Director of Philanthropy

Love nature? Then you’re going to love The Nat. The San Diego Natural History Museum (The Nat) was founded by amateur naturalists in 1874 and has played a major role in the conservation of our region. The Nat recently celebrated its 150th anniversary and completed a strategic plan focused on encouraging a love for nature, leveraging science and collections for conservation, and using our own voice to be here for nature.

About the role

This position will play a key role in driving The Nat’s fundraising success. You will be responsible for managing a portfolio of individual donors and prospects, cultivating meaningful relationships, and securing philanthropic support through the Leadership Circles program. In addition, the role oversees the annual fund, membership, and events, ensuring a strong and sustainable base of support. The position reports to the Senior Director of Philanthropy and is an integral member of the philanthropy team.

Responsibilities

• Individual Fundraising and Leadership Circles Program (50%)
  • Manages a portfolio (85-100) of Leadership Circles donors and prospects with annual giving capacity of $1,500-$10,000.
  • Manages the Leadership Circles individual giving program to include developing materials for cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
  • Through research and best practices, identify, cultivate, and solicit individuals for general operating support and program support to achieve 2-3% annual program revenue growth.
  • Plans and implements customized cultivation activities and stewardship events for portfolio, including reporting, meetings, tours, and other appropriate activities.
  • Writes LOIs, proposals, cover letters, prepares budgets, and compiles requested information to create complete solicitation packages for Leadership Circles and other individual donors.
  • Writes and manages quarterly donor stewardship email.
  • Tracks organizational funding priorities and keeps current on Museum strategic priorities and departmental programs.
  • Strategizes with the philanthropy team to determine fundraising and stewardship strategies for prospective and current donors that are personal, thoughtful, and creative.
  • Creates and manages donor recognition opportunities.
  • Sends timely contact reports and gift alerts to Museum team.
  • Performs other duties and participates in special projects as needed.
• Membership, Annual Fund, and Events Programs and Staff (50%)
  • All Programs
    • Provides leadership and oversight for revenue and expense budgets for these programs.
    • Analyzes progress towards goals; identifies opportunities for growth and adjusts strategies to ensure fundraising success.
    • Utilizes donor database to design segmentation strategies to strengthen donor retention and increase fundraising potential.
    • Oversees multi-channel communication and solicitation strategies across programs (newsletters, website updates, emails, letters, and social media) to deliver cohesive stewardship and fundraising messages.
  • Membership
    • Supervises the Membership Manager and program to include member events, retention and acquisition strategies, member stewardship, and budget management.
    • Provides leadership on strategies to meet or exceed revenue budget goals and strategically grow the membership program.
  • Annual Fund
    • Plans and writes annual fund campaigns to reach targeted segments and a larger general audience.
    • Designs campaigns to secure one-time and monthly donors, with an emphasis on donor growth and retention.
    • Partners with the museum’s communications team to create compelling fundraising stories across all platforms.
    • Supervises the Philanthropy Manager’s execution of annual fund production to include working with internal and external partners.
    • Supervises the Philanthropy Manager’s daily activities to include data entry/database management, gift processing and acknowledgements, mail processing, and other stewardship communications.
  • Events
    • Leads development and strategy of all donor events.
    • Supervises the Philanthropy Manager’s execution of donor events, including working with internal and external partners and accepting RSVPs.
    • May include coordination with the larger philanthropy department to reach goals for various donor segments.
    • Works with the museum’s facility usage team to conceptualize and plan events.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree preferred.
• 3-5 years professional nonprofit fundraising experience, with experience soliciting current and prospective major gifts.
• Experience with annual fund and membership programs.
• Background in managing staff.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, including the ability to present information in a variety of formats.
• Demonstrated ability to resolve problems.
• Ability to keep track of the overall picture while maintaining accuracy and attention to detail in a variety of situations.
• Ability to work well independently and within a team environment.
• Demonstrated organizational and time management skills.
• Ability to complete projects accurately and completely within deadlines.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook.
• Experience with Raiser’s Edge, Altru, or other constituent records management database systems is preferred.

Benefits

• Health insurance
• Vacation and sick time
• 15 paid holidays
• Free admission into all of Balboa Park’s museums

Schedule

This is a full-time, exempt position requiring you to work on site in Balboa Park no less than four days per week, with the option to work remotely one day per week.

Pay

The salary is $80,000.