Development Manager

Description:

The vision of DuPage Children’s Museum (DCM) is that all children thrive through access to extraordinary learning experiences. The Development Manager, Individual Giving and Sponsorship serves a critical role in advancing towards the vision by engaging individuals, businesses, and organizations in the work of DCM and eliciting financial support from those constituents to support museum operations and other priorities. The Development Manager, Individual Giving and Sponsorship is an integral member of DCM’s Development team who serves a critical role as an ambassador for the museum, building strong and sustainable relationships with individuals, corporations, and their representatives. The focus is on securing annual gifts for the Museum through personal solicitation, direct mail appeals, email and social media campaigns, and event sponsorship.

Distinguishing Characteristics: The successful candidate will maintain and grow an annual giving program and will project manage activities, programs and events related to the identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of annual fund donors, including the planning and execution of the annual Fundraiser. This candidate will work with DCM representatives including members of the play and learning team, building and making team, marketing team, and finance team to solicit and close annual gifts through individual meetings, phone calls, and written correspondence.

The Development Manager, Individual Giving and Sponsorship will have project management responsibility in executing specific fundraising activities including: active participation and management of assigned tasks relating to the Museum’s funding priorities; growing and implementing additional giving efforts; develop, organize, manage, and implement short and long range fundraising plans, goals, and strategies, all aimed at increasing giving, participation, and involvement from current and prospective donors. The Development Manager, Individual Giving and Sponsorship will work collaboratively with members of the Development Team to develop written materials and proposals for appropriate prospects and coordinate strategies for current annual donors who could be considered major gift prospects.

Essential Responsibilities:

Build and manage a portfolio of 75-100 donors and prospects for qualification, cultivation, solicitation, gift closure, and stewardship purposes that result in annual gifts.
Work with the Chief of Development, President & CEO, Leadership Staff, and Development Team to create a 12 to 24-month strategic plan for each annual donor/prospect that will serve as a foundational communication plan for each person in the portfolio and execute such plan for effective moves.
With the Major Gifts Officer, identify annual donors who may qualify as major gift prospects and develop appropriate cultivation strategies.
Project manage logistics for donor-centric events including Play Soiree, recognition events, and exhibit openings.
Develop sponsorship opportunities for annual events, including, but not limited to, Play Soiree, Bubble Bash, and Transportation Zoo.
Develop sponsorship opportunities for neighborhoods, programs, activities, and exhibits.
Plan and coordinate all aspects of direct mail campaigns including developing timelines for implementation, drafting content, and segmenting mailing lists. Develop strategy for supplemental social media and email campaigns where appropriate.
Utilize existing and supporting resources as well as technology and wealth screening data to maximize time spent in donor-facing cultivation and solicitation activities including the donor database and other reporting tools.
Collaborate with the Membership and Sale Operations Manager to develop proficiency in designing and running data-base driven queries to identify and steward members/gift member buyers into the donor pipeline.
Complete and file timely reports of donor/prospect contacts. Responsible for maintaining individual donor/prospect records in the donor database.
Work with staff, advisory teams, and committees, DCM’s Board of Directors, and the community to develop relationships leading to gifts and commitments for annual and special campaigns.
Secondary Responsibilities:

Other duties as assigned.

Responsible for delivering, retrieving and transporting goods such as donated items, catering, flowers, and other items to and from DCM, offsite events, and other necessary locations.
Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Must possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities described below or be able to explain and demonstrate that they can perform the essential functions of the job using some other combination of skills and abilities. The successful candidate must be steeped in a strong donor-centric and guest centric approach to fundraising, stewardship, and leadership. This person must possess the proficiency, wherewithal, and knowledge of principles and processes for providing high-quality support and services to internal and external constituents of the Museum. The successful candidate will possess the following:

Proven history of successful management of annual giving programs
Strong interpersonal communication skills
Ability to work collaboratively in a team setting and independently
Knowledge of the elements of building a compelling case for support
Strong writing and presentation skills
Must be confident and comfortable asking for monetary donations
Employ timely follow through with donors and donor prospects
Ability to work outside “normal” business hours, which will include evening and weekends
Strong computer and software skills, including familiarity with donor management databases such as Blackbaud/Altru, Google Workplace, Internet Searches, PowerPoint, Word, Excel spreadsheets
Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple tasks and projects under tight time constraints and adjust easily to redirecting priorities should that be necessary
Perform basic mathematical calculations (with or without the assistance of a calculator), perform analysis on data to form reasonable conclusions, and demonstrate findings to others
Ability to make cold calls (via phone, in-person, email, letter) as introduction to prospective donors
Job Relationships:

The Development Manager, Individual Giving and Sponsorship position reports directly to the Chief of Development. This position works closely with all members of the development department, as well as the President & CEO and other departments within DCM, to meet short and long term fundraising goals. Must maintain positive relationships with all Museum staff, vendors, guests, and other DCM related constituencies.

Education and Experience:

Undergraduate degree or equivalent professional experience with an emphasis in sales, communications, marketing, or nonprofit management. Minimum 3-5 years’ experience in fundraising and annual giving practices, and/or non-profit or corporate communications. Experience with fundraising databases, specifically Altru or Raiser’s Edge, is preferred. Experience in membership driven philanthropy preferred. Previous experience with wealth screening services and data preferred.