Director for Planned Giving

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America • Chicago, IL

4h • Hybrid

About The Position

The Director for Planned Giving develops, manages, and executes a planned giving fundraising program supporting the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Churchwide Organization. The role sets strategy for planned giving across the Development team, manages a portfolio of significant planned giving donors, and oversees the ELCA legacy society program. The position serves on the Development leadership team and works closely with the ELCA Foundation.

The Development team engages donors across the ELCA through Mission Support and Stewardship, Annual Giving, Institutional Giving, Transformational Giving, and Development Services. The Director collaborates with colleagues to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward donors supporting ELCA ministries.

This is a regular, exempt, full-time position based in Chicago with a hybrid schedule. The employee must work in the office at least two days per week and more as needed. Candidates must reside in the United States or District of Columbia and be authorized to work in the United States. The role involves considerable domestic overnight travel by plane and car, including travel to off-site meetings and donor visits.

Requirements

• At least 7 years of professional fundraising experience developing gifts, particularly planned gifts, and setting strategies.
• Bachelor’s degree in a related field, or an equivalent combination of education, training, and experience demonstrating the ability to perform the duties.
• Experience planning, leading, and managing projects, coordinating with peers to achieve outcomes, and tracking progress for senior staff and partnership members.
• Strong relationship-building skills and ability to interact effectively with diverse constituencies and develop collaborative relationships across departments, units, and expressions of the church.
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to inspire the confidence of donors, their families, legal and financial advisors, internal colleagues, partners, and staff.
• Understanding of and commitment to the ELCA’s vision, values, and purpose, and familiarity with its structure, theology, and polity.
• Membership in an ELCA congregation or worshiping community.
• Commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and anti-racism.
• Understanding of and commitment to Christian stewardship.
• Computer knowledge sufficient to operate a Windows computer, follow basic troubleshooting instructions, use software applications efficiently, learn new software, follow processes, and identify improvement opportunities.
• Demonstrated competency with a CRM or other donor management system.
• Ability to perform the role’s physical functions, including regularly talking and hearing, being visible on camera, operating a computer and telephone, and sitting for long periods.
• Ability to undertake considerable overnight domestic travel by plane and car to meetings and donor visits.

Nice To Haves

• Advanced gift planning, financial planning, estate planning, or fundraising certification, such as CAP, CSPG, CFRE, CFP, or AEP.
• Experience with Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Excel, Teams, and Outlook.
• Valid driver’s license.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement a comprehensive planned giving program to increase the number and size of planned gifts supporting ELCA Churchwide Organization fundraising priorities.
• Create opportunities for ELCA members to include ELCA ministries in their estate plans and ensure appropriate recognition and stewardship of planned gifts.
• Manage a portfolio of approximately 50–100 active prospects, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding them, and take primary responsibility for stewarding long-term planned gifts supporting churchwide fundraising priorities.
• Support mid- and major-gift officers in identifying, developing, and documenting planned gifts, including through training, coordinating referrals, and sharing industry trends and best practices.
• Collaborate with Development colleagues and the ELCA Foundation to develop and coordinate shared strategies for promoting, identifying, soliciting, and stewarding planned gifts.
• Build collaborative relationships, particularly with the Senior Director of Annual Giving and Senior Director of Development Services.
• Serve as a key member of the Development leadership team in setting overall fundraising strategy for the churchwide organization.
• Develop metrics and evaluation tools to demonstrate progress in planned giving growth, using actuarial projections as needed.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Employer-paid health premiums for employees
• Health and dependent care flexible spending accounts
• Health savings account with employer contribution
• Life insurance
• Substantial employer contribution to a 403(b) retirement plan; no match required
• Generous paid time-off policy
• 17 paid holidays

What This Job Offers

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