Director of Philanthropy

Mitchell Hamline School of Law•St Paul, MN

14h•Onsite

About The Position

Mitchell Hamline School of Law is seeking to hire a Director of Philanthropy. This position oversees all philanthropic activities while serving as the primary architect of development goals and strategy. The Director of Philanthropy provides the vision, leadership, strategic direction, management and coordination for the development team to maximize fundraising opportunities that both build on existing efforts and grow the organization's capacity. This role builds a culture of philanthropy that helps advance the vision of a legal system that is just and accessible to all.

Requirements

A proven track record of soliciting major and planned gifts
Experience strategically guiding and building a multi-factor fundraising program
Fundraising expertise including understanding of fundraising principles, donor lifecycle management, and advancement services best practices
Expertise in planned giving and a variety of gift types (e.g., pledges, securities, DAFs, CAGs, and bequests).
Understanding of fund accounting, endowment management, and the coordination of restricted and unrestricted funds.
Ability to partner with finance teams to ensure transparency, donor intent compliance, and accurate fund reporting.
Proficiency Raiser's Edge (or Raiser's Edge NXT), including configuration, reporting, and data hygiene.
Experience creating dashboards, tracking engagement metrics, and maintaining robust prospect pipelines.
Strong project management and logistics skills: timelines, budgeting, vendor management, and event tech.
Capacity to lead cross-functional teams and build collaborative relationships across academic and administrative departments.
Strong strategic planning and critical thinking skills to assess operational gaps and build scalable solutions.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including donor correspondence, briefing materials, and reports.
Ability to represent the law school professionally to donors, trustees, faculty, and external partners.
Strong relationship-building skills, with a high degree of discretion and sensitivity to donor confidentiality.
Familiarity with charitable solicitation laws and ethical fundraising standards.
Bachelor's degree
5+ years experience in progressive philanthropy leadership

Nice To Haves

Higher education advancement experience
CFRE
Raiser's Edge experience
7+ years of progressively responsible experience in higher education advancement or nonprofit fundraising
Capital or comprehensive campaign experience

Responsibilities

Develops and implements an annual fundraising plan which is strategic and multi-channel and aligns with Mitchell Hamline's mission, strategic plan, and long-term vision.
Oversees the planned giving program, including databases and giving tools.
Collaborates with the Vice President of Philanthropy, Dean and President, leadership of the Board of Trustees, and philanthropy colleagues, among others, to identify and refine giving priorities.
Models effective prospect strategy, approaches, and techniques, as well as transparency and collaboration, serving as a resource to colleagues on related matters.
Contributes to, and drives, an organization-wide culture of philanthropy.
Ensures ongoing discovery of new major and principal gift prospects, including both traditional and non-traditional sources of potential support, as well as examination of existing donors that may have greater capacity.
Helps to develop and support a capital or comprehensive campaign, when applicable.
Manages a portfolio of ~125 prospects.
Maintains positive relationships with existing donors and stakeholders.
Implements a donor recognition program to sustain and acknowledge donors and upgrade funding from current partners.
Works closely with the Advancement team to ensure the donor database is kept up to date, contact notes are consistently maintained, that donors receive timely acknowledgements, and gifts are properly coded to ensure accurate reporting.
Under the direction of the Vice President of Institutional Advancement, maintains and strengthens relationships with current donors to increase gift size, frequency and retention through donor events, social media, online and direct mail streams and informal communication.
Builds and leads a high-performing team, fostering an inclusive culture that values collaboration, innovation, and continuous learning.
Provides coaching, strategic direction, and professional development for the team.
Facilitates team meetings to ensure alignment on goals, strategies, and metrics.
Promotes a culture of collaboration, accountability, and innovation within the team, department, and across the campus.
Provides weekly and monthly update reports on fundraising successes and goal achievement.
Stays current with nonprofit fundraising best practices and develops a good working knowledge of gift processing policies and procedures.
Tracks alumni engagement, campaign performance, and donor trends.
Analyzes giving patterns to identify prospects for major gifts and planned giving opportunities.
Uses data to develop targeted campaigns and improve annual fund ROI.
Maintains a culture of data-informed decision making within the Institutional Advancement team.
Performs other duties as assigned to support the law school's advancement efforts and broader institutional priorities.
Donor Relations and Stewardship Operations and Vendor Management
Cross-departmental collaboration
Annual Planning and Calendar Management
Professional Development and Industry Engagement