Director of Philanthropy

YMCA of Columbia Willamette•Portland, OR

2d•$75,000 - $95,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director of Philanthropy strengthens the sustainability and impact of the YMCA of Columbia-Willamette (YMCA-CW) by leading a disciplined, relationship-centered fundraising program. The Director manages individual giving, mid-level giving, corporate giving, donor communications, and fundraising events; supports the CEAO and CEO’s major gift work; and ensures clear, consistent donor experiences across all regions. This position owns the donor communications strategy, corporate giving strategy, stewardship frameworks, donor journeys for small and mid-level gifts, and the strategies, standards, and systems that support strong donor movement. The Director works closely with the CEAO to support major-gift strategy, regional philanthropy capacity-building, and portfolio governance. The Director partners with Marketing to ensure brand alignment, partners with Finance to maintain disciplined financial processes, and leads the operational rhythms of the philanthropy function. The Director works with the CEAO to prioritize workload, maintain sustainable expectations, and protect the role from administrative overextension by ensuring operational tasks flow appropriately to the Philanthropy Operations Specialist. The Director maintains high professionalism, clear communication, confidentiality, and diligent follow-through in service of a strong, equitable culture of philanthropy across the association. This role has significant influence over donor experience, fundraising priorities, and how philanthropy shows up across the association.

Requirements

A minimum of five-seven years' experience in individual, non-profit and/or corporate fundraising.
At least three years’ experience in a lead development role.
A bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and/or experience is preferred.
A minimum of 3 years of supervisory experience is preferred.
Exceptional interpersonal, written, and oral communication in English.
Experience using donor software (CRM), Daxko, Virtuous and familiarity with the MS Office Suite.
The ability to build programs and partnerships in new, innovative ways to achieve targeted goals.
Previous experience with public speaking and group presentations.
Excellent research, evaluation, writing, and training skills.
Knowledge of database management, grant reporting, and grant/contract administration.
Strong emotional intelligence, cultural awareness, and sensitivity to work with people from diverse backgrounds.
The ability to travel locally, statewide, and nationally, including the occasional overnight and weekend.
A genuine interest and enthusiasm for community development, social and economic justice, and working in a team environment.

Responsibilities

Leads cultivation, stewardship, and movement strategies for individual and mid-level donors, translating YMCA-CW’s mission and community impact into meaningful donor relationships.
Manages a portfolio of individual and mid-level donors, with a focus on meaningful engagement, retention, and growth.
Designs and advances donor journeys that reflect equity, belonging, and clear articulation of community impact.
Uses donor data, reports, and insights to inform outreach, stewardship timing, and movement strategies, in partnership with the Philanthropy Operations Specialist.
Reviews and relies on reports, dashboards, and lists prepared in partnership with the Philanthropy Operations Specialist to guide decision-making and leadership updates.
Maintains accountability for the accuracy and integrity of donor data within their portfolio, escalating discrepancies or system issues as needed.
Partners with Finance and the Philanthropy Operations Specialist to ensure donor intent, pledge commitments, and financial reporting align with YMCA-CW standards.
Upholds confidentiality and professionalism in all donor records, communications, and leadership-facing materials.
Cultivates and stewards corporate donors, workplace giving partners, and ongoing business sponsors.
Develops a healthy pipeline of sponsorship prospects for programs, events, and association-wide initiatives.
Owns corporate giving strategy, except for tier-one partnerships managed by the CEAO or CEO.
Collaborates with regional leadership to identify and cultivate new business prospects.
Ensures accurate donor tracking, stewardship, and reporting for all corporate relationships.
Serves as the primary liaison to the external grant writer, coordinating timelines, deliverables, narrative development, and submission requirements.
Leads the development and review of grant proposals in partnership with programs, Finance, and the external grant writer, ensuring alignment with YMCA-CW priorities and case for support.
Reviews and approves all grant narratives, budgets, and data sources to ensure accuracy, equity, and consistency across funder communications.
Oversees grant reporting by coordinating closely with Finance, programs, and the Philanthropy Operations Specialist to ensure narrative and financial components align.
Ensures all grant proposals and reports reflect accurate donor/gift data, clear impact stories, and disciplined financial controls.
Owns the strategy and execution of all donor communications, including annual appeals, donor journeys, impact messages, and stewardship touchpoints.
Ensures all communications reflect equity, inclusion, and clear articulation of community impact.
Partners with Marketing for brand alignment, accessibility, and design support; however, the Director leads all donor messaging, segmentation, content creation, and communications timelines.
Leads storytelling integration with the Philanthropy Operations Specialist and regional leaders.
Creates communication calendars, messaging frameworks, and donor experience standards.
Determines segmentation criteria for donor communications, campaigns, and events, ensuring alignment with equity standards and fundraising goals.
Approves stewardship content drafted by the Philanthropy Operations Specialist to ensure message consistency, donor-intent alignment, and brand standards.
Sets stewardship timing and priorities in partnership with the CEAO, ensuring consistent and meaningful donor journeys across the association.
Leads fundraising strategy and revenue execution for association-wide fundraising events.
Sets sponsorship goals, donor engagement plans, paddle raise strategies, and partnership tiers.
Ensures events reflect the Y’s mission, equity commitments, and financial discipline.
Sets strategic direction, while the Philanthropy Operations Specialist owns operational logistics, registration systems, vendor communication, and onsite execution.
Leads and facilitates event-focused committees, ensuring clear agendas, defined roles, timely decision-making, and alignment with event revenue goals and YMCA-CW mission and equity commitments.
Recruits and prepares committee members (staff, volunteers, board members) to support cultivation, sponsorship outreach, event planning, and mission storytelling.
Supports the CEAO and CEO in securing pre-committed gifts and major event partners.
Supports the CEAO in defining portfolio tiers, regional roles, donor assignment structure, and movement expectations.
Supports clarity, readiness, and donor movement in portfolios, including their own, but does not adjudicate portfolio disputes or ownership questions.
Coaches regional leaders on donor engagement, story collection, and basic moves management.
Provides regions with data, tools, message templates, and partnership materials.
Helps maintain clarity between association-level fundraising, regional responsibilities, and major-gift strategies.
Defines and upholds donor data standards, coding expectations, segmentation rules, and movement stage guidelines in partnership with the CEAO.
Partners closely with the Philanthropy Operations Specialist, who owns day-to-day CRM operations, to ensure consistent data entry, clean lists, and reliable reporting across the association.
Reviews CRM reports and dashboards to assess pipeline health, donor retention, stewardship completion, and fundraising performance.
Uses data insights to inform fundraising strategy, identify risks, and support forecasting and planning.
Maintains accountability for data quality within their portfolio while relying on established operational workflows and escalation protocols.
Partners with IT, Finance, Operations, and the Philanthropy Operations Specialist to support CRM modernization efforts and association-wide adoption of consistent fundraising processes.
Maintains strict confidentiality in all donor records and executive portfolios.
Identifies promising prospects for major-gift qualification.
Prepares donor briefs, research summaries, cultivation plans, and follow-up documentation.
Ensures all major-gift movement is accurately tracked and well-supported.
Participates in cultivation and stewardship meetings as needed.
Provides clean, accurate materials for the CEAO’s and CEO’s donor engagement priorities.
Other duties as assigned