Director of Philanthropy

Job Description

Job Description

Position Overview

Amplify is a nonprofit community health center serving the medical needs of residents across Wake and Franklin Counties. As a Federally Qualified Health Center, Amplify provides care to individuals cover by commercial medical insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, as well as those who are uninsured or underinsured. At its core, Amplify is committed to ensuring that everyone in the community has access to high-quality health care, regardless of their ability to pay. Amplify is seeking an entrepreneurial and highly motivated Director of Philanthropy to build the organization’s private philanthropy program from the ground up.

This is a unique opportunity for an experienced fundraising leader who is energized by creating something new. The Director will not inherit a mature development program or established portfolio of major donors. Instead, the successful candidate will have the opportunity—and responsibility—to develop the strategy, relationships, systems, prospect pipeline and culture necessary to make private philanthropy an increasingly important source of support for Amplify. The individual will work with the Grants Manager, cross-departmental leadership and volunteers to inspire philanthropic investment and create lasting donor relationships.

Working closely with the CEO, Board of Trustees, a newly created Philanthropy Advisory Board and senior leadership, the Director will identify individuals, foundations, corporations and other potential philanthropic partners whose interests align with Amplify’s mission. The Director will develop thoughtful strategies for engaging these prospects, build relationships and create meaningful opportunities to introduce the CEO to individuals capable of making significant philanthropic investments. The ideal candidate is a builder, connector and relationship strategist—someone who is comfortable starting with a blank page, pursuing new relationships, asking for introductions, opening doors and creating momentum.

The position will initially oversee a team of two, including the existing private grants manager and ultimately a Philanthropy Coordinator who will be hired in the near future.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Develop and implement a comprehensive, multi-year philanthropy strategy aligned with Amplify's strategic priorities and opportunities for community impact.
• Establish the infrastructure, policies, processes and performance measures necessary for a professional and sustainable philanthropy program to grow and attract and steward significant philanthropic support.
• Create an annual development plan with clear goals for major gifts, individual giving, corporate and foundation support, annual giving, donor engagement and stewardship.
• Establish measurable activity and revenue goals and regularly report progress to the CEO and Board.
• Develop a compelling case for philanthropic support that clearly articulates why private philanthropy matters to Amplify and the people and communities it serves.
• Help build an organizational culture in which philanthropy is understood as a strategic partnership between donors, staff, leadership, and volunteers.

Build a Major Gift Prospect Pipeline

A primary responsibility of the Director will be to proactively identify and develop relationships with individuals capable of making significant philanthropic investments in Amplify.

• Research, identify, qualify and prioritize prospective major donors whose interests, values and philanthropic priorities align with Amplify's mission.
• Develop and continuously expand the portfolio and pipeline of qualified major gift prospects.
• Look beyond Amplify's existing relationships to identify new individuals, families, business leaders, community leaders, and philanthropic partners who should know the organization.
• Develop individualized strategies for cultivating, soliciting and stewarding priority prospects.
• Maintain disciplined moves management plans identifying the next appropriate action for each major prospect.
• Create opportunities for prospects to experience Amplify's mission firsthand through meetings, site visits, program briefings and conversations with organizational leaders.
• Personally cultivate, solicit and close major gifts.
• Develop customized proposals and funding opportunities based on donor interests and organizational priorities.

Create Opportunities for CEO

Responsibilities include:

• Identify individuals the CEO and organizational leadership should know and develop strategies for initiating those relationships.
• Proactively create opportunities for the CEO to meet prospective donors, community leaders, business leaders, and philanthropic partners.
• Prepare the CEO for donor meetings with appropriate background, objectives, talking points and recommended next steps.
• Determine when CEO or volunteer involvement will advance a prospective donor relationship and intentionally deploy those individuals.
• Help members of a newly established Philanthropy Advisory Committee identify individuals within their personal and professional networks who may have an affinity for Amplify's mission.

Donor Cultivation, Solicitation and Stewardship

• Develop meaningful engagement opportunities tailored to donors' interests.
• Ensure that donors receive timely, meaningful communication about the impact of their support.
• Maintain regular personal contact with priority donors and prospects.
• Design and launch a strategic annual giving program to expand unrestricted philanthropic support.
• Establish appropriate donor segments, giving levels and solicitation strategies.
• Coordinate direct mail, digital fundraising and personal outreach as appropriate.
• Use annual giving as both a source of unrestricted revenue and an entry point for developing long-term donor relationships.
• Work with the grants administrator to identify and pursue private foundation opportunities aligned with Amplify's priorities.
• Build relationships with foundation leaders and program officers when appropriate.
• Look beyond transactional sponsorships to develop deeper institutional relationships capable of growing over time.
• Ensure appropriate coordination of grant applications, reporting and stewardship.

Fundraising Communications

In partnership with Amplify's Marketing Department:

• Translate Amplify's work into stories and funding opportunities that demonstrate measurable community impact.
• Develop donor-focused materials, proposals, presentations, impact reports and other fundraising communications.
• Ensure that philanthropic communications consistently reinforce Amplify's mission, priorities and need for private support.

Philanthropy Operations and Management

• Establish effective systems for prospect research, donor tracking, moves management, gift reporting and stewardship.
• Ensure accurate and consistent use of Amplify's fundraising database. (Bloomerang)
• Ensure appropriate gift acknowledgment, recordkeeping and donor confidentiality.

Our Benefits:

• Company paid Medical for Employee and two dependents
• Dental and Vision Insurance
• 401(k) participation
• All employees receive their Birthday off
• One floating holiday
• Competitive Salary

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree minimum; master’s degree Preferred
• Minimum of 7 years’ experience in nonprofit fundraising with a focus on major gift fundraising. Capital Campaign experience is preferred
• A minimum of 3 years’ experience in a development leadership role with responsibilities for supervising staff and supporting members of a board of trustees/directors.
• Fund development experience in healthcare or safety-net care setting is a plus.
• Ability to travel locally to meet donors and prospects from across the region.

Key Competencies and Skills

• Strong relationship building, communications and storytelling skills with the ability to engage individuals, corporate and foundation leaders and Board members in philanthropy.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills. Ability to make presentations professionally and convincingly to donors and community stakeholders.
• Proven ability to design and implement comprehensive fund-raising strategies including major gifts, annual giving and corporate sponsorship
• Ability to work closely with executive leadership and board members to drive success.
• Proficient in the use of technology including Microsoft Office Suite and donor databases. Experience with Bloomerang is a plus.
• Strong organizational and project management skills with an ability to manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and adapt in a dynamic environment.
• Ability to collaborate across departments and with executive leadership, staff, volunteers and board members to create and expand a strong culture of philanthropy

Work Environment:

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee will likely encounter while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.  The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Tasks, duties, and responsibilities as listed in this position description are not exhaustive. Amplify may assign other tasks, duties, and job responsibilities.  Equivalent experience, skills and/or education will also be considered, so qualifications of incumbents may differ from those listed in the Position Description. Amplify at its sole discretion will determine what constitutes as equivalent to the qualifications described above. Further, nothing contained herein should be construed to create an employment contract. Required skills/experiences are expressed in brief terms.