Senior Philanthropy Officer

Job Summary

Rhode Island School of Design is actively seeking a Senior Philanthropy Officer to join the Major & Planned Gifts team in Institutional Advancement. IA cultivates relationships from a variety of sources to support the priorities of the college. Institutional Advancement understands that art and design drive human progress and produces innovations that shape our world. It is deeply committed to building an inclusive community enlivened by a determination to address the most important challenges of our time, and the Major & Planned Gifts team is a big part of this purpose.

With a commitment to promoting an environment of inclusivity and respect, The Senior Philanthropy Officer employs sophisticated relationship skills to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward a portfolio of 150 high-potential prospects and donors, including conducting 150 personal visits annually. The Senior Philanthropy Officer devises personalized engagement plans for each assigned prospect, leveraging RISD cultivation opportunities, presenting gift opportunity proposals that speak to a donor’s philanthropic goals while supporting the mission and goals of the institution. This person in this position possesses familiarity and success in proposing and completing creative gift arrangements, working with donors and their professional advisors. The individual develops and implements a comprehensive multi-year plan and timeline for assessment, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of assigned prospects, meeting or exceeding personal productivity goals. The Senior Philanthropy Officer employs the Raiser’s Edge database to manage prospect strategies and moves, documenting all prospect interactions in a complete and timely fashion. The Senior Philanthropy Officer serves as liaison with other Institutional Advancement Officers, administrative and academic representatives concerning assigned prospects and donors and serves as the major gift liaison to assigned groups and provides advice and input to the Senior Executive Director on related work plans.

Essential Functions

• Responsible for the identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of key prospects through face-to-face visits, engagement events, and other means. Tasked with overseeing and/or personally executing solicitation and closing gifts to secure major gifts in support, of annual, endowment, and capital funds.
• Manage and maintain a portfolio of 150 major giving prospects and donors typically focused at the $250,000+ level.
• Direct the recruitment and stewardship of current and past individuals who are prospective major donors to assigned groups.
• Develop and execute an annual solicitation plan for submitted proposals and gift closures providing a projection target for gift commitments.
• Maintain a rigorous schedule of personal contacts with assigned prospects, creating moves management plans related to them that include strategies of engagement and solicitations, as well as partnered visits with the Vice President, Institutional Engagement, President, other campus representatives or volunteers.
• Work with Institutional Advancement Special events team to conceptualize plan and implement RISD events in assigned territory(s) and/or prospect constituencies that build the RISD brand and foster deeper engagement among top prospects and philanthropists in that area.
• Actively engage with Institutional Advancement Stewardship team to develop and execute high quality stewardship plans, maintaining detailed records, for assigned prospects that sustain successful relationships.
• Complete entries and maintain accurate data in Raiser’s Edge prospect tracking/management system, which identifies, assigns, rates, and tracks assigned prospects, complying with department policies and procedures.
• Conduct independent research through the Institutional Advancement database, Internet sources, and referrals from RISD representatives and volunteers to identify and appropriately engage assigned prospects.

Required Knowledge/Skills/Experience

• Successful experience in a campaign environment.
• Proven ability to manage complex organizational relationships and work effectively with executive leadership.
• Program strategy development and execution experience.
• Individual and team success in securing and maintaining 7-figure+ accounts and/or philanthropy.
• Excellent oral and written communication and presentation skills. Strong organizational skills.
• Demonstrated effectiveness in outreach to volunteers and other fundraising partners.
• Ability to work and communicate effectively with a broad spectrum of divisional and institutional colleagues, within an environment that values diversity, equity and inclusion.
• Bachelor’s degree in relevant field required.
• Seven years+ of fundraising experience in devising and executing major and principal gifts strategies.

PREFERRED:

• Master’s degree in relevant field or equivalent combination of education and experience preferred.
• Higher education fundraising experience preferred.
• Interest/experience in art and design desirable.

Union:

No

Work Schedule:

35 hours per week, 12 months per year

Employment Status:

Full-time, Exempt

Grade:

08/AD

Documents Needed to Apply:

Resume (required)

Cover Letter (required)

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please upload all required documents.

The successful candidate will be required to meet our pre-employment background screening requirements.

RISD recognizes diversity and inclusivity as fundamental to its learning community and integral to an art and design education. We welcome candidates whose experience has prepared them to contribute to our commitment to diversity and excellence. RISD is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetics, or any other protected characteristic as established by law.

For internal use only - Job Family:

Development - Fundraising