Remote: Director, Individual Giving

WHO WE ARE

Rooted in community for more than 40 years, Communities In
Schools (CIS) strives to bring community resources inside public
schools, where they are accessible, coordinated, and accountable.
Founder Bill Milliken said, “It’s relationships, not programs, that
change children. A great program simply creates the environment for
healthy relationships to form between adults and children. Young
people thrive when adults care about them on a one-to-one level,
and when they also have a sense of belonging to a caring
community.” 

CIS programs are conducted annually throughout the United
States, serving 3,270 schools; 1.8M students with over 15,000
community volunteers and 118 CIS affiliate organizations across the
country. Their programs for students include providing needs
assessments, support teams with corresponding plans to address
academic and non-academic needs, delivery of multiple tiers of
support for both students and families, progress monitoring and
evaluation and assessment with parents and student support
systems.

 

MISSION AND VALUES

Communities In Schools (CIS) is “all-in” for kids. It is our
passion—it is our mission. At the National Office, CIS collaborates
with local affiliate organizations to provide resources and create
communities of caring adults who work hand-in-hand with educators
to make sure young people have the tools they need to stay in
school and achieve in life. We are the nation’s largest dropout
prevention organization, and we achieve our mission by hiring
bright, creative, and innovative team members who demonstrate a
passion for what they do. 

CIS also holds the following talent beliefs: 

• Every staff member is passionate and committed to the
  mission.
• As a National Office, CIS employees have a responsibility to
  live our values and integrate principles of diversity, equity, and
  inclusion across the organization and lead by example.
• In turn, CIS is committed to continuously improving decision
  making, incentivizing creativity, and building engagement. We do
  this by building a diverse workforce, fostering a climate of
  inclusion, and shaping business practices and policies that promote
  equity.

 

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Director, Individual Giving, is an exciting opportunity for
a fundraiser who thrives on attracting and cultivating donors at
all levels. This virtual, frontline fundraising role leads a team
of two and will collaborate with the Directors of Corporate and
Foundation giving to execute long-term fundraising initiatives. The
Director, Individual Giving, reports to the VP, Advancement.

 

The ideal candidate will develop and grow our Individual Giving
program at all levels. Grounded in exceptional
relationship-building skills, this person will be responsible for
cultivating new major donors while leading the team on email,
direct mail, and social media campaigns, prospect research, and
stewardship. They will be responsible for the portfolio of
prospective and current donors, creating compelling strategies and
proposals while leading the team to utilize an effective
cultivation system to track progress. 

 

This position allows the right candidate to lead the cultivation
of broader and deeper donor relationships for Communities In
Schools. Our donors are community and business leaders, investors,
and people from all walks of life committed to educational equity.
The candidate should have strong initiative, as we work in a
virtual environment. They are energized by meeting with prospective
donors. This individual would be able to work independently and
have a strong ability to develop their team. They have a
demonstrated ability to connect with and cultivate funders from
diverse backgrounds.

 

PRIMARY DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead execution of a multi-year strategy for Communities in
  Schools’ Individual Giving efforts.
• Manage donors’ successful solicitation and stewardship through
  email, direct mail campaigns, and monthly giving
  programs.
• Implement a comprehensive revenue strategy to identify and
  cultivate new donors.
• Supervise a staff of two full-time employees, focused on
  mid-level and monthly programs, stewardship of current donors, and
  reporting.
• Strategize mid-term fundraising opportunities with the Vice
  President of Advancement.
• Collaborate with Foundation and Corporate Giving team leaders
  to implement special funding projects and events.
• Collaborate with the Marketing and Communication team on all
  solicitation and stewardship materials for Individual Giving
  programs, including email campaigns, speaking engagements for CIS
  leadership, proposals, and events.
• Work closely with the Student Support and Finance departments
  to create and manage fundraising budgets and proposals.
• Work on special projects as assigned by the VP,
  Advancement.

Team Management Responsibilities:

• Ensure the team provides an outstanding donor experience.
• Develop and oversee all communications with individual donors
  and prospects.
• Draft acknowledgment letters and correspondence for senior
  leadership as needed.
• Ensure timely and accurate gift processing, tracking,
  acknowledgment, and documentation.
• Guide prospect research needs and priorities.
• Oversee all cultivation and stewardship events.
• Manage Individual Giving expense budgets and revenue
  projections.

Priorities:

• 60% – Develop and grow the pipeline of new donors.
• 25% – Develop and train the team in donor stewardship and
  cultivation strategies.
• 10% – Collaborate internally with the Marketing and
  Communication team.
• 5% – Manage team in all software tracking and recordkeeping in
  Salesforce.

Requirements

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to
perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed
below are representative of the knowledge, skills and/or ability
desired in a candidate. Reasonable accommodations may be made to
enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential
functions.

 

SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE THE FOLLOWING
SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS

Required skills & qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree (or equivalent years of relevant experience)
  with a minimum of 8 years’ frontline fundraising experience.
• Commitment to educational equity.
• Demonstrated record of soliciting and securing six- to
  seven-figure gifts from high-impact donors and prospects.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and manage a team of fundraising
  professionals.
• Highly organized and able to track and manage multiple projects
  simultaneously, including the ability to prioritize work projects
  and meet deadlines.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to effectively communicate and collaborate with
  colleagues across all departments and advocate for Individual
  Giving efforts and priorities.
• Experience in wealth screening tools and strategies.
• Experience with Microsoft Office Suite and CRMs, such as
  Salesforce.
• Experience leading campaigns and mid-level giving
  programs.
• Ability to effectively communicate with diverse and influential
  audiences.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to prioritize work
  based on goals.
• Thorough knowledge of fundraising best practices and
  understanding of the philanthropic landscape.

 

TRAVEL

Travel up to 30% is required, including travel in the domestic
United States with overnight stays to attend:

• CIS National Office meetings and retreats
• Donor meetings
• CIS events
• Outside networking events and conferences

 

ABOUT US

CIS staff continue to work in a virtual environment; however,
the national office is open and available for staff to use as
appropriate. 

To ensure the health and safety of staff and job applicants, all
interviews will be conducted by phone and/or video conference.

 

BENEFITS & PERKS

Work that makes a difference—the opportunity to contribute to an
important mission!

Competitive and comprehensive compensation and benefits package,
including:

• Five weeks of Paid Time Off
• Generous 403b Retirement Savings Plan contribution
• 10 Paid Holidays
• 90% of employee health care premiums paid by the
  organization
• Summer Work Schedule and Winter Break
• Employer-paid short-term and long-term income replacement
  programs, and much, much more!

 

Communities In Schools is committed to a workforce that
is representative of the varied communities we are privileged to
serve. We provide a work environment that does not discriminate
based on race, color, national origin, gender, age, sexual
orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, mental
or physical disability, genetic information or any other basis
protected by applicable law. CIS prohibits harassment of applicants
or employees based on any of these protected categories. Reasonable
accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities
to perform the essential functions.

 

For more information on Communities In Schools please visit our
website.