Director, Gift Planning
Pay Range: $110,000 - $120,000
Are you looking for a rewarding career fueled by purpose? Do you want our region to be the best it can possibly be? Place and purpose drive our mission, so Greater Cincinnati Foundation (GCF) may be the place for you. As the region’s leading community foundation and one of the most prominent in the nation, we serve an eight-county region of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.
We bring together:
- Donors – Supporting causes and organizations that improve our community.
- Nonprofits – Delivering experiences that improve people and place.
- Changemakers – Working to solve our region’s greatest challenges.
Reporting Relationship
The Director of Gift Planning works directly under the Vice President of Philanthropic Strategies. While there are no direct reports, the director will work collaboratively with the entire philanthropic partnerships team and across the organization
Job Description
The Director of Gift Planning should be a champion of planned giving and is responsible for managing an assigned portfolio of GCF constituents in gift planning cultivation and stewardship; stewarding existing donors and cultivating prospective donors for legacy gifts, multi-generational charitable funds, and planning for complex charitable gifts, while maintaining strong relationships with professional advisors.
This position leads all aspects of the gift planning process for GCF, including developing the strategy and implementation for the cultivation, solicitation and stewardship for GCF prospects and donors, including engagement with the estate planning and tax advising community. This position also provides educational opportunities to GCF staff and external constituents regarding deferred gifts and changes in tax laws, and delivers high-quality services to assigned donors to achieve high donor satisfaction.
Duties and Responsibilities
- Serves as GCF's principal liaison with prospective Foundation Society members (GCF’s Legacy Giving Society), and works with professional advisors who are doing estate planning, with the ultimate goal of developing referrals and obtaining planned gifts from GCF’s current and prospective donors.
- Oversees the development of a planned giving stewardship program for Foundation Society members in partnership with donor relations and the executive leadership team of the Foundation.
- Manages a portfolio of donors and prospects, developing and executing on strategies to bring them closer to the Foundation’s mission with the goal of stewarding donors and creating legacy commitments.
- Develops relationships with assigned donors and prospects through cultivation calls, virtual meetings, letters and handwritten notes, with an emphasis on successful face-to-face meetings.
- Implements an annual plan for the cultivation and education of estate planning professionals, which includes representing GCF at advisor and prospect events, conducting individual and group meetings, offering educational presentations, and publishing digital and print-based marketing materials to increase referrals.
- Meets regularly with team members to review activities with donors, prospects and professional advisors in their portfolio to determine strategies for engaging them in conversations related to estate planning, long-term charitable tax planning, and multi-generational charitable planning.
- Along with team members, coordinates and provides assistance in the design of strategies for cultivating and soliciting donors in coordination with senior staff, leadership and volunteers.
- Mentors colleagues in planned giving conversations.
- Champions family engagement initiatives, and collaborates across philanthropy team to facilitate meaningful engagement experiences.
Requirements and Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in related field required, such as finance, accounting, marketing or law; a Graduate degree or special certification (e.g. JD, CTFA, CPA, CFP, CAP CFRE) strongly preferred.
- Five (5) or more years of experience in estate or financial planning, charitable fund development, cultivation of professional advisors, donors or institutional advancement, corporate philanthropy or philanthropic advising required.
- Experience in the cultivation and securing of major and planned gifts or experience working with high net worth clients in an advisory or sales environment required.
- Demonstrated knowledge and skills in planned giving, estate planning, tax laws, professional advising and charitable giving. Knowledge of laws, regulations and processes related to charitable giving
- Demonstrated ability to develop strong and meaningful relationships with donors/clients.
- Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and experience working with individuals from diverse backgrounds effectively.
- Excellent interpersonal, analytical and organizational skills - capable of working effectively with senior management, leadership volunteers, staff members, consultants and donors/prospects.
- Strong project management competencies including organizational and problem-solving skills, strong skills in time management and attention to detail.
- Ability to think strategically and creatively in a collaborative environment and build successful fundraising strategies for growth.
- Ability to communicate effectively, verbally and in writing and articulate a compelling case for support.
- Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite applications (i.e. Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint specifically), web- based applications (i.e. Zoom) and Salesforce.
- Self-motivated and able to work independently.
Greater Cincinnati Foundation recruits, employs, trains, compensates, promotes and celebrates employees of all races, religions, colors, national origins, sexes, sexual orientations, disabilities, ages, veteran status and all the other characteristics that make individuals unique and extraordinary. At GCF, we have a clear vision: to be an employer of choice where a diverse mix of talented people want to be and can do their best work. GCF exists exclusively to support our community, and we know our organization runs on the hard work and dedication of our passionate and mission-driven employees.
Our dedication to promote racial and gender equity, diversity, multiculturalism and inclusion is clearly reflected in our values, behaviors and strategic initiatives.
GCF is Gold Level certified with Queen City Certified (QCC), which is the first data-informed employer certification and cohort-based leadership program for gender equity in the U.S. workplace.
GCF is an Equal Opportunity Employer and invite all eligible candidates to apply.