Job Description
Job Title: Director of Donor Relations and Special Events
Job Location: Providence
Position Status: Salaried Exempt, Full-time, Monday -- Friday, occasional early evening hours PLEASE NOTE: This is primarily an in-person role based out of our Providence, RI office.
Salary: $80,000 to $90,000, commensurate with prior fundraising experience. Eligible for employee benefits, including accrued vacation/sick/personal time, paid holidays, health/dental insurance, and a 401(k) plan.
Position Overview: Sojourner House is a non-profit organization that serves victims and survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking. We have offices in Providence and Woonsocket, and programs that operate statewide. With a growing annual budget of over $7.5 million, the agency’s budget is largely reliant on federal grants, but we are working to expand our support from the community through individual donations, corporate sponsorships, and local business support. The Director of Donor Relations and Special Events will work closely with the Sojourner House development staff members, Executive Director, and board of directors to manage the agency’s two annual special events, individual donor solicitations, fundraising campaigns, volunteer program, communications program, and corporate engagement. This position is not a grant writing or grants management job.
The Director will be motivated, passionate, organized, detail-oriented, possess superior communications skills (both oral and written), have prior experience with developing relationships with donors, have a demonstrated track record of securing donations, be committed to Sojourner House’s mission, and be familiar with fundraising best practices. The Director will be comfortable working in a fast-paced environment, be flexible to challenges that may arise, and be able to offer creative solutions to help the agency reach its fundraising goals.
Primary Job Responsibilities:
Individual Donor Cultivation
- Take the lead to develop strategies to manage and grow non-grant annual fundraising initiatives, which include a spring fundraising campaign, a Masquerade Ball, fundraising appeals, and an emerging capital campaign;
- Lead efforts for donor outreach for fundraising campaigns;
- Seek opportunities to identify new prospective individual and corporate donors, and to cultivate relationships with existing donors;
- Provide training and technical assistance to staff members, board members, and volunteers about fundraising best practices;
- Communicate directly and meet with donors;
- Help to manage the donor database; generate and analyze reports related to donation trends and donor demographics;
- Develop strategies to transition donors into major donors;
- Supervising the Communications Manager, work to draft sponsorship proposals, fundraising letters, marketing materials, and other fundraising communication tools;
- Manage the design, content, production, and bulk mailing process for donor appeals and fundraising campaign solicitations;
- Connect with first-time donors;
- Identify, cultivate, solicit, steward, and manage relationships of prospective and existing donors;
- Work collaboratively to develop funding priorities and an annual fundraising plan for major donations;
- Implement an annual giving program that results in securing unrestricted gifts from individual donors;
- Develop strategies to create planned giving opportunities for donors;
- Manage a portfolio of donors and prospects through individualized stewardship plans that include written and verbal communications;
- Understand and communicate the various funding needs of the agency to volunteer solicitors, board members, and prospective donors;
- Have measurable goals set annually related to overall fundraising, number of discovery calls, and face-to-face meetings;
- Develop and be able to communicate a deep understanding of the agency’s mission, programs, relevant departments, and priorities to effectively communicate cases for support and gift opportunities.
Event Planning
- Serve as a liaison for donors and business owners who offer to host fundraisers or donate in-kind productions/services, and coordinate logistics when required;
- Serve as the point person for small fundraising events that Sojourner House initiates;
- Manage the coordination of Sojourner House’s major fundraising events (a Masquerade Ball and a spring breakfast). This may include working with a contract event planner and includes:
- Coordinating logistics for the events, from the registration process to the flow of the event;
- Leading the recruitment and supervision of volunteer event planning teams;
- Developing the strategy for sponsorship solicitation;
- Soliciting and collecting in-kind contributions;
- Managing on-line fundraising platforms;
- Working with the Communications Manager to develop event-specific marketing materials to promote the event.
Volunteer Coordination
- The Director will supervise a full-time Volunteer Manager and help craft the strategy for recruiting, training, and retaining of volunteers, and how to turn volunteers into donors.
- The Director will work with the Volunteer Manager to create systems to track in-kind donations and volunteer hours for grant matching purposes.
Other Fundraising Initiatives
- Plan and execute additional fundraising work, including a current small capital campaign.
- Provide supervision of a Communications Manager, and oversee the annual communications and social media plans.
- Conceive of new fundraising initiatives for Sojourner House to undertake.
Education: Bachelor's Degree or equivalent required.
Required experience/skills:
- A minimum of eight years of professional experience working directly with nonprofit fundraising initiatives, events, and donors is required.
- Applicants must be able to work a flexible schedule (some evening and weekend hours required).
Must be exceptionally organized, detail oriented, and responsive to phone calls and email correspondence.
- Must be able to work independently and take initiative on projects.
- Must have superior communications skills, both written and oral.
- Must have computer literacy (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and general Internet skills).
- Experience in developing and delivering community presentations.
- Demonstrated commitment to Sojourner House’s work
- Applicants must have access to a reliable vehicle and must pass a BCI check.
COVID POLICY NOTICE: Sojourner House has mandated that its employees obtain a COVID-19 vaccine. Eligible employees may request an exemption from this policy for medical or religious accommodation reasons by working with our Human Resources Department.
To Apply:
Please forward a resume, contact information for 2-3 references, and a cover letter that details how you meet the requirements of the job, and addresses this question: Why would you want to manage Sojourner House’s donor strategy and special events initiatives? Applications should be submitted by email to resumes @ sojournerri.org with the subject line “Director of Special Events and Donor Relations.” Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, so early submissions are encouraged.
Sojourner House is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.
To learn more about Sojourner House’s work, please visit: www.sojournerri.org.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $80,000.00 - $90,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Professional development assistance
Schedule:
COVID-19 considerations:
COVID POLICY NOTICE: Sojourner House has mandated that its employees obtain a COVID-19 vaccine. Eligible employees may request an exemption from this policy for medical or religious accommodation reasons by working with our Human Resources Department.
Experience:
- Fundraising: 8 years (Required)
- Events management: 5 years (Required)
Work Location: One location