Project Manager, Principal Giving

Project Manager, Principal Giving

New York

Running a large, fast-growing, and high-performing network of public charter schools takes a village - families, children, teachers, staff and faculty, advocates, and supporters alike. We are growing fast in New York and expanding to Florida, and we would love to welcome you to our community! We work tirelessly every day to ensure children have access to a fun, rigorous, whole-child education regardless of zip code or economic status. When you join SA, you play a part in giving every student who walks through our doors a fair shot at reaching his or her potential.

Reporting to the Chief Advancement Officer (CAO) and serving as a key member of the Development team within the Advancement department, the Project Manager, Principal Giving advances the mission of Success Academy Charter Schools (SA) by managing and coordinating various programmatic, administrative, and operational functions that enable successful engagement of individual and institutional donors and prospects at the principal level (i.e., $1 million and above). Specifically, this includes providing sophisticated coordination and support to the CAO, the Founder & CEO, and the Head of Development (HOD) relative to principal giving strategies, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship that enables fundraising success and meeting/exceeding goals. This includes but is not limited to contributing to development of engagement strategies; conducting prospect research and analysis; preparing executive briefings; coordinating and tracking donor meetings, tours, calls, and requisite follow-up; occasionally drafting donor correspondence; liaising with Executive Office support, the School Management Office, and other departments; and maintaining timely and accurate documentation of donor interactions in Raiser's Edge NXT (RE) database.

The Project Manager, Principal Giving, is a proactive, confident self-starter who thrives in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment that values results. They are persistent and driven to succeed in advancing efforts to grow a robust pipeline of principal donors and in meeting or exceeding goals. Success in this role will require the following qualities:

• Self-motivated, self-sufficient, and driven to lead and collaborate with others to achieve success
• Detail-oriented, analytical, with strong organizational and project management skills
• Strategic, proactive, and forward-thinking
• Outgoing and confident with exceptional communication skills
• Possesses the highest standards of personal and professional integrity
• Adheres to and promotes SA's mission, culture, and strategic priorities

Role Responsibilities:

• Coordinates and assists with Principal Giving prospect strategies through briefings prepared for the CAO, CEO, and Head of Development; actively participates in strategy/planning sessions, gathers and shares data and other information relevant to prospects' and donors' philanthropic engagement.
• Leads and/or assists with scheduling, briefing, and follow-up of all CEO and senior executive-level meetings and tours, and assists CAO in ensuring all activity is tracked and recorded in the RE NXT database. Liaises with the executive office support team.
• Collaborates closely with the CAO (and the Head of Development) in coordinating and managing recurring strategy meetings and planning for Principal donors/prospects (individual and institutional), including the compilation of research, past giving, touchpoints, etc., to inform strategies, next steps, and follow-up.
• Liaises and works closely with the Head, External Relations, and team to coordinate and manage bespoke CEO communications with Principal donors/prospects, with appropriate context and nuance, ensuring accuracy and timeliness, including serving as a key checkpoint for context/quality assurance. This includes VIP correspondence, VIP scheduling, stewardship, and follow-up activity.
• Collaborates closely with the Advancement Services team to ensure data integrity with respect to all Principal Giving donors, necessary reports, and updates in the database, as well as high-priority research requests.
• With the CAO and Advancement leadership team, coordinates the Principal donors/prospects' "VIP experience" at key events, ensuring the quality of the experience and interactions with the CEO, CAO, and/or other key individuals, as well as pre- and post-event communications.
• Leads management and coordination of meetings, calls, video conferences, school tours, and bespoke events that are directly related to the execution of Principal Giving activities, including liaising with other teams/individuals to ensure success.

Prospect Development:

• Supports the CAO and Head of Development in creating, implementing, and overseeing strategies and programs to increase the size and value of the qualified prospect pool at the (primarily) Principal Giving level ($1MM+) through collection, maintenance, and analysis of critical and relevant information.
• Coordinates closely with the Advancement Services team to implement management reports, analyzing and forecasting fundraising activity, particularly at the Principal Giving level.
• Builds fundraising capacity by utilizing the donor/prospect database and other available prospect research and analytical tools to identify, segment, and qualify a broader and deeper pool of prospective donors with the capacity and affinity to make significant gifts.
• Liaises with Advancement Services and prospect researcher vendor(s) to coordinate and prioritize prospect research and preparation of executive briefing materials in support of engagement and solicitation efforts.

Special Projects & Administration:

• Assists the CAO (and CEO) with special projects, including but not limited to fundraising events, gift planning, gift agreements, and other administrative tasks in service to Principal Giving goals/objectives.
• Remains abreast of SA programs, activities, accolades, and new initiatives to most effectively engage and/or steward donors to greater levels of support.
• Participates in and helps staff SA and Advancement events, as needed.

Additional role responsibilities:

• Other duties may be assigned from time to time. Occasional evening and weekend work required to meet critical deadlines and/or participate in Advancement events.

Qualifications:

• Minimum Required: Bachelor's Degree
• Preferred: Advanced degree. CFRE or other specialized certification/designation is beneficial
• 3+ years of experience in nonprofit fundraising, business development, and/or sales lead generation; experience in K-12 education and/or charter schools is beneficial

Specialized Knowledge Needed for Performance of Job:

• Experience in fundraising campaign management, prospect management & analytics, and prospect research is desirable
• Experience assessing and closing major gift/business opportunities; engaging, cultivating, and stewarding new stakeholders and converting them into strategic partnerships
• An understanding of how to manage confidential information with discretion and tact, and an ability to act with integrity, professionalism, and confidentiality
• Effectiveness working independently and across teams, with assiduous attention to sharing information with others.

Skills:

• Proficiency in communicating complex issues with diverse audiences and inspiring their engagement and support.
• Exceptional writing and presentation skills.
• Highly self-motivated, accountable, and able to make decisions independently.
• Ability to think strategically and contextually and to anticipate the needs and expectations of manager and executives.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and multiple, concurrent tasks, exhibit flexibility, and meet deadlines.
• Ability to analyze and present data effectively, make decisions, and align efforts with priorities and opportunities.
• Acts with tact and discretion, respecting confidentiality and proprietary information.
• Proficiency with RE NXT or similar CRM system is highly desirable, proficiency with MS Office (and/or Google suite)
• Knowledge of relevant prospect research and philanthropic analytical tools is beneficial.

Other:

• Superb verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Possesses a passion for the mission of SA and engages prospects with the same passion.
• Ability to travel locally and nationally as needed, and occasionally work after hours.

Exact compensation may vary based on skills and experience. This position is not bonus eligible.

Compensation Range

$90,000 - $100,000 USD

Success Academy Charter Schools is an equal opportunity employer and actively encourages applications from people of all backgrounds. Compensation is competitive and commensurate with experience. Success Academy offers a full benefits program and opportunities for professional growth.