Department

Advancement

Reports to

Senior Vice President of Advancement

Location

Fully Remote. Preference for candidates who reside near the following metro areas: New York, Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Washington DC, San Francisco, or Los Angeles.

FLSA Status

Exempt

Benefits and Compensation

Schott Foundation offers a competitive benefits package that includes medical and dental coverage, FSA/HRA benefits, vacation and paid holidays, retirement plan with employer contributions after 18-months employment, and other benefits. The starting salary is expected to be $85,000-$90,000 annually depending on experience.

Position Overview

The Major Gifts Manager will support the implementation of a comprehensive development strategy with a focus on significantly expanding a pipeline of individual donors and foundations. The Manager is responsible for cultivating major gifts of $10k+ from individuals and $25k+ from foundations. The Manager will identify, solicit, and develop new sources of funding to expand Schott’s donor base and build diversified sources of income for the organization.  The Manager will steward prospective and current funders and will use Salesforce to manage information about prospects and donors. The Manager will be a strong writer who develops grant proposals and related grant reports. Support for planning and execution of in-person and virtual fundraising events are also part of the position.

The Manager will have knowledge of fundraising best practices, experience working with a variety of individual and foundation donors securing five- and six-figure gifts, and a passion for social justice and public education. S/he/they will support the fundraising efforts to grow Schott and shift resources to the education justice movement. The Manager will report to the Senior Vice President of Advancement and work closely with the Senior Development Associate as well as the communications, programs, operations, and finance teams.

Responsibilities

Donor Cultivation (70%)

• Work with the SVP of Advancement to shape strategies for reaching out to and cultivating new and existing major donors
• Meet with prospects and active donors to cultivate new gifts and steward donors
• Lead on the development and implementation of strategies to engage a variety of new donors including the corporate sector
• Ensure timely follow up with prospective and current donors by providing information, opportunities to engage, and gift acknowledgements
• Collaborate with internal teams on messaging and campaign themes
• Conduct prospect research
• Manage donor and prospect information in CRM

Proposal and Report Writing (15%)

• Lead the development of proposals and donor reports and ensure timely submission
• Work with the Programs Team to gather information for donor reports and proposals
• Write donor correspondence
• Develop presentations and materials for prospects and donors

Meetings and Events (10%)

• Prepare briefing materials in advance of donor meetings and events
• Support event planning and logistics; partner with Programs Team to develop and implement funder briefings – both virtual and in-person
• Work with the Leadership and Development teams to manage event invitations and registration lists
• Secure event sponsorships
• Identify opportunities for Schott participation in conference sessions and support session proposal process

Other duties as assigned (5%)

• Other duties as assigned by the SVP of Advancement.

Qualifications

• A minimum of 5 years of fundraising experience
• A strategic thinker who knows how to get things done; results-oriented and motivated by clear objectives
• Ability to take initiative and work independently as well as a part of a team and ability to respond adeptly to rapidly changing priorities and to work well under pressure
• Demonstrated success related to major gifts fundraising
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Excellent attention to detail
• Experience in using a donor/prospect management system
• Experience in planning and/or supporting fundraising events
• Creativity, flexibility, and sound judgment
• Effective interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to interact professionally with diverse constituents, including board members, philanthropists, foundation staff, donors, and partners across varied geographies. A team player who can add value to the Schott team beyond his/her/their area of expertise
• Outstanding organizational skills, including managing own work, and the ability to move work from concept to implementation and completion
• Proficient with Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, and Word) and experience working with Salesforce a plus
• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience required

Travel

The Schott Team currently operates virtually with staff located throughout the United States. This position requires some travel by plane or train (depending on where the Manager is based) to coordinate or participate in meetings and job-related events up to four times a year. The employee is also expected to travel to staff retreats and board meetings up to six times a year.

Physical Demands and Work Environment Factors

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee will sit for long periods of time and may use repetitive wrist and hand motions involved in typing and computer work as well as in sorting and handling documents. The employee is regularly required to reach, with hands and arms, and engage in light work that includes moving objects up to 20 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and color vision as the employee will have close visual contact with a computer monitor daily.

Equal employment opportunity and having a diverse staff are fundamental principles at the Schott Foundation for Public Education, where employment and promotional opportunities are based upon individual capabilities and qualifications without regard to race, color, religion, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation/preference, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status or any other protected characteristic as established under law.

How to apply: Please email your resume and a substantive cover letter that demonstrates your initiative and experience building and growing a donor pipeline of major gifts from individuals and foundations to [email protected]. Be sure to include “Major Gifts Manager” in the subject line.  

The recruitment is open until filled. The priority deadline for applications is Wednesday, February 7, 2024.