Director, Institutional Giving

American Forests

1d•$90,000 - $110,000•Remote

About The Position

Trees play a vital role in solving some of the most pressing issues facing our communities, our society, and our world today. For 150 years, American Forests has stood boldly at the forefront of the conservation movement, working collaboratively and innovatively to ensure that all people have access to the benefits of trees. As we look ahead to the next 150, continued collective action will be essential to securing a healthy, climate-resilient future for all. To support this work, we are looking for a Director, Institutional Giving to join our Philanthropy team. As a part of the team, you will maximize American Forests’ institutional giving relationships to ensure their success and longevity by developing and executing strategies to grow this important revenue stream while ensuring that funding aligns with the overall mission and supports strategic program initiatives.

Requirements

At least 7 years of relevant philanthropic experience in the nonprofit sector, including securing funding from and stewarding 6- and 7-figure+ institutional partners
Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field; equivalent experience considered in lieu of
Proven ability to meet or exceed fundraising goals and develop and sustain productive relationships with foundation staff
Skilled relationship builder, both internally with program staff and externally with funders
Expert communicator with a demonstrated ability to translate technical program details into compelling and cogent cases for funding
Strategic mindset with the ability to work with a degree of flexibility in a highly collaborative, fast-paced, goal-oriented environment
Ensures ethical compliance with fundraising best practices, as defined by the Association for Fundraising Professionals
Computer proficiency with various Microsoft Office applications (Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint), project management software (ClickUp, AirTable, Planner) and with CRM systems (Raiser’s Edge)
Passion and commitment to the mission, vision, and culture of American Forests
A genuine and proven commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility and to the principles of community-centric fundraising
Willingness to work flexible hours and available for donor related travel locally, regionally, and nationally

Responsibilities

Secure major and principal gift commitments, primarily for American Forests’ Urban Forestry and Tree Equity programs, from private grant-making foundations per the following metric expectations:
Manage and grow a portfolio of 60 to 85 donors and donor prospects with the capacity to make philanthropic gifts of $50,000 to $1M+.
Conduct donor visits regularly and often with a goal of 45-60+ meaningful visits per year, including qualifying at least 24 prospects a year through discovery outreach and cultivation.
Solicit at least 1 gift commitment proposal of $1M+, 3 gift commitment proposals of $500,000+, and 25 solicitations of $50,000+ each year.
Visit with institutional prospects to establish contacts, gather information, qualify prospects, present ideas, develop networks, promote understanding of American Forests’ initiatives, request invitations for proposals, and conduct stewardship. Strategically partner with American Forests’ Leadership, volunteers, and staff on such visits and prepare with pre-meeting planning and post-meeting debriefing and follow up.
Develop, write and carry out prospect engagement strategies by identifying, qualifying, and cultivating prospects; determining amount and timing of requests; write and oversee the creation of proposals; solicit prospects via proposals and in face-to-face meetings; provide verbal and written communication necessary to secure gifts, and deliver appropriate stewardship and report on gifts made to the organization.
Execute thorough, creative, impactful, and ambitious funding proposals through purposeful meetings, volunteer leads, presentations, grant letters, and applications, as determined by the funder.
Oversee, direct, manage, and execute American Forests’ institutional giving program, working closely with Program and Finance teams and tools like ClickUp to develop, improve, and streamline the templates, systems, and processes of complex grant applications to diverse funders and management of internal review/approval process.
Determine an effective sequence of work, including planning and monitoring activity timelines for each donor or prospect including proposal due dates, reporting dates, cultivation, and stewardship activities, and managing simultaneous proposals and strategies while meeting required deadlines.
Identify new prospective institutional funders through research and peer-to-peer networks, serving as the strategic lead to align American Forests’ organizational priorities with the defined priorities and interests of institutional partners.
Coordinate with Programs, Finance, Marketing & Communications, and Philanthropy colleagues to develop proposal budgets, deliver engagement opportunities, and monitor deliverables for grant contracts.
Track all institutional prospects and submitted proposals in fundraising database; produce regular reports on institutional giving pipeline
Contributes to the Philanthropy team’s overall success and supports Philanthropy with other duties as assigned.