This position supports the work of the Y, a leading nonprofit, charitable organization committed to strengthening community through youth development, healthy living and social impact. The Chief Development Officer (CDO) is a strategic and entrepreneurial leader driving the successful execution of an ambitious development strategy. As a member of the executive leadership team, the CDO fosters a strong culture of philanthropy and is responsible for deploying a multi-channel fundraising strategy to raise $100 million by 2027 to support the overall mission and strategic direction of the organization. The CDO leads the development and implementation of comprehensive campaigns, transformational gifts, major and individual giving, corporate partnerships, planned giving and other fundraising channels.
The CDO effectively leads a team of fundraisers, and support team members; mobilizes positive relations with the community; works with the Board of Directors, CEO and committees to achieve fundraising targets; and personally manages a portfolio of transformational and major donors, deploying strong portfolio management systems and infrastructure to maximize the donor experience.
OUR CULTURE:
The culture of the Y is rooted in our Christian mission and core values. We strive every day to collectively embody our purpose of serving as a catalyst to transform lives and communities through programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all. We are respectful – we treat each other and those we serve as we hope to be treated ourselves. We are caring – we show a sincere concern for others and their well-being. We are honest – we are truthful in what we say and what we do, and we do not make promises we do not intend to keep. We are responsible – we are good stewards of our resources, strive for excellence and our actions are accountable to those we serve. We are innovative – we harness creativity, are solution minded and forward thinking. We lead with faith.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
- Strategic Planning: Engage actively in strategic planning for the organization, ensuring that philanthropic and fund development efforts align seamlessly with the YMCA's values, mission, vision, and strategic roadmap.
- Fundraising Planning: Develop a comprehensive fundraising strategy encompassing various channels to optimize philanthropic revenue. This includes comprehensive campaigns, major and individual giving, direct mail campaigns, planned giving initiatives, foundations, corporate partnerships, and special events.
- Inclusive Leadership: Serve as a model of inclusive leadership, leveraging diverse skills and perspectives to lead and inspire a strong and capable development team. Strong teams that leverage diverse skills and perspectives to advance our mission.
- Prospect Cultivation: Nurture relationships with prospective donors, major contributors, foundations, and strategic partners to secure resources that bolster the YMCA's capacity to address community needs.
- Transformational Giving: Secure significant and transformative gifts that empower the organization's mission and initiatives.
- Stewardship: Oversee donor and partner experiences, ensuring enduring relationships between benefactors and the YMCA. Articulate and represent the YMCA's mission and programs to potential constituents, members, and supporters.
- Donor Management System: Supervise the operation of a robust prospect and donor management system. This system should ensure accuracy, legal compliance, institutional alignment, and ethical adherence to donor intent, thereby enhancing the overall efficacy of fundraising efforts.
- Comprehensive Campaign Committee: Develop and guide an actively engaged Comprehensive Campaign and Fundraising committee within the Board of Directors.
- Accountability Standards: Maintain high standards of accountability within the team, ensuring that they consistently perform at elevated levels to achieve revenue goals.
- Innovation Promotion: Foster innovation through collaboration and a forward-thinking approach, encouraging creative solutions to drive our mission forward.
LEADERSHIP MINDSETS AND BEHAVIORS
- Demonstrates Organizational Ownership
- Flexible and Nimble
- Servant Leader
- Embraces Ambiguity and Innovation
- Bias Towards Action
- Eager to Speak Your Mind and Hear from Others
- Thrive in a Team Environment
LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES:
- Collaboration
- Communication
- Critical Thinking & Decision Making
- Driving Results
- Optimization of systems & structures
- Inclusion
- Problem Solving
- Relationship Building
- People Management and Coaching
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible and successful executive leadership experience in fundraising, development, or advancement management.
- Demonstrated success in developing and leading a comprehensive philanthropy program including major and planned gifts, individual giving, and foundation, corporate and government grants, corporate partnerships, and capital campaigns.
- Experience leading and motivating teams of at least 2 toward ambitious goals.
- Knowledge and understanding of fundraising technology and software (Salesforce experience preferred).
- Demonstrated success in leveraging strong systems, structures, and processes in service of strong execution on a fundraising plan.
- Ability to be highly collaborative with other executives and leaders to achieve organizational goals.
- Knowledge of continuous quality improvement principles in organizations.
- Commitment to shared accountability, teamwork, and creative leadership.
- Knowledge and understanding of general business matters required including strategic planning, budget development, financial reporting, Fundraising KPIs and OKR management.
- Personal computer skills required.
WORKING CONDITIONS:
- The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by the team member to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.
- While performing the duties of this job, the team member is regularly required to use a computer for extended periods of time and be able to communicate using a computer and phone/smart device.
- The team member frequently is required to sit and reach and must be able to move around the work environment.
- The team member must occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds.
- Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, and the ability to adjust.
- The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
- Travel as needed.