Associate Director of Development - Individual Giving

Job Description

Job Description

The Associate Director of Development (ADOD) joins New England Aquarium's (NEAq) Development Team. Currently, the team raises over $14 million annually to drive NEAq's mission with ambitious plans for growth over the next several years. Reporting to the Director of Development, this position will work with NEAq leadership, conservation team members, development staff, and key volunteers to increase philanthropic support from individual donor households, as well as private family foundations.

This position will be responsible for developing, engaging, soliciting, and stewarding a portfolio of approximately 100-125 major gift prospects at the five and six-figure levels to support NEAq's work. The ADOD will work closely with the Donor Engagement team to identify new major donor prospects. This position will implement and coordinate effective multi-year engagement strategies and plans for prospects in their portfolio with the goal of developing long-term relationships.

As a complex organization, becoming conversant in NEAq programs and funding opportunities will be critical to success in conversations with donors. Developing productive relationships with NEAq's conservation teammates, scientists, and volunteers is a foundational part of this exciting and dynamic work. The ADOD is responsible for working collaboratively with all parties to optimize gift support and will participate in NEAq activities aimed at growing our community of major gift donors to support the Aquarium's conservation priorities.

This is a full-time regular position offering a comprehensive benefits package. The typical schedule will be Monday-Friday 9:00am - 4:30pm with the option for a hybrid schedule, working some days on-site and some days remotely. This position requires work on occasional evenings and weekends for events, as well as travel approximately 25% of the time to meet prospective donors in the New England region. Remote days are only available for residents of MA, RI, NH, ME, NY and VT. 

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

1. Serve as a key member of the New England Aquarium (NEAq) Development frontline fundraising team.
2. Actively identify, qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward individual donors and private family foundations at the five- and six-figure levels.
3. Conduct a high volume of identification and qualification work from a large pool of active annual giving donors and active members.
4. Work to strengthen the donor pipeline by creating major gift strategies for prospects in your portfolio, ensuring the successful implementation of fundraising activities and initiatives across the frontline fundraising team. This may include: arranging donor visits independently and/or in conjunction with conservation teammates, senior leaders, and board members; reinforcing team goals around unrestricted and restricted gift approaches; serving as the liaison between other teams and departments around shared donors and relationships, etc.
5. Analyze and evaluate prospect and donor data to generate targeted lists and recommend strategic next steps.
6. Identify opportunities for gifts of assets or other non-cash gifts, such as planned gifts and gifts of stock.
7. Support the Development Team's fundraising priorities by communicating and coordinating effectively with Development team members.
8. Utilize the donor database (Raiser's Edge NXT), including filing timely and accurate online contact reports.
9. Assist in staffing volunteer and board committees that may focus on donor relations and stewardship activity.
10. Persuasively convey the mission of NEAq to diverse groups who are important to the organization's overall prosperity.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Minimum Training and Experience.
• Minimum 7+ years of relevant professional experience in a mission-driven organization required. Experience working with conservation organizations preferred.
• Experience working with individual donors and private family foundations at the five- and six-figure gift level preferred.
• Demonstrated success in developing positive, constructive relationships with a variety of people. Facility in working with donors in person, over the phone/Zoom, and via email and mail.
• Experience developing independent and collaborative strategies and plans to identify and cultivate prospects and steward donors required.
• Experience in donor cultivation and recognition, including prospect management of volunteer board members.
• Proven experience building productive, collaborative, and professional relationships with colleagues, clients, donors, prospects, partners, board members, senior staff, and other organizational contacts.
• Experience managing and tracking multiple prospects and donors, while proficiently utilizing a donor management database required.
• Experience proactively contacting donors and prospects required, including cold outreach.
• Project and/or program management.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Ability to learn and persuasively communicate the conservation mission and programs of the New England Aquarium with sincerity, persuasion, and passion.
• Must be able to learn and retain complex data entry and other systems.
• Strong writing and communication skills.
• Ability and desire to travel as needed to meet with donors, approximately 25% of the time.

For more information and to apply online please visit:

New England Aquarium is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace and is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer as defined by the EEOC. Here we foster a culture of respect, diversity, and inclusion. We strive to engage and inspire a broad audience with our efforts to protect the blue planet, and we believe a diverse workforce provides experiences, skills, and perspectives that enrich our programs, strengthen problem-solving, add creativity, and enhance our work environment.