Director of Philanthropy

The ACLU of Montana Foundation (“ACLU of Montana”) seeks an organized, ambitious person to join our team as the Director of Philanthropy to provide the strategic vision for the Development Department. The ideal candidate will ensure we have an ethical, effective, and robust development program that continuously strives to include an anti-racism and anti-colonialism lens to our fundraising strategies while achieving an aggressive fundraising growth plan. The Director of Philanthropy reports to the Executive Director.

Working closely with the Executive Director, the National ACLU, and two members of the Development Department (Development Associate and Donor Engagement Manager), the Director of Philanthropy is responsible for planning, supervising, and executing the ACLU of Montana’s major gifts program ($10k+) and overall fundraising strategy. The position will supervise and support a Development Associate (leading gift processing, database support, and moves management tasks) and a Donor Engagement Manager (front-line fundraising and managing their own portfolio of donors). Additionally, this position will spend at least 50% of their time directly interacting with donors and helping them fulfill their philanthropic interests and passions, while supporting the Executive Director’s efforts with donor-facing responsibilities with our leading supporters.

ABOUT THE ACLU OF MONTANA

The ACLU of Montana Foundation “ACLU of Montana” (founded in 1972) is an affiliate of the national ACLU (founded in 1920) and operates as a private, independent, non-profit organization. We are the state’s largest and most influential civil rights organization. Our current top priorities are Indigenous Justice, criminal legal reform, 2S-LGBTQIA rights, and voting rights. We work on a range of additional issues including reproductive justice, immigrants’ rights, freedom of speech and religion, and informational and digital privacy. The ACLU of Montana envisions a fair, equitable, and free Montana that welcomes and celebrates diversity of all kinds. In our Montana, everybody is treated with dignity and respect, and has equal access to rights and freedoms.

The ACLU of Montana has a current staff of 12 and an office located in Missoula. We aspire to a friendly work environment, with flexibility and consideration of personal needs and circumstances. To learn more about the work of the ACLU of Montana, please visit http://aclumontana.org.

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

ACLU of Montana is an equal opportunity employer. We value a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture. We believe that having a board, staff, and volunteer base with diverse personal and professional backgrounds enhances our ability to meet our mission and creates an environment where all members of our community can thrive.

The ACLU of Montana does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, faith, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, tribal affiliation, disability, pregnancy, veteran status, or record of arrest or conviction. We are committed to providing a work environment free from discrimination and harassment and one that honors and promotes a culture of equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging. We are engaging in ongoing internal racial equity work, with an emphasis in anti-racism and anti-colonialism.

We strongly encourage applications from Black, Indigenous, people of color, immigrants, women, people with disabilities, bi- or multi-lingual (including Indigenous languages) speakers, bicultural individuals, 2S-LGBTQIA individuals, those who have been formerly incarcerated or are currently under supervision, and other underrepresented and historically marginalized groups. We seek to build a team reflective of our diverse communities. All qualified applicants who share this vision and who have a desire to contribute to our mission are encouraged to apply.

We commit to developing and collaborating on thoughtful training programs and onboarding processes with the Director of Philanthropy that identify an individual’s growth areas, in relation to the job description, and empowers their existing knowledge and skills.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Program Development, Oversight, Evaluation, and Management

• Build, maintain and assess programs that secure sustainable resources and that strengthen the relationship between the ACLU and its donors resulting in increased funding.
• Sustain and grow a program that integrates an understanding of the intersections of race, class, power, and privilege in our development work, particularly through our engagement with donors. Build long-lasting transformational (not transactional) relationships with ACLU donors by treating them as partners, engaging them how they wish to engage, and asking them to give us their full financial support.
• Provide industry knowledge, monitor industry trends, and implement best practices using themes from Community-Centric Fundraising.
• Track development goals and work to ensure they are accomplished and prepare regular fundraising and department activity reports for the Executive Director and Board of Directors, including analysis of gifts, trends, and projections.
• Play an integral role with the income forecast for annual and multi-year budget projections.
• Promote a culture of philanthropy amongst staff and Board.

Major Gifts and Planned Giving Program

• Execute a comprehensive, strategic major gifts program that includes specific fundraising goals and targets, with a focus on the acquisition of major gifts ($10k+ annually) from prospects and donors and fully integrating planned giving strategies, both new commitments as well as increases, into work with an overall portfolio of roughly 125 donors. Use a moves management approach, including cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies, that is uniquely tailored to each donor.
• Manage a portfolio of approximately 30 donors with capacity to give annually between $25k - $99k.
• Manage the development efforts of a new Executive Director, who spends approximately 20% of their time on fundraising, through a joint portfolio of approximately 20 donors with capacity to give annually above $100k. This work includes driving strategy decisions, scheduling and coordinating visits, and partnering on nearly all donor conversations with the Executive Director.
• Supervise a major gifts officer position and support their portfolio work of approximately 75 donors with capacity to give annually between $10k - $24k.
• Work in deep collaboration with National ACLU Leadership Gifts and Planned Giving liaisons on qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies of a shared set of donors in the portfolio.
• Prepare and write personalized proposals, reports, letters, emails, notes, and other documents, as needed.
• Incorporate foundation prospect research, working with program and finance staff to development and submit grant applications and interim / final reports, and cultivating relationships with foundation officers as a fully integrated component of the major and planned giving program.
• Maintain working knowledge of state and national programmatic priorities and issues, the racial impact of our programmatic work, major breaking news stories that are of interest to our supporters, and attending ACLU meetings as events as needed.
• Strategically include partners, such as program staff, board members, or donors, in donor relationships when it makes sense.
• Be proficient in National ACLU sharing formulas, fundraising protocols, and related matters.

Development Department Management

• Lead, supervise, train, motivate, coach, support, and partner with team to ensure that each employee meets their job goals and professional development objectives. Create a development team in which all members take responsibility for team success and understand their roles in achieving team goals.
• Create a trusting team culture that supports giving and receiving honest feedback, regularly assesses our performance, questions if we can do better, destigmatizes mistakes, and is open to new ideas and approaches.
• Lead the team in continuously striving to make the development efforts increasingly anti-racist and anti-colonialist within a major gifts model of fundraising, in recognition of the ambitious growth trajectory in place for the affiliate.
• Develop and manage an annual department expense budget.

• Assure an accurate and up-to-date donor database, including individual giving histories, profiles, interactions, gift acknowledgement, and more.
• Oversee production of reports for accounting and reconciliation of funds between the development and finance departments and between ACLU-MT and the National ACLU.

• Coordinate with communications and other program staff in developing messages and materials that advance the ACLU’s development initiatives.
• Develop and implement cultivation and stewardship activities that reflect an appreciation for donors at all giving levels, currently managed through the quarterly virtual town halls, CCF-aligned language in principles in donor messaging, and more.

• Make effective use of all National ACLU development staff.

Staff Teamwork and Collaboration

• Serve as a member of the senior Leadership Team; model and promote accountability, honesty, receiving feedback, encouraging teamwork, and fostering an atmosphere of creativity within the affiliate.
• Collaborate with communications staff in drafting press releases, op-eds and articles for newsletter, website, social media and other outlets;
• Ensure all administrative tasks completed in a timely and accurate manner, including, but not limited to travel and other expense reimbursements, timesheets, and other related financial and personnel documents.
• Actively engage with the ACLU of Montana team through regular staff meetings, continuing anti-racism and anti-colonialism work, professional development opportunities, occasional retreats, and periodic committees;
• Attend certain ACLU functions;
• Assist in other duties as assigned within the scope of these responsibilities.

Competency and Commitment to Racial Equity 

The ACLU of Montana is committed to, and engaging in, ongoing racial equity work with an emphasis on anti-racism and anti-colonialism. As a staff member, you will be asked to commit, contribute and engage in the following ways:

• Demonstrate commitment to building or deepening understanding of equity, in which racial equity and anti-racism and anti-colonialism are centered;
• Engage with the issues of institutional and structural racism and bias and their impact on underserved and underrepresented communities;
• Embrace self-learning and reflection through optional racial caucus group conversations, activities, and support.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

The following experiences are integral to meeting the job responsibilities. Please be sure to identify these in your application and throughout the hiring process. Relevant experience may be through lived, and/or professional or volunteer experiences, or coursework.

• A minimum of 5 years professional experience in philanthropy or a position with transferable skills required, ideally in a rapidly evolving institution with progressive responsibility and a proven track record of securing visits with prospective donors, and soliciting, closing, and stewarding major gifts in the $10,000+ range.
• Exceptional initiative, vision, and ambition to lead a vibrant development program.
• Passion and enthusiasm for building strong relationships with donors.
• Ability to “make the ask” of donors and enjoy coaching others to develop the same skill set.
• Experience with people management with a collaborative management style that motivates, helps set objectives, and maintains an inclusive and equitable environment that promotes creativity and professional growth among staff.
• Willingness to lead and work in partnership with the Executive Director, board, staff and volunteers to accomplish the ACLU-MT’s fundraising objectives.
• Ability to work independently and keep organized, manage several projects simultaneously, be in regular contact with supervisees and peers while working outside of the office, and adjust plans when needed;
• Capacity to develop long-term plans, set objectives, and track progress toward achieving objectives.
• Excellent interpersonal communication and presentation skills. Experience developing successful written donor communications and marketing materials.
• Experience with donor database management and systems (i.e. Salesforce, Raiser's Edge, Virtuous, etc.) to track campaigns and ensure complete, secure, and private donor and campaign records.
• Working knowledge and comfort with Excel.
• A demonstrable commitment to civil liberties and civil rights.
• Demonstrated commitment to building or deepening understanding of race equity, dismantling white supremacy, and incorporating a structural power analysis into a major gifts fundraising program that centers an anti-racism and anti-colonialism lens.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

The following experiences are particularly valuable - please be sure to address these in your resume or cover letter. We encourage you to apply even if you do not have these qualifications:

• Broad understanding of multi-faceted campaign planning, implementation and management that includes experience soliciting special, multi-year campaign commitments and planned gifts.
• Experience with incorporating planned giving strategies into major gifts portfolio work.
• Knowledge of philanthropic trends in Montana’s different geographic regions and/or specific donor communities, including Indigenous philanthropy; and
• Experience with events management, or support of events and vendors.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
This position is full-time, exempt, and will pay an annual salary between $81,500 and $97,499, depending on experience. Excellent benefits offered, including health, vision and dental insurance, short and long-term disability and life insurance, 401(k) retirement plan and employer matching, and generous vacation, holiday, sabbatical, and family and medical leave policies. Relocation reimbursements for actual moving expenses are available up to $4,000, contingent on two years’ employment. A monthly reimbursement for personal mobile phone and utilities (including internet) is offered to all ACLU employees working remotely during the pandemic. The ACLU of Montana also invests in each staff member’s professional development.

The Director of Philanthropy will be based in Montana. If the finalist is not a Montana resident yet, we will discuss with the finalist a timeline for moving to MT within the first month of the start date. The position is currently remote with optional access to the Missoula office, including safety precautions in place for optional and required in-office work. Many of our staff currently work remotely with occasional in-office work. If the final candidate is not based in Missoula, the position will require travel to Missoula for three-day trips per quarter. Routine travel across the state (roughly 1-2 nights, twice per month) should be expected. Travel expenses paid for by the ACLU of Montana.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE
All applications are treated confidentially. Please submit (in pdf format if possible):

1. A letter (of no more than two pages) describing your interest in the position and the ways in which you satisfy the qualifications specified above. Please indicate in your letter where you learned of this position.
2. Resume.

Email your application to jobs[at]aclumontana.org or mail it to:

ACLU of Montana, Attn: Hiring

P.O. Box 1968, Missoula, MT 59806

Please put “Director of Philanthropy” in the subject line of your email/envelope.

Applicants with Disabilities: Reasonable accommodation will be made so that qualified disabled applicants may participate in the application process. Please advise in writing to jobs[at]aclumontana.org to request reasonable accommodation at the time of application.

PROCESS
Our hiring process is managed by a dedicated hiring committee of three staff members and our HR team. The committee will begin careful review of all applications on September 18, 2023. Applications after that date are encouraged and will be accepted on a rolling basis until the posting is removed from the ACLU-MT Job Openings page.

The steps for finalist selection include a screening call by HR, a videoconferencing interview with the hiring committee, a compensated assessment/work sample exercise, a final, in-person interview, reference calls for the selected finalist, decision and making a job offer to the finalist candidate by December 2023. We commit to regular communication with all applicants throughout the process, will apprise candidates of next steps as appropriate, and will promptly communicate any change in timeline above.

To learn more about the work of the ACLU-MT, please visit www.aclumontana.org.