●Seven (7) years of staff supervision and leadership, including coaching, training, and performance reviews.

●Excellent communicator and creative thinker with technical know-how to translate organizational needs to creative digital and traditional marketing methods.

●Good negotiating skills and ability to motivate and encourage multi-disciplinary teams to meet set goals

●Ability to balance multiple priorities in a complex environment.

●Working knowledge of development best practices, trends in development, fundraising tools and technology, e-mail and online campaigns, and donor research.

●Extreme discretion, attention to detail, and a commitment to excellence.

●Experience with social justice issues and passion for field highly desired.

●Excellent verbal communication skills and demonstrated ability to write clearly, persuasively and accurately.

●Ability to work well with Board of Directors and inspire their enthusiasm.

●Proficiency with Salesforce and/or other donor databases.

●Ability to travel and work some weekends when necessary.

●Proficient in Microsoft Office: Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

●High energy, positive, “can-do” attitude, flexibility, teamwork and attention to detail; Strong work ethic.

●Bachelor’s degree required, advanced degree preferred.

This is an exciting opportunity for an energetic individual who wants to be a part of a growing organization that impacts and improves the lives of over 300,000 annually in the United States. Compensation range: $80,000 to $95,000 with competitive benefits.

• Comprehensive benefits packages options available including healthcare, vision, dental, life insurance, 401K plan, and paid vacation/ personal time off/ holidays.

• Gideon’s Promise uses a hybrid work model. The hybrid role requires on-site presence at minimum of two times per week.