Director of Development

Veterans Community Project (VCP) Overview

VCP was founded in Kansas City, Missouri, in 2016 by a group of combat Veterans shaped by their military service and began with a determination to do better for Veterans in need. Today, we’re growing nationwide to serve more Veterans everywhere, ensuring no one is left behind. Our founders’ solution was simple: provide Veterans experiencing homelessness with a home of their own and wraparound case management services that leverage the support of the community to not only get them back on their feet, but ensure they continue standing. Our proven model has an 85% success rate at getting Veterans back on their feet.

The Role

As the Director of Development, you will serve as a member of the local leadership team and the leader of local development efforts. Under the direction of the local Executive Director and in strong collaboration with the National Director of Philanthropy, you will initiate and implement development strategies, planning, and activities that result in a compelling, donor-centered development program which invites our community-at-large to have a lasting relationship with VCP to achieve our goals.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop and implement an integrated development program using a variety of cultivation, solicitation and stewardship techniques including making personal visits, and phone calls, sending appeals, events and gatherings, online campaigns, and networking.
• Manage the local day-to-day development operations including prospect identification and research; cultivation and communications strategies; proposal development; writing, submission, and tracking of grants; solicitation strategies; donor stewardship, donor-centered communication, and outreach activities; and community engagement/volunteer relations.
• Determine readiness of donors to progress toward giving and deeper engagement with VCP.
• Plan, coordinate, prepare materials, and participate in meetings to cultivate and solicit prospective donors and community partners; research new sponsorship options using appropriate cultivation activities.
• Ensure a meaningful donor stewardship plan is in place and implemented to achieve maximum donor loyalty and develop marketing strategies to promote the VCP image.
• Participate in annual budget preparation, including making revenue projections and goal setting.
• Foster relationships with other VCP departments and development team members in other cities to build a cooperative and effective program that promotes a culture of philanthropy.
• Coordinate and execute local capital campaign initiatives, providing strategic leadership and oversight of the Capital Campaign Committee to ensure goals are met and community engagement is maximized.

Competencies and Areas of Expertise

• Passion for the mission of VCP.
• Bachelor's degree in communications, marketing, non-profit management, or a related field or equivalent educational experience.
• Seven – ten years progressively responsible related experience; or any combination of education, training and experience, that provides the required knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the essential functions of the job. Work experience preferably in non-profit environment.
• Advanced understanding of the principles of fundraising; current issues and trends in fundraising; corporate social responsibility; marketing; fiscal management; and volunteer management.
• Experience in grant writing as well as major giving (individual and corporate), portfolio/moves management.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills with emphasis on building relationships and asking for gifts.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to develop and deliver compelling arguments regarding the value proposition of VCP. Experience in donor-centric communication preferred.
• Knowledge of a non-profit donor CRM is required (ie: Raiser’s Edge, NEON, Virtuous, etc.)
• Advanced knowledge of technical computer skills in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint) and social networking, including ability to utilize technology for research.
• Self-motivated to set, attain and surpass goals, with minimal supervision.
• Able to assess own skills and abilities and identify areas for improvement; willingly accepts constructive feedback; seeks developmental opportunities; sets and achieves goals; works independently.
• Flexible to take on additional duties, or change course, to ensure the success of the organization.
• Organizational skills and attention to detail. Can orchestrate multiple activities at once to accomplish a goal; uses resources effectively and efficiently; arranges information and files in a useful manner.
• Strong performance management and evaluation capabilities are required including the willingness and ability to ensure accountability. Spends his/her time and the time of others on what's important; quickly zeroes in on the critical few and puts the trivial many aside; can quickly sense what will help or hinder accomplishing a goal; eliminates roadblocks; creates focus.
• Must have a valid driver's license, maintain an insurable driving record, and be able to operate an agency vehicle as required by the position.