Region Director of Philanthropy - Southeast

Trust for Public Land•Atlanta, GA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Trust for Public Land (TPL) is seeking an entrepreneurial and results-oriented individual to serve as the Southeast Region Director of Philanthropy. This role reports directly to the Vice President, Philanthropy, and is responsible for leading the fundraising strategy and staff teams for multiple programs, including Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and Mid-South. The Director will manage a team of four staff and collaborate closely with philanthropy and programmatic leadership across the organization, particularly with the Southeast Region Vice President and State Directors. The position aims to leverage organizational resources to enhance TPL's local presence and promote its work. The ideal candidate is self-motivated, possesses proven leadership experience, is committed to high-quality work, can operate both independently and collaboratively, manage multiple priorities, and thrive in a fast-paced, results-oriented environment. This role is part of the Advancement Management Team and will work with various internal partners, including the Center for Community Impact, Finance, Marketing, Philanthropy Operations, Philanthropy Programs, and Gift Planning teams, to integrate an organization-wide philanthropy program.

Requirements

Minimum 11 years of fundraising experience, including direct major gift solicitations.
Experience supervising philanthropy staff, ideally in multiple geographies.
Ability to organize and motivate others, including direct reports, peers, and volunteers.
Demonstrated understanding of best practices across all disciplines of fundraising (institutional giving, working with volunteers, major gifts, planned giving, etc.).
Experience in planning, leading, and managing action plans, campaigns, and projects, including coordinating with peers to achieve desired outcomes, tracking and reporting on progress to management.
Demonstrated ability to build a team with a variety of disciplines and departments.
The ability to train non-philanthropy staff in the discipline of fundraising as appropriate.
Strong skills in creating powerful, compelling written and oral communications for fundraising.
The ability to convey complex ideas via presentations, e-mails and face to face communications.
The ability to work with others to reach common goals and objectives.
Experience establishing and cultivating strong relationships with staff and ability to use good judgment, take initiative, and make recommendations.
Excellent oral and written communication skills, along with organizational skills and attention to detail.
Demonstrated ability to utilize database tools to manage donors and build fundraising strategies.
Available for significant, independent travel (up to 25%).

Responsibilities

Manage a mixed portfolio of approximately 75 donors and prospects with an emphasis on major ($50K+) and principal gift ($1M+) individual donors, including donor visits, cultivation, stewardship, and solicitations.
Create comprehensive engagement strategies, lead cultivation teams, and oversee the creation and delivery of solicitation and stewardship materials.
Promote blended gifts and planned giving, involving peer volunteers, leadership, senior management, and project staff in cultivation as needed.
Oversee fundraising performance of directly reporting programs in cooperation with State Directors of Philanthropy, focusing on major donor identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
Ensure each state program has an annual philanthropy work plan, moves management plans for $100K+ donors, revenue forecasts, and annual/long-range fundraising goals.
Collaborate with the Southeast Region Vice President and Field Program leadership to establish agreed-upon fundraising priorities.
Facilitate collaboration between Southeast philanthropy and all areas of philanthropy, national programs, and marketing.
Consult and coach State Directors of Philanthropy on effective strategies, best practices, and areas for improvement.
Identify and advocate for needed resources for state programs.
Resolve disputes and make decisions to ensure efficient, effective, and cohesive teams.
Deliver annual performance assessments for direct reports.
Oversee and be accountable for all fundraising activities for the Georgia and Tennessee programs, including design and implementation of annual and long-range plans, development and realization of annual revenue goals, and setting priorities for the philanthropy team.
Work with State Directors to identify operating and capital needs to integrate and direct fundraising efforts.
Track and report progress toward revenue and programmatic goals.
Monitor philanthropy-associated expenses to ensure proper investment of resources.
Oversee donor communications and recognition, coordinating with regional and national marketing departments.
Direct and coordinate the involvement of State Directors and program staff with donors and in overall fundraising.
Work with the State Director and Georgia Advisory Board Chair to sustain and grow the program’s Advisory Board, including identifying and recruiting new members, directing fundraising efforts, and overseeing cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of individual board members.
Carry a balanced portfolio of 75 prospects with the capacity to make 6-figure+ gifts and effectively move them through the four stages (qualification, cultivation, solicitation, stewardship).
Make at least 60-80 visits with donors and prospects annually.
Contribute to Philanthropy’s overall success by assuring budget and goals are met or exceeded in the state programs directly supervised.
Develop, implement, and follow up on the fulfillment of annual and long-range Region and State Philanthropy strategic plans.
Model TPL’s shared values (Belonging, Creativity, Collaboration, Impact, and Hope) to effectively work across the organization.