| Job Description: |
OFFICE LOCATION
Charlottesville, Virginia (VA) is preferred or Richmond, Virginia (VA)
ABOUT US
The Nature Conservancy is the world’s leading conservation organization, working in all 50 states and more than 33 countries. Founded in 1951, the mission of The Nature Conservancy is to preserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive.
TNC
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
The Donor Relations Manager (DRM) creates and implements strategies for the ongoing cultivation of donors who are capable of major and/or deferred gifts. S/he plans and executes initial exploratory meetings with donors and prospects interested in local and global initiatives to determine their capacity for major gifts and estate planning. The DRM creates ongoing opportunities for personal contact with past and current donors. S/he moves major gift “suspects” to the “prospect” pool for relationship management by fundraising staff and integration into the Relationship Management process. The DRM will spend 50-75% of her/his time securing and conducting in-person visits with current and prospective donors.
DUTIES:
- Conducts discovery visits with individual prospective donors to assess their giving capacity and depth of interest in the work of the Conservancy for the purpose of creating a steady stream of new “qualified” prospects for major gifts fund raising.
- Based on personal assessment and other available information, the DRM recommends to the Philanthropy Manager when a prospect should be considered “qualified” and added to the Relationship Management system.
- Plans and implements a series of thoughtful cultivation and stewardship activities for prospects and donors to significantly advance the Conservancy’s relationships. These individuals include:
- Major donors who will not be solicited for 12 or more months.
- Qualified major gift prospects not yet assigned a Relationship Manager.
- Legacy Club members (those who have included the Conservancy in their wills) and those who have expressed interest in making a planned gift in the past 12 months.
- Prospective donors suspected of having significant capacity but who have not yet been qualified as viable prospects.
- Mid-level donors of $1,000 to $10,000 annually.
- Works collaboratively with other Virginia and Mid-Atlantic region Donor Relations Managers to ensure a well-coordinated program for middle donors and Legacy Club members.
- Works closely with the State Director and other Richmond-based staff to conduct select donor cultivation visits and activities.
- Writes formal proposals to solicit select major gift prospects; provides local and global program information to prospects, and drafts routine correspondence and acknowledgments.
- Works with the Philanthropy Manager to identify and organize research about prospective donors.
- Plans and executes state-wide field trips and other cultivation events.
- Updates donor information, produces reports, performs analysis, and tracks and cultivates donors through FMS, the Conservancy’s Fundraising Management System.
The Donor Relations Manager is based in either the Charlottesville (preferred) or Richmond, Virginia office. S/he reports to the Virginia Director of Philanthropy, Mid-Atlantic Team, with a dotted line reporting relationship to the Philanthropy Manager. The DRM engages prospects in Albemarle County, in the greater Richmond area, and in other areas around central Virginia. The Virginia Operating Unit is part of the Mid-Atlantic team of fundraisers who serve the Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland/DC market. As an important member of this larger team, the DRM will collaborate proactively across state lines to advance donor coordination, strategic planning discussions, donor outreach events, retreats and other activities, as is required of all Mid-Atlantic Team members in order to ensure a cohesive approach to fundraising in this complex market.
The Mid-Atlantic market is of vital importance to The Nature Conservancy’s ability to secure resources for its global conservation work, known as International Strategies (IS). The DRM will join other Mid-Atlantic fundraisers in becoming well versed in the Conservancy’s IS needs and in building relationships with the various conservation and philanthropy leaders serving globally in order to best represent our mission to donor prospects who might become candidates for gifts to IS priorities.
TNC
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications or related field and minimum 1 year related work experience or equivalent combination.
- Experience building relationships with donors, volunteers, customers, or similar.
- Experience, coursework, or other training in fundraising principles and practices.
- Experience using written and oral communication skills.
- Experience using organizational skills.
- Experience using technology to achieve desired results.
- Experience with Microsoft Office suite.
- Must have valid driver’s license. Please indicate this in your online application under Licenses & Certifcations.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications or related field and 1 – 3 years’ related work experience or equivalent combination. Direct fundraising-related experience preferred.
- Demonstrated experience using effective interpersonal skills, listening, diplomacy and tact to build strong relationships with donors, volunteers, and all levels of staff.
- Well-developed written and oral communication and negotiating skills.
- Highly developed organizational skills.
- Working knowledge or willingness and ability to learn basics of charitable gift planning.
- Working knowledge of Microsoft Office suite. Extensive experience utilizing databases for data entry and report production.
- Ability to use existing technology, such as Microsoft Office and the Internet, to achieve desired results.
- Ability to learn the Conservancy’s Fundraising Management System.
- Successful experience in managing and tracking multiple prospects and donors.
ADDITIONAL JOB INFORMATION
This position requires a valid driver's license and compliance with the Conservancy's Auto Safety Program. Employees may not drive Conservancy-owned/leased vehicles, rental cars, or personal vehicles on behalf of the Conservancy if considered "high risk drivers." Please see further details in the Auto Safety Program document available at www.nature.org/careers.
Employment in this position will be contingent upon completion of a Vehicle Use Agreement, which may include a review of the prospective employee's motor vehicle record.
COMPLEXITY/PROBLEM SOLVING:
- Ability to design, implement, and direct fundraising initiatives, including individualized cultivation, solicitation and recognition strategies.
- Ability to determine an individual’s interests, capacity and potential for helping the Conservancy meet its goals, and act appropriately to tie those interests with the Conservancy’s work.
- Ability to make accurate situation assessments with informal or incomplete information.
- Ability to communicate a compelling and inspired vision or sense of core purpose.
- Ability to experiment to find creative solutions.
DISCRETION/LATITUDE/DECISION-MAKING:
- Ability to make good decisions based on analysis, wisdom, experience, and judgement.
- Ability to act independently.
- Ability to maintain confidentiality.
RESPONSIBILITY/OVERSIGHT –FINANCIAL & SUPERVISORY:
- Assist philanthropy team in developing fundraising strategies and financial goals.
COMMUNICATIONS/INTERPERSONAL CONTACTS:
- Strong communication and presentation skills; ability to persuasively convey the mission of TNC to diverse groups, including donors, corporate executives, board members and others who are important to the organization’s overall prosperity.
- Ability to work with, and communicate with, a wide range of people – the general public, organization leadership, influential donors, prospects, and others.
- Ability to educate and inform prospective and existing donors about appropriate giving vehicles.
- Ability to build constructive and effective relationships with development team.
- Ability to work effectively in high-tension situations and maintain composure under pressure.
- Ability to work effectively and collaboratively with supervisor/team members who are located in other Virginia offices.
WORKING CONDITIONS/PHYSICAL EFFORT:
- Work requires some minor physical exertion and/or physical strain. Work environment involves occasional exposure to disagreeable elements.
- Ability to work flexible hours and some weekends.
- Willingness to travel frequently and on short notice; 50-75% will be local travel. Occasional out of state and overnight travel required.
- Must have valid driver’s license, safe driving record (per TNC’s Auto Safety Program), and provide own transportation and personal automobile insurance.
BENEFITS
The Nature Conservancy offers competitive compensation, excellent benefits, flexible work policies and a collaborative work environment. We also provide professional development opportunities and promote from within. As a result, you will find a culture that supports and inspires conservation achievement and personal development, both within the workplace and beyond.
TNC
HOW TO APPLY
To apply to position number 39606 , submit resume and cover letter as one document. Please include salary requirements in letter.
All applications must be submitted in the system prior to 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on January 9, 2012 .
Failure to complete all of the required fields may result in your application being disqualified from consideration. The information entered in the education and work experience sections are auto screened by the system based on the basic qualifications of the position.
You must click submit to apply for the position. Click save if you want to be able to return to your application and submit it later. Once submitted, applications cannot be revised or edited.
EOE STATEMENT
The Nature Conservancy is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
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