Chief Advancement Officer

Providence Public Library • Providence, RI

6d • $100,000 - $120,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

We are seeking a visionary, relationship-driven executive to serve as Chief Advancement Officer (CAO) and lead Providence Public Library's fundraising, communications, and advancement strategy. Reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer and serving as a member of the Senior Leadership Team, the CAO will champion a culture of philanthropy while driving the growth and diversification of philanthropic revenue to support PPL's long-term sustainability and community impact. The ideal candidate is an accomplished fundraising leader with a proven track record of securing transformational gifts, developing high-performing teams, and building meaningful relationships with donors, Trustees, foundations, corporations, and community partners. This role offers an exceptional opportunity to shape the future of one of Rhode Island's leading cultural and educational institutions by advancing innovative fundraising strategies, strengthening organizational visibility, and ensuring Providence Public Library continues to inspire lifelong learning for generations to come.

KEY PURPOSE/SUMMARY:
The Chief Advancement Officer (CAO) serves as Providence Public Library's senior fundraising and advancement executive, providing strategic leadership for all philanthropic revenue generation, donor engagement, institutional giving, advancement operations, and communications.

Working closely with the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Trustees, Foundation Board, and Senior Leadership Team, the CAO develops and implements comprehensive strategies that grow annual, major, planned, corporate, foundation, and campaign giving while strengthening the Library's visibility, reputation, and long-term financial sustainability.

The CAO builds and leads a high-performing advancement team that cultivates a culture of philanthropy throughout the organization and positions Providence Public Library for transformational growth. The CAO will maintain an active portfolio of major gift prospects and donors and is expected to personally cultivate, solicit, and steward leadership-level philanthropic investments while building a sustainable pipeline for future giving.

As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, the CAO participates in organizational planning, budgeting, strategic initiatives, and institutional decision-making, ensuring advancement strategies align with the Library's mission, strategic priorities, and long-term financial goals. Success in this position will be measured by the growth and diversification of philanthropic revenue, the strength of donor relationships, the effectiveness of advancement operations, and the development of a high-performing advancement team that advances Providence Public Library's mission and long-term sustainability.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree or an equivalent combination of education and professional experience.
• Seven to ten years of progressively responsible nonprofit fundraising experience.
• Demonstrated success securing leadership and major gifts, including gifts at the five-, six-, and preferably seven-figure level.
• Proven record of leading comprehensive fundraising programs generating at least $1 million annually.
• Demonstrated experience managing a personal portfolio of major gift prospects and donors.
• Demonstrated success developing and implementing fundraising strategies that increase philanthropic revenue.
• Experience working closely with executive leadership, Trustees, and volunteer leadership.
• Demonstrated experience supervising, mentoring, and developing professional staff.
• Demonstrated proficiency with Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT, including donor management, prospect tracking, reporting, pipeline management, moves management, and fundraising analytics. Experience serving as the organizational owner or administrator of a fundraising CRM strongly preferred.
• Strong financial acumen and ability to interpret fundraising metrics, budgets, and financial reports.
• Excellent written, verbal, interpersonal, and public speaking skills.

Nice To Haves

• Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) credential.
• Experience leading a comprehensive or capital campaign.
• Familiarity with Rhode Island and New England philanthropic communities.
• Experience overseeing marketing and communications functions within a nonprofit organization.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the Library's chief fundraising strategist, leading all efforts to increase philanthropic support and advance the organization's long-term financial sustainability.
• Develop and execute a comprehensive advancement strategy supporting annual operations, endowment growth, strategic initiatives, and future capital projects.
• Maintain and actively manage a portfolio of approximately 25-50 major gift prospects and donors through all stages of the fundraising cycle, including identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, and renewal.
• Personally solicit leadership, major, and planned gifts in partnership with the Chief Executive Officer, and Trustees as appropriate.
• Develop individualized cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship plans for major donors and prospects.
• Identify opportunities to expand the Library's donor base and strengthen donor retention and engagement.
• Foster a culture of philanthropy throughout the organization by engaging staff, leadership, volunteers, and community partners in fundraising efforts.
• Provide strategic leadership for annual giving, leadership giving, major gifts, planned giving, corporate partnerships, sponsorships, and future comprehensive or capital campaigns.
• Establish annual fundraising goals, key performance indicators, and performance metrics.
• Evaluate fundraising effectiveness using data and analytics and adjust strategies to maximize philanthropic revenue.
• Identify innovative fundraising opportunities and strategic partnerships that support organizational priorities.
• Work collaboratively across departments to ensure fundraising initiatives support institutional goals.
• Develop long-term fundraising strategies that diversify revenue sources and reduce reliance on endowment distributions.
• Serve as a member of the Senior Leadership Team and partner with the Chief Executive Officer, and Trustees to advance organizational priorities.
• Participate in organizational planning, budgeting, and strategic decision-making.
• Advise the Chief Executive Officer, Board of Trustees, Foundation Board, and Development Committee on fundraising strategy, campaign planning, and philanthropic trends.
• Serve as the primary staff liaison to the Development Committee and Foundation Board on matters related to philanthropy, fundraising performance, campaign strategy, and donor engagement.
• Build the fundraising capacity of Trustees and volunteer leadership through education, coaching, and engagement.
• Represent Providence Public Library within the philanthropic, nonprofit, civic, and business communities.
• Support the Chief Executive Officer in cultivating strategic relationships with community leaders, donors, and institutional partners.
• Provide strategic oversight for institutional giving programs.
• Collaborate with grants staff and program leadership to identify funding opportunities aligned with strategic priorities.
• Support the development of competitive grant proposals and institutional partnerships.
• Develop strategies to expand foundation, government, and corporate support.
• Ensure institutional funding efforts are coordinated with overall advancement goals.
• Serve as the executive owner of Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT and all advancement data systems, ensuring the integrity, security, accuracy, and strategic use of all constituent, prospect, gift, and stewardship information.
• Establish and enforce policies and procedures for data entry, gift processing, prospect management, reporting, and database governance.
• Ensure Raiser's Edge NXT is fully utilized to support donor cultivation, moves management, pipeline development, campaign tracking, forecasting, stewardship, and strategic decision-making.
• Oversee advancement systems, prospect research, donor database integrity, gift processing, stewardship tracking, and reporting.
• Develop dashboards and key performance indicators to monitor fundraising performance and donor pipeline activity.
• Partner with advancement staff to develop meaningful reports, dashboards, and analytics that inform fundraising strategy and organizational decision-making.
• Prepare fundraising reports and analyses for the Chief Executive Officer, Development Committee, Foundation Board, and Board of Trustees.
• Partner with the Finance Department to ensure accurate gift recording, fund reconciliation, financial reporting, and compliance.
• Develop and administer the departmental budget.
• Provide executive oversight of the Library's marketing and communications efforts to ensure alignment with advancement and organizational objectives.
• Collaborate with communications staff to strengthen the Library's brand, visibility, and public awareness.
• Ensure communications effectively support fundraising campaigns, donor stewardship, community engagement, and strategic organizational priorities.
• Provide strategic direction for donor communications, publications, public relations, digital communications, website content, and marketing initiatives.
• Ensure consistent messaging and brand standards across all external communications.
• Provide leadership, supervision, and accountability for the Advancement Department.
• Build, lead, and inspire a high-performing advancement team.
• Recruit, supervise, mentor, evaluate, and retain advancement staff.
• Establish departmental priorities, goals, and performance expectations.
• Foster a collaborative, mission-driven, and results-oriented culture focused on continuous improvement and accountability.
• Promote professional development and succession planning.
• Allocate staff resources to ensure organizational priorities are achieved.
• Encourage collaboration across Library departments in support of fundraising, communications, and strategic initiatives.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Chief Executive Officer.
• Demonstrate and promote Providence Public Library's mission, vision, and values.
• Support and practice PPL's commitment to being an inclusive organization that welcomes and serves all members of the community.
• Maintain timely communication and responsiveness.
• Represent Providence Public Library with professionalism, integrity, discretion, and sound judgment.
• Check email regularly and respond in a timely manner.

Benefits

• Group health, dental, and vision plans with an HRA that covers 95% of the health insurance deductible.
• Monthly stipend if insurance is not needed.
• Fully paid life insurance (up to $50,000).
• Long-term disability coverage.
• Generous amount of paid time off, starting with 22 days (4 weeks and 2 days) annually.
• Retirement plan with both Traditional and Roth options, offering a 5.5% company match and 100% vesting from the moment you're hired.
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
• Professional development and continuing education opportunities.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive