Senior Director of Philanthropy
Hybrid / Los Angeles
Award winning organization at the forefront of housing and supportive services for people experiencing homelessness and with special needs.
Mission Statement
A Community of Friends’ mission is to end homelessness through the provision of quality permanent supportive housing for people with mental illness.
A Community of Friends (ACOF) has exclusively retained Sterling Search, Inc. to find its Senior Director of Philanthropy.
ACOF was one of the first organizations of its kind to provide permanent supportive housing and wraparound services for people with mental illness, including for their families. As such, ACOF is widely recognized as a preeminent leader in addressing two of the most pressing issues in the Greater Los Angeles community: homelessness and mental health. The organization's significant impact in these areas has solidified its position as one of the largest and most influential players in the field for Southern California.
ACOF is committed to building and managing its buildings and supporting its tenants from the moment a project is conceived until it is fully occupied, providing permanent affordable housing with onsite supportive services to help their tenants remain stable and permanently housed. An innovative leader with deep knowledge and experience in property acquisition, development, management, and supportive services, ACOF boasts a 35+ year legacy and a portfolio of 47 properties in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties and 12 new properties in the pipeline. With a long-tenured and visionary CEO and a strong board guided by the core values of Dignity, Excellence, Community, and Equity, the organization is highly decorated and recognized for its award-winning properties and success in ending homelessness for people with disabilities.
Today, ACOF operates with a dedicated team of over 100 professionals and manages an annual budget of approximately $11 million. Within this financial framework, philanthropic contributions play an increasingly crucial role, accounting for about $1.3 million of the total budget. This philanthropic revenue is strategically diversified:
Grant Funding: Approximately $900,000 is secured through various grants, forming the backbone of ACOF's philanthropic income.
Diverse Donor Base: The remaining $400,000 is generated from a mix of individual and corporate donors. A significant portion of these contributions is acquired during ACOF's signature annual event, which serves as a key fundraising platform.
One of the key strategic initiatives driven by the Board of Directors and CEO is to significantly increase ACOF’s investment in philanthropy and marketing. To this end, a consulting firm was engaged to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the organization's philanthropy and marketing assets and fundraising opportunities earlier this year. The assessment revealed numerous potential avenues for growth and, crucially, identified that the Board has reached an inflection point, demonstrating a readiness and commitment to adopting a more sophisticated approach to philanthropy.
Historically at ACOF, philanthropy and communications functions have been combined, managed by a small team of three staff members. The primary recommendation from the assessment is to separate these functions. This restructuring would allow the newly created position of Senior Director of Philanthropy to focus exclusively on fund development. Additionally, this role would collaborate closely with a new Senior Manager of Communications, a position slated to be filled in the first quarter of 2025, to enhance and support philanthropy-related communications. This strategic separation and expansion of roles will optimize the organization's fundraising capabilities while ensuring cohesive and effective communication strategies, ultimately furthering ACOF's mission and its impact in the community.
The assessment recognized that building a robust development function requires time to establish the necessary infrastructure and systems. ACOF has already initiated this process by investing in Bloomerang, a new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. Currently, all data is being cleaned, transferred, and segmented from the old CRM into Bloomerang, with completion expected before the Senior Director of Philanthropy assumes their role.
It is anticipated that the Senior Director of Philanthropy will dedicate their first year to developing these foundational elements while maintaining the existing $1.3 million in philanthropic revenue. During this period, there will be a strong emphasis on crafting strategies for new donor acquisition. By the second year, ACOF expects to see an increase in donations from these newly cultivated sources.
This unique opportunity invites a seasoned philanthropy executive to partner with the CEO and Board of Directors in building a state-of-the-art philanthropic program. The CEO, a proven fundraiser herself, leads by example, while the Board's commitment is evident through its $2,500 give-get policy, with more than half of the members well exceeding this threshold.
This dynamic setting provides an ideal platform to elevate ACOF's philanthropic initiatives to unprecedented levels. In the current climate, where social justice is at the forefront of local and national discourse, the CEO and Board of Directors are poised to support and amplify these efforts, creating fertile ground for innovative fundraising approaches and impactful social change.
POSITION DESCRIPTION
The Senior Director of Philanthropy reports to the CEO and will be charged with the strategic direction and leadership of the vision, mission and strategy for the philanthropy program. They will be responsible for increasing ACOF’s fundraising capacity through a strengthened culture of philanthropy. The new Senior Director of Philanthropy will be both a visionary leader for the fund development program as well as a “boots on the ground” professional conducting the day-to-day fundraising including donor identification, engagement, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
This pivotal role also collaborates closely with the Board of Directors to create and execute an annual philanthropic strategy. The plan encompasses targeted campaigns for securing and expanding revenue streams from individuals, corporations, and foundations. In the inaugural year, the primary focus will be on implementing robust donor acquisition programs, laying the groundwork for new income streams to be developed in the second year.
The Senior Director of Philanthropy will oversee a currently outsourced Grants Manager and a Communications and Development Assistant. As the program evolves and expands, there is an expectation that the team will grow.
Key Responsibilities
Direct and oversee the growth of development revenue, with a primary focus on implementing a comprehensive plan based on a recent development assessment to expand and diversify the organization's funding sources in both the short and long term.
With the CEO, actively engage the Board of Directors and Fund Development Committee in their development responsibilities. Motivate and align volunteer leadership and the CEO with donor prospects. Serve as a resource for cultivation and stewardship efforts and oversee the relationship management progress in the database.
Actively manage a small portfolio of donors to capture renewal gifts and upgrades. Expand pipeline with new donors and prospects through face-to-face meetings and relationship building.
Fully implement prospect management and tracking system with the assistance of the team. Use moves management to engage individuals, foundation program officers, and corporate supporters, moving relationships through the donor cultivation cycle, ultimately presenting compelling presentations with appropriate gift strategies and comprehensive fundraising proposals to secure new and renewed support.
Oversee the implementation of acknowledgment, stewardship, and recognition programs with feedback and follow up systems.
Oversee the implementation of a comprehensive schedule of grant inquiries, proposals, and reports, managing and monitoring the preparation of all materials and other servicing activities on all foundation grants and awards. Ensure timely delivery and reporting in accordance with grant guidelines.
Oversee all events with some support of outside events management vendor(s). Manage staff support, volunteers and promotion; create budget, develop program, and solicit sponsors.
Provide strategic leadership and implementation for year-end direct mail campaign.
Work collaboratively with program staff to identify funding opportunities, grant writing needs and the outcome data for reporting.
Fundraising for project campaigns and other programs as assigned.
Create, monitor, and report on fundraising plans and budgets that include, but are not limited to reviewing financial statements for accurate reporting. Ensure receipt, acknowledgement, and allocation of grants according to the requirements of the IRS and donor.
Ensure compliance with all relevant regulations and laws, maintain accountability standards to donors, and ensure compliance with code of ethical principles and standards of professional conduct for fundraising executives.
Recruit, mentor, empower and develop staff to ensure that they have the resources needed to do their jobs; ensure that the performance evaluation system provides for clear feedback, clear responsibilities, and levels of accountability for all staff.
Maintain a climate that attracts, keeps, and motivates a diverse professional staff of top-quality people.
Execute all other reasonable duties as assigned by the CEO.
Year one Goal
Maintain existing revenue of $1.3 million in philanthropic revenue while developing new acquisition donor strategies that will grow new donor revenue in year two and beyond.
We are seeking candidates with the following qualifications:
Bachelor’s Degree and/or equivalent work experience
7 years of development experience with an emphasis on major gifts
3+ years in a supervisory role
Proven track record in successfully establishing and growing long-term relationships with donors and portfolio management through strategic engagement opportunities.
Demonstrated management skills in motivating, directing and managing staff and consultants, and in coordinating and supporting the fundraising activities of others.
Broad-based knowledge of various development activities including proposal and grant development, direct solicitations, leveraging fundraising databases and support systems for donor segmentation, research and volunteer management.
Ability to navigate a complex fundraising environment with nuanced strategies and initiatives, while building an effective group of volunteer fundraisers and gaining respect of community and business leaders and the advisory committee.
A track record as an exceptional communicator, in writing as well as verbally; adept at writing proposals, solicitation letters, donor correspondence, and other materials.
Compensation:
This position offers a salary range of $145,000 to $185,000 plus a 5% salary contribution to a 401k plan, 100% HMO employer paid plan with other plan options available and a healthy time-off policy plus closure during the Holidays.
Please contact Sarah Agee for a confidential conversation and to learn more about this opportunity.
Phone: (949) 903-2891
Email: Sarah@SterlingSearchInc.com
Please direct all correspondence, emails, and telephone calls to Sterling Search, Inc. Any communication with A Community of Friends will be redirected back to Sterling Search.
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