Starting salary: $90K
Location: Austin, Texas
The 19th* is a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization reporting at the intersection of gender, politics and policy. As our director of major gifts, you will lead our efforts to cultivate our biggest donors and prospect for new “patrons” — those who support us philanthropically with more than $1,000 a year. Responsibilities include research, outreach, envisioning and executing fundraising campaigns, organizing and attending virtual fundraising events (which will someday be in-person again), and communicating with current and prospective donors. We are only one year into this journey, so you’ll have the opportunity to build and grow as we scale. This position reports directly to our chief revenue officer, who leads our corporate sponsorship efforts and overall revenue generation. You will also work closely with our CEO (who has led our development effort to-date) and our chief financial officer (for projections, reporting and GAAP requirements).
Responsibilities
You will lead our major donor efforts by:
- Researching prospective donors and strategizing around outreach
- Meeting prospective donors and supporters on a continual basis to establish effective communications with them
- Growing a major gifts program, including identification, cultivation and solicitation of major donors
- Managing and growing individual donors, sustaining donors and planned giving programs
- Developing programs to regularly update patrons on our progress, organizing mailings, and spearheading annual fundraising drives, such as our end-of-year appeals
- Overseeing special event fundraisers (today: virtual; someday: in-person)
- Accurately recording and following up on donor pledges
- Maintaining our primary introduction deck and similar quarterly update presentations
- Working closely with our CEO, CRO, CFO and director of foundation philanthropy* to ensure annual revenue goals are met
- Overseeing our fundraising CRM (Virtuous) and tracking systems
- Collaborating with others on related fundraising communication and swag fulfillment
- Assisting with the creation of publications, such as annual reports, to support fundraising activities
- Maintaining gift recognition programs, including our online, tiered donor listings
*Please note that a parallel position at The 19th, the director of foundation philanthropy, will manage these same efforts for all foundations and grant management.
Qualifications & skills
The best fit for this role and mission will be someone who:
- Embraces the mission of The 19th and has the ability to articulate its values and vision to donors from a variety of backgrounds
- Exhibits exceptional interpersonal, verbal and writing skills
- Has knowledge and experience in fundraising techniques, particularly major gift fundraising
- Thrives in an early-stage environment
- Has the desire to create and build external relationships
- Is a self-starter and is goal-driven to initiate donor visits and fundraising calls
- Is organized and exhibits follow-through on tasks, goals and deadlines
- Displays a positive attitude, shows concern for people and community, and demonstrates self-confidence, common sense and listening skills
- Has experience in nonprofit fundraising and has a demonstrated track record of raising millions of dollars in donations annually
- G-Suite, MS Office and CRM experience
Working conditions
Monday – Friday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm. Some evenings and weekend work as needed (we’re finishing year one; enough said!).
We are mostly remote today but expect to be together someday.
This position is based in Austin, Texas.
Benefits
- 6 months paid family leave
- 401(k) with matching
- Flex Plan (for medical or child care expenses)
- Health insurance
- Dental insurance
- Vision insurance
- Disability insurance (ST and LT)
- Life insurance
- Paid time-off (20 days)
- Major Holidays (12 per yr.)
- Caregiver leave
We know there are great candidates who might not check all these boxes or who possess important skills we haven’t thought of. If that’s you, don’t hesitate to apply and tell us about yourself. We also encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including people of color, LGBTQ people and people with disabilities.
Interested candidates should apply here by 11:59 pm CT on November 23, 2020. Have questions about this position? Contact Johanna Derlega at [email protected]. (Note: We are not accepting résumés or applications via email; apply here.)