Director of Mission Champions Program

About the role

Independence Mission Schools (IMS) is seeking a strategic, results-driven, and experienced development professional to serve as the Director of Mission Champions Program. This individual will be responsible for building, leading, and scaling IMS's new Mission Champions initiative — a vital and growing pillar of the organization's annual giving strategy. Reporting to the Senior Director of Leadership & Annual Giving, the Director will design and execute a comprehensive program to deepen donor engagement, grow philanthropic support, and advance IMS's mission of providing students from underserved communities access to a high-quality Catholic school education. This is a full-time role based in Philadelphia, with a flexible hybrid schedule.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and execution of a network-wide strategy to grow the Mission Champions program, including donor acquisition, retention, upgrades, and stewardship, ensuring program sustainability and year-over-year growth.
• Establish and achieve ambitious, measurable targets related to personal donor visits, solicitation activity, dollars raised, and donor engagement.
• Serve as the primary relationship manager for all Mission Champion donors, delivering a high-touch experience through personalized outreach, stewardship touchpoints, and regular impact reporting.
• Create and implement a comprehensive stewardship plan that includes tailored communications, individualized acknowledgments, exclusive events, and student success stories.
• Manage a dynamic portfolio of current and prospective Mission Champion donors, including direct solicitation of gifts and cultivation of long-term philanthropic relationships.
• Collaborate closely with school leaders at all 14 schools, Advancement colleagues, and the communications team to identify and share compelling narratives that illustrate the impact of donor support.
• Work with school based program coordinators (14) that will help execute at the local level.
• Develop customized sponsorship proposals, presentations, and other materials to secure new and renewed sponsorship commitments.
• Partner with marketing and communications to increase visibility and promotion of the Mission Champions program through digital marketing, print collateral, and donor-focused storytelling.
• Maintain records of donor activity and interactions in Donor Perfect ensuring data integrity and supporting effective moves management.
• Assist with broader annual giving initiatives and special campaigns as needed to support the overall success of IMS's fundraising goals.
• Actively manage four assigned School Advisory Councils: St. Raymonds of Penafort, St. Helena-Incarnation, Depaul Catholic School and St. Thomas Aquinas.
• Build strong relationships with Advisory Council members and school leadership and connect their engagement to school-specific fundraising priorities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.
• Minimum of 5-7 years of progressive experience in fundraising, annual giving, or donor relations, preferably within an educational or nonprofit environment.
• Proven ability to build, manage, and grow fundraising programs and donor pipelines, with a strong record of personally securing and stewarding gifts.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to inspire and engage diverse audiences.
• Strong organizational and project management skills, including the ability to manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and maintain attention to detail.
• Experience with donor CRM platforms such as DonorPerfect, Raiser's Edge, or similar systems.
• Self-starter with the ability to work independently and collaboratively in fast-paced, mission-driven environment.
• High degree of professionalism, integrity, and emotional intelligence.
• A passion for the mission of Catholic education and a strong commitment to advancing educational opportunities for students and families in underserved communities.
• Availability for occasional evening or weekend events, as needed.

Skills

• The ability to build, develop and maintain strong relationships with internal and external constituents including school leaders, teachers, board members, donors, and other community stakeholders.
• Experience with event planning preferred, from logistics to solicitation of event sponsors.
• Strategic thinker with experience in direct response annual campaign strategy, implementation and analysis.