Senior Director, Principal Gifts

Oct 23

Appalachian Mountain Club
Remote (Northeast USA)

Anticipated Start Date: TBD

Description

A new position, the Senior Director, Principal Gifts (SDPG) will work closely with the Chief Development Officer (CDO), Jennifer Norris, and AMC’s management team at a time of transformation and growth, as the organization launches its largest fundraising campaign in its 150-year history. Informed by a new strategic plan launching in 2025 and guided by the leadership of President & CEO Nicole Zussman, this is an exceptionally special moment to help set the future course for AMC. This position will lead principal gift strategy by co-creating transformational funding opportunities in partnership with AMC’s program leadership, and collaboratively advancing relationships with ultra-high net worth individual donors and volunteers.

The SDPG will play a critical role in contributing to AMC’s overall fundraising success at the highest levels by charting strategies that build towards principal, major and planned gifts in support of campaign priorities. This position will be responsible for a blended set of responsibilities to include designing and implementing a high-touch principal gifts program, carrying a personal portfolio of major (six-figure) and principal (seven- and eight-figure) gift prospects, and providing oversight, coaching, and guidance to the individual giving team and partners. The SDPG will implement a best-in-class structure and process for raising major- and principal-gift level gifts that propel AMC toward its future. This includes lending support and strategic thought to AMC colleagues and volunteers who serve as relationship managers to major and principal level prospects, and ensuring that these prospects are engaged, solicited, and stewarded during this campaign. The SDPG will oversee a team of six frontline fundraisers.

This position aligns both staff and volunteers to advance AMC’s mission and its four strategic priorities:

Inspire joyous, meaningful outdoor experiences.
Protect critical landscapes for the well-being of people and the outdoors.
Cultivate and sustain a robust, diverse, and welcoming community.
Foster equity in the outdoors.

AMC welcomes all qualified candidates to apply, and they invite the full participation of all individuals currently underrepresented in the outdoor community. This includes but is not limited to, individuals from racially and/or ethnically diverse communities, individuals with disabilities, individuals from LGBTQ+ communities, and individuals who experience intersectionality with one or more of these identities. This is a remote position with preference for the candidate to be based in the Northeast.

Responsibilities

Fundraising Strategy and Implementation

Develop and implement fundraising strategies and coordinated activities for prospects who can give at the $1M+ level and above, including ultra-high net worth individuals and select corporations, ensuring the timely and appropriate cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
Lead prospect strategy integration with top-rated donors and prospects managed by the President & CEO and CDO, and provide preparation and follow up support, with the goal to maximize lifetime engagement and support from these prospects and donors.
Work closely with the President & CEO, CDO, Campaign Director, and individual giving team members to create transformational fundraising priorities to support AMC’s strategic plan, determine areas in which current and prospective donors would be interested in investing and set appropriate short- and long-term goals in consultation with the CDO.
Help shape the existing principal and major gifts program into a best-in-class program with the use of best practices in data and metrics.
In partnership with the CDO and Campaign Director, develop and monitor department expense and revenue budgets and projections, as well as the department's annual plan.

Cross-Organizational Collaboration

Provide strategic thought partnership on fundraising strategies to colleagues and guide the creation of their targeted cultivation plans and establish solicitation priorities.
Collaborate with and streamline work flows with AMC colleagues enterprise-wide to maximize philanthropic experiences for the organization’s top prospects and donors.
Build bridges with volunteers across different segments of AMC community to engage them as appropriate in principal gifts fundraising and foster a culture of philanthropy.

Frontline Fundraising

Build and manage a fundraising portfolio of 30-40 principal gift prospects who have the capacity and inclination to support one or more of AMC’s fundraising priorities.
Visit donors and prospects independently, as well as in tandem with AMC executive leadership, and work proactively to bring them to AMC facilities for substantive visits and engagements.
Work closely with the President & CEO, CDO, and the Campaign Director to facilitate movement of specific prospects and donors through various stages of giving, especially with top campaign prospects.
Oversee the preparation of fundraising proposals, talking points and scripts, assessment of potential support, briefings, and stewardship and impact reports for assigned prospects.
Maintain a thorough working knowledge of AMC’s strategic vision and philanthropic priorities for advancing transformational gift opportunities.
Collaborate with the CDO in maximizing fundraising engagement of AMC’s Board of Directors and Board of Advisors in the comprehensive campaign through the cultivation of relationships with assigned Board members.

Supervisory Responsibility

Manage the frontline fundraising team including the Director of Major Gifts, the Regional Director of Development,
Greater New York, two Senior Philanthropy Officers, and a new, to-be-hired Director of Gift Planning.
Provide guidance in frontline fundraisers’ work with programmatic experts to secure major and principal-level gifts, including strategizing and maximizing the use of resources in engagement and solicitation plans.
Supervise front-line fundraising team’s processes, outputs, communication, and performance using a data-informed, team-based approach, and identify and implement improvements as needed to ensure campaign and annual revenue and activities goals are met.

Requirements

Minimum 10 years’ proven experience in fundraising leadership positions.
5+ years managing front-line fundraisers, motivating, and guiding them to high performance and professional growth.
Demonstrated track record of fundraising success in the cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of major (six-figure) and principal gifts (seven+ figures)
Success in strategically engaging and securing gifts from previously unaffiliated constituencies.
Proven experience playing a key leadership role in a fundraising campaign
Facility with employing CRMs and reporting to inform a data-driven approach to moves management. Experience using Salesforce a plus.
Experience engaging and mobilizing groups of diverse stakeholders, from complex organizational teams to volunteers.
Strength in developing fundraising strategies and experience working directly with the most senior levels of an organization.
Strong willingness to collaborate in a highly team-based environment; ability to build working relationships up, down, and across a large and diffuse organization.
A history of and commitment to diversity, inclusion, and confidentiality.
Excellent writing, communication, and presentation skills to deliver effective, persuasive messages. Previous proposal writing experience is preferred.
Successful track record translating research and program activity into compelling philanthropic objectives.
Knowledge of climate and conservation policy and/or environmental issues is a plus.
The ability to travel frequently in support of AMC’s philanthropic priorities (including weeknights and weekends), staffing multiday events as well as cultivation and solicitation visits with the President & CEO, CDO, Board members, and other volunteers. Travel may involve going to backcountry locations and staying in dormitory-style accommodation.
AMC encourages candidates to have a willingness to learn how to engage in outdoor recreational activities, including skiing, snowshoeing, or hiking in difficult terrain.
Valid driver’s license.

Salary Range and Employee Benefits

The salary range for this position is $125,000 - $205,000 and is dependent on a candidate’s permanent location.

How to Apply for this Job

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About the Organization

Founded in 1876, the Appalachian Mountain Club is the oldest conservation and recreation organization in the United States. The AMC is dedicated to the protection, enjoyment, and understanding of the outdoors. It encourages the involvement of all people in its mission and activities, through its membership, programs, policies, and procedures, and is blessed to have an engaged, passionate, and committed community of donors who care deeply about and generously support AMC’s mission.

AMC’s donor community is led by the President’s Society – a group of outdoor enthusiasts who contribute $1,000 or more per year to AMC. The President’s Society started in 1989 as an idea and has since grown into a community of over 1,000 members who contribute millions of dollars per year to AMC’s mission through the annual fund. This group has seen explosive growth in recent years, and AMC is excited about the future growth potential and is investing in staff resources to take this program to new heights.

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