Director of Institutional Giving (Immediate Opening)

Director of Institutional Giving

Advancement, Institutional Giving

Position Overview: IDEA Public Schools seeks an ambitious and highly experienced development professional to strategically seek 6- and 7+ figure investments that will drive organizational improvement and growth. Reporting to the Managing Director of Institutional Giving, the Director of Institutional Giving will will play a pivotal role in strengthening and expanding IDEA’s institutional giving program, which builds, maintains, and grows relationships with both corporations and foundations. They will partner closely with the Managing Director and be critical to the department's growth over time.

The Director will develop and implement fundraising strategies that are informed by team and individual goals. Success in this role includes (1) understanding the needs and interests of donors and prospects and (2) thinking strategically and creatively to match donor interest with IDEA’s initiatives and make compelling cases for support that inspire donors to give. The Director will be an exceptional communicator, who can quickly develop partnerships with internal and external stakeholders and manage systems to grow and improve the donor experience. This is an ideal opportunity for a leader who has a track record of success working with foundations and/or corporations and is prepared to excel in a fast-paced environment.

Location: This is a full-time, hybrid position based in Texas with preference given to candidates who live in Austin, El Paso, Houston, Permian Basin (Midland/Odessa), Rio Grande Valley, San Antonio, and Tarrant County (Fort Worth), or who are willing to relocate.

Travel Expectation: The ideal candidate is expected to travel approximately 10-20% to attend in-person donor and team meetings, events, and/or professional development.

Compensation: Salaries for people entering this role typically start between $91,000 and $112,900, commensurate with relevant qualifications and experience. This role is also eligible for a performance bonus based on individual and organizational goal attainment. 

Additionally, we offer medical, dental, vision, and supplemental benefits as well as retirement plans and a generous vacation package. You can find more information about our benefits at https://ideapublicschools.org/careers/benefits/ 

*IDEA may offer a relocation stipend to defray the cost of moving for this role, if applicable.

Key Responsibilities

Portfolio Development and Management (70%)

• Build and manage a portfolio of approximately 40-50 corporate and foundation donors to achieve on-going growth in both cash and future commitments of support.
• Engage in qualification, strategy, relationship building, and proposal development for gifts or grants, prioritizing the $100,000-level and above.
• Cultivate and maintain relationships with corporate and foundation program officers, Trustees, Board members, and/or relevant institutional staff.
• Develop and implement long-term solicitation strategies and shorter-term stewardship efforts to maintain support from existing donors.
• Collaborate with the Assistant Director of Donor Engagement to curate best-in-class stewardship plans for institutional giving donors.

Prospecting, Grant Writing and Reporting

• Conduct prospect research and outreach (i.e., cold calls, emails, referrals, networking), while developing cultivation strategies to build your donor pipeline.
• Craft briefs and documents (i.e., in-depth profiles, summary information, etc.) to prepare self and others for donor and prospect meetings.
• Architect successful proposals and grant reports as the lead or primary writer, following internal processes and approval mechanisms, while ensuring materials submitted to the donor are high-quality, accurate, and on-time.

Internal Partnerships

• Establish and maintain effective relationships with key internal business partners, including Advancement, Finance and Compliance, Legal, and Board Services teams, President, Chiefs, and Executive Directors, among others.
• Collaborate with the Development Manager and the Finance and Compliance teams to ensure grant proposals, Letters of Intent, grant reports, etc. comply with all internal policies, procedures, and timelines.
• Partner with the Director of Public Grants Development to architect continuous improvement plans designed to refine fundraising and financial compliance practices within the institutional giving portfolio.

Strategic Planning (20%)

• Alongside the MD, Institutional Giving, establish a vision for the department with realistic targets for multi-year growth of foundation and corporate revenue that aligns with IDEA’s needs.
• Establish clear metrics and/or KPI’s to measure success in key areas such as meaningful donor engagement (i.e., meetings, touchpoints), retention, new and renewal submissions, funds raised, etc.
• Develop a multi-year strategic plan for corporate giving, identifying top targets and new leads, while developing a growth strategy for the broader portfolio.
• Propose a plan for launching a corporate community engagement/volunteer program as a mutually beneficial engagement mechanism that ultimately connects to a solicitation strategy.

Collective Responsibilities (10%)

• Develop a broad and deep understanding of IDEA’s mission, programs, and fundraising needs.
• Operate as a leader on the Institutional Giving and Advancement teams.
• Utilize Salesforce to maintain donor records and inform actions and priority setting.
• Integrate and drive toward team and organizational priorities and goals.
• Participate in team and org-wide programs, meetings and/or events, including occasional evenings or weekends. 
• Adapt to the changing needs of the organization, lending support to new initiatives as needed.

Qualifications 

Education 

• Bachelor’s degree required, Master’s degree, CFRE and/or equivalent, preferred

Experience:

• 7+ years of progressively responsible development/fundraising experience, preferred
  • Track record of closing 6- and 7+ figure foundation and/or corporate gifts and managing a portfolio of $5M, strongly preferred
  • 3+ years of people management and a track record of building and retaining diverse teams, preferred
• Experience with Salesforce or equivalent CRM, preferred
• K-12 teacher or leader experience and/or familiarity with charter schools, preferred  
• Belief in IDEA’s mission, and an understanding of what it takes to achieve the goal of college for all

Knowledge and Skills

• Cultivate relationships and inspire donors, prospects, and development staff towards the accomplishment of fundraising goals.
• Build strong relationships and mutually beneficial business partnerships through trust, confidentiality, discretion, empathy, value add, and credibility.
• Manage multiple projects at once, often with competing priorities, task ambiguity, unexpected challenges, and tight turnarounds while ensuring quality and consistency.
• Ability to self-reflect, along with providing, receiving, and implementing feedback that improves performance and achieves results.
• Demonstrate sound judgment and excellent decision-making.
• Operate with a high degree of personal initiative and autonomy.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

At IDEA we recognize that racism, bias, and privilege exist in society. We are committed to an organizational culture that promotes awareness and inclusivity for our students and staff and supports their path to positively impact our broader society. We are committed to recognizing the impact of racism and privilege, and commit as an organization to have equitable practices, policies, and structures.  Visit https://ideapublicschools.org/dei/ to learn about IDEA’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Anti-Racist and Anti-Bias commitment.

Learn more about IDEA

• IDEA’s Core Values