Assistant Head of Development and Fundraising

Aug 21

Saint Mary’s School
Raleigh, NC

Anticipated Start Date: 11/1/2024

Description

As the driving force behind fundraising efforts, the Assistant Head of Development and Fundraising plays a key role in ensuring the financial sustainability of the organization and the success of its programs and services. The individual is responsible for the strategy and execution of development efforts, including but not limited to fundraising, constituent relations, alumnae engagement, and marketing. Saint Mary’s unique history differentiates this development leadership position from other independent school opportunities. While Saint Mary’s is an all-girls, four-year day school; it is also a boarding school that for a majority of its history operated as a junior college and two-year high school.

Therefore, its fundraising function operates more like a higher education development office rather than a typical day school operation. For example, alumnae still comprise a majority of the School’s donors. Current parents and parents of alumnae are a growing network of support. The School features a large network of supporters including not just parents and alumnae, but also friends, community partners, employees, and grandparents. Given its long history, Saint Mary’s also has developed a robust legacy gift program – The Heritage Society – and its team has a well-developed understanding of tax-wise giving strategies.

As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, the AHDF helps to uphold the mission and vision of the School while steering the institution forward in alignment with the strategic plan. The effective AHDF will do this in part through exceptional team-building skills and an ability to identify and eliminate silos both within the Development team but also among the School’s other departments. Evidence that the candidate will model and teach collaborative problem-solving will be highly valued, as will the emotional intelligence that allows the leader to build healthy professional relationships with school constituents.

Well-developed executive level skills will be essential for strong candidates for this role, as the leader will need to balance external demands while at the same time mentoring, supporting and leading a dedicated and experienced Development team. The eight- member development team at Saint Mary’s is experienced, deeply committed to the School’s mission, and eager to welcome their new leader, whom they hope will inspire them and lead with a sense of humor and empathy. They have recently revisited and refined their departmental mission statement and evaluated and upgraded office systems and processes - including the incorporation of individual and departmental metrics for success. Leading this team, the AHDF will provide direct oversight of alumnae affairs, major gifts, annual giving, planned-giving, alumnae communications, and marketing.

A central priority for the new AHDF will be the conclusion of the Saint Mary’s Forever Campaign, the largest fundraising endeavor in the School’s long history. Launched in 2018, the Forever Campaign has focused on three funding priorities – financial sustainability, growing the endowment, academic integration and innovation. Among the $64.47 million in campaign gifts have been two of the largest gifts received in the 182-year history of Saint Mary’s.

A $6 million lead gift has enabled the construction of The Blanche Robertson Bacon Performing Arts Center, which will bolster Saint Mary’s commitment to interdisciplinary interaction as well as excellence in personal artistic exploration and participation. The Center will encompass the School’s largest indoor gathering space as well as house a Black Box Theatre, atrium, and event lobby providing spaces where girls gain confidence and find inspiration from performances, convocations, speakers, and more. Construction on the Blanche Center began in January 2023. A $7 million gift, the single largest single gift to the School, will help fund the construction of a new academic science building on the historic campus.

With a focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) studies, the facility will engage girls in hands-on field experience, laboratory/project-based entrepreneurial tasks, and mentorship experiences. Saint’s Mary’s has built a well-structured development program comprised of several components, including the annual fund, major gifts, special events, planned giving, and the capital campaign. The AHDF will possess the leadership competence, technical know-how, and interpersonal skills to provide oversight and strategic direction for a comprehensive development operation like Saint Mary’s.

The ideal candidate will demonstrate a track record of proven success engaging multiple constituents including current parents, grandparents, alumnae parents, faculty/staff, alumnae, and the broader foundation and corporate community. Furthermore, the ideal candidate will have experience overseeing development processes and soliciting and closing five-, six- and seven figure individual, corporate, and foundation gifts. Saint Mary’s AHDF will also need to be proficient in overseeing the maintenance of a robust database system (Veracross) to ensure accurate and up-to-date data and using the system to leverage data to inform institutional development strategies and analyze results.

Finally, this position offers the opportunity to represent Saint Mary's School at various school and community events. The high-performing AHDF will serve willingly as a leader for the school community, participating in the daily life and operations of the School, extending beyond the responsibilities of the development role. Ideal candidates will have the interpersonal skills and mission-centric leadership style that fuel their enthusiasm for and capability to deepen relationships with constituents both on and off campus. The successful AHDF will embrace the history of Saint Mary’s and be able to tell its evocative stories in compelling ways, while at the same time igniting excitement for the School’s future.

Responsibilities

Saint Mary’s School is a great fit for an experienced and accomplished development professional who embraces Saint Mary’s purpose of “empowering young women to lead, excel, and make a difference in the world.” In order to thrive in Saint Mary’s vibrant, people-centric community, ideal candidates will exhibit strong personal drive and motivation, demonstrate exemplary professional behavior and values, and be resourceful, responsible, and collaborative.

Core Responsibilities

Lead a high-performing team of fundraising and marketing professionals that is expected to raise over $6,500,000 in gifts annually ($2.6 million in annual giving and $4 million in capital gifts).
Manage a portfolio of major gifts donors and prospects at the $25K+ level.
Lead fundraising activities including the launch of the Saint Mary’s Forever Campaign’s public phase, annual giving, major giving, endowment growth, planned-giving, and stewardship programs for sustained revenue growth and campus development.
Provide leadership direction and support to alumnae affairs, major gifts, annual giving, planned-giving, alumnae communications, and marketing teams.
Work closely and collaborate with members of the senior leadership team as well as the Board of Trustees to develop fundraising goals, strategies and action steps that align with and support the mission of the School, enhancing the culture of philanthropy throughout the constituencies.
Develop through the staff, alumnae, and parent network a culture and tradition of philanthropy.
Lead a team that builds and sustains relationships in the Saint Mary’s School community to foster philanthropic support of the mission and goals of the School. This includes all constituents such as parents, past parents, grandparents, alumnae, trustees, the community, and friends of the School.
Manage the development team activities according to best practice in areas including annual giving, major giving, planned giving, donor relations and stewardship, alumnae and parent engagement, trustee relations, and campaign planning.
Create and implement a yearly development operating plan that includes annual fundraising, solicitation of major gifts, donor cultivation, alumnae engagement, stewardship, and a plan to monitor and report on key departmental metrics.
Provide strategic direction and execution designing engaging fundraising events.
Represent the School in public appearances, speaking engagements, events, and digital formats and communicate passionately the mission, vision and strategic initiatives.
Travel domestically and possibly internationally on an annual basis as deemed necessary to cultivate and steward donors.
Collaborate with the Marketing team in developing a strong fundraising brand that advances the School, implementing a digital and analog fundraising strategy, and engaging the greater community through thoughtful and regular communications.
Cultivate constituent engagement such as volunteer fundraising, parent engagement and giving, alumnae relations, and trustee relations.
Stay current of the changing landscape of philanthropy and marketing in independent schools and look for ways to implement new strategies at Saint Mary’s that broaden revenue streams and advance the School’s mission.
Serve as the primary liaison to the Advancement Committee and Governance Committee of the Board of Trustees, jointly setting agendas, reporting on the fundraising progress of the School, researching prospective and candidate Board members, and developing fundraising readiness for campaigns.
Represent the School on campus, in the community, and across the country to build a strong network of philanthropic support.
Work directly and closely with the Head of School to engage him in major gift donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
Manage the departmental budget.
Participate in the community as an engaged and involved presence and perform weekend and night responsibilities to support the life of the residential community, as assigned.
Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

The ideal candidate will have a minimum of 10 years of proven fundraising success; cultivating, engaging, and expanding relationships with a wide variety of prospects and donors, generating and diversifying revenue, preferably at a non-profit, independent school, or a higher education institution.

While a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management, Communication, Public Relations, or a related field is expected, an advanced degree and/or professional fundraising certification is preferred. Familiarity with independent school or higher education fundraising is a plus.

Additional qualifications include:

Experience working with and connecting to a large and diverse community of people.
Demonstrated strengths in interpersonal skills and collaboration.
Ability to oversee, manage, and motivate people while also acting as a professional mentor to build on the skills and strengths of others.
Ability to interact and communicate positively and effectively with prospective students and parents.
Ability to collaborate with other departments and Senior Leadership and Board of Trustees members.
Ability to collect, analyze, and communicate data.
Ability to plan, organize, and coordinate multiple tasks and meet goals and deadlines.
Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, including ability to speak in front of an audience.
Energy, integrity, sincerity, commitment to teamwork, and the drive to succeed.
Ability to work independently and collaboratively to achieve common goals.
Exceptional ability to operate with discretion and demonstrate good judgement.
Microsoft Office and database proficiency (Veracross experience preferred, but not required).