Director, Individual Giving

Echoing Green (EG) identifies tomorrow s transformational leaders today. Through its Fellowships and other initiatives, Echoing Green spots emerging leaders and invests in their success to accelerate their impact. The organization has established a global community of emerging leaders who have launched hundreds of innovative social enterprises to drive social good.

Echoing Green supports visionary leaders who are transforming their communities by addressing challenges in focus areas related to economic development, racial and gender equity, environmental sustainability, and more. Since its founding, Echoing Green has provided more than $54 million in funding to nearly 1,000 Fellows who have worked in more than 86 countries and 39 U.S. states.

Together, they ve established a global community of leaders who have launched Teach For America, City Year, One Acre Fund, SKS Microfinance, Last Mile Health, Hot Bread Kitchen, Public Allies, and hundreds of others. These organizations have leveraged Echoing Green s seed investment to raise more than $5 billion in funding for the public good. Echoing Green unleashes long-lasting change at the intersection of social justice and social innovation by finding the best and the brightest leaders, bringing them together, and launching them on their path to success.

Those who work at Echoing Green have a front row seat to the brightest leaders with the most innovative ideas driving social progress across the world. They are fired up to be their partners, their advocates, and their biggest champion. You can learn more about the organization by reading its 2023 Annual Report and by learning about their current and prior Fellows.

As the Development team plans for expansion, Echoing Green seeks a Director, Individual Giving to build this important fundraising vertical.

Echoing Green s recent fundraising success has created a unique opportunity for the organization to invest in the growth of a well-resourced development team. Echoing Green has also recently completed a five-year strategic plan (in effect July 1, 2024) naming five organizational priorities, with investment in the growth, operations, and infrastructure of its successful fundraising team as a pillar of this plan. The fundraising team consists of five staff, in addition to consultants, and supports a balanced operating budget of $24.5M from several hundred gifts.

The Director of Individual Giving will serve as a captain in the department and will report to the Vice President, Development (VP). The Director will be responsible for building and leading one of four strategic verticals, which also includes Institutional Giving, Donor Engagement, and Development Strategy & Operations.

Echoing Green, which has a historically strong institutional giving program, is investing in the growth of the Individual Giving vertical. Recent internal developments that will support this work include:

• The creation of a new Donor Engagement program that uses a variety of site visits and virtual and in-person gatherings to drive fundraising activity.
• The build out of Echoing Green s Salesforce infrastructure to a best-in-class portfolio management system.
• The development of best-in-class data integrity, reporting, and development operations.
• The completion of a comprehensive analysis of historical giving and database review.

This is an opportunity to join a thriving, close-knit and collaborative team, build a new fundraising program, and partner with a dynamic VP and Development colleagues to drive the strategic visioning and growth of this important vertical.

An integral member of the Development Team, the Director of Individual Giving is responsible for the development and implementation of strategies and initiatives to ensure a strong base of financial support for Echoing Green. This role has two core responsibilities: portfolio building and management, and strategic team development and management. As a portfolio manager, they will work closely with members of the Development Team and the Leadership Team to build, manage and cultivate a portfolio to increase giving levels and retention. They will also work closely with the VP to design an effective structure for the Individual Giving team by defining roles, hiring staff, and leading the overall strategic development of the program.

The Director of Individual Giving serves as an ambassador for Echoing Green and is a core contributor to organizational goals and objectives. We value the ability to serve Fellows from a broad range of cultural heritages, socioeconomic backgrounds, genders, abilities and orientations. Therefore, we prioritize applicants who demonstrate they understand the benefits diversity brings to a professional social entrepreneurship community. The successful candidate will be an equity-minded individual committed to collaborating with an internal team and external community partners who are also committed to closing equity gaps.

Portfolio Management

• Develop and execute a plan for the strategic growth of individual giving at Echoing Green.
• Manage a small existing portfolio of individual donors in collaboration with the Board and Leadership Team.
• Work closely with the Board, Leadership team, and close friends of the organization to proactively build a portfolio of individual donors at the five and six figure level.
• Partner with the VP to steward the Board, build a Board pipeline, and design and implement a Board recruitment strategy.
• Design and execute individual fundraising programs and activities (in collaboration with the Director, Donor Engagement.
• With a keen understanding of moves management, analyze prospect research to steward donors towards major gifts.
• Develop and implement fundraising policies and procedures, including donor pipeline strategies.
• Ensure proper donor acknowledgement and recognition in all venues and oversee accurate donor lists for publications.
• Manage the creation and production of fundraising/outreach materials, including (but not limited to) letters, emails, and proposals.
• Maintain up to date and accurate records of all individual donors in the EG Salesforce database.

Team Building and Development

• Build and execute a plan to grow individual giving at EG.
• Use data to design and guide strategic growth of EG s individual giving program: build the departmental organization chart, hire staff, develop portfolios and define roles and responsibilities to increase gift size and number of relationships under management.
• Over time, oversee the implementation of new portfolios at strategic giving levels.
• Prepare data driven reports, analysis, and PowerPoint decks to develop strategy and support implementation of new programs.

Thought Partnership

• Serve as a thought partner to the VP, staying abreast of industry trends and continuously learning about philanthropy.
• Along with the VP, work with consultants to further develop the fundraising growth plan
• Participate in the development of policies and procedures to support the team.
• Lead cross-team projects in support of development outcomes.

Requirements

Key Selection Criteria

• A minimum of 7 years demonstrated fundraising experience, success in fundraising management and frontline solicitation.
• Experience successfully identifying high potential donors and developing effective strategies to cultivate, solicit and upgrade donors.
• Someone who is flexible and as excited to build a team as they are to get out and frontline fundraise.
• Strong analytical and prospect research skills.
• A working knowledge of effective moves management strategies.
• The ability to develop systems to support effective moves management, track donor engagement.
• Experience developing fundraising materials such as proposals and reports.
• A high level of discretion and ethical approach to fundraising.
• Proficiency in Salesforce and to proactively utilize it for donor management and reporting.
• A data-oriented person, fluent in development CRMs Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Strong interpersonal skills with ability to establish effective working relationships with staff and stakeholders.
• Ability to maintain a high level of awareness of and monitor US fundraising trends and best practices.
• A working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite/ Google Suite.
• Alignment with the mission and vision of Echoing Green.

Professional Attributes

• Excellent written and verbal communications skills with great attention to detail.
• Demonstrates a collaborative, flexible, and well-suited work style to excel in an entrepreneurial, collegial environment at all levels both internally and externally.
• Systems, data, and detail orientation.
• Willingness and ability to travel domestically (occasionally internationally) and to sometimes work/travel on evenings and weekends.
• Proven ability to meet deadlines with competing timelines.

Benefits

As an equal opportunity employer, Echoing Green encourages applications from all individuals regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, marital status, physical ability, or any other legally protected basis.

Echoing Green offers a full benefits package including 20 days of Paid Time Off, medical, dental, vision insurance, life insurance, and a 403(b)-retirement savings plan with an employer match. The expected compensation range for this role is $140,000 to $165,000.

Contact Information

Brian Shallcross

Associate

Chicago, IL

T: +1 630-730-4980

E: [email protected]

Sara Garlick Lundberg

Managing Partner, North America Nonprofit

New York, NY

E: [email protected]

Morgan Phillips

Executive Assistant | Office Manager, Chicago

Chicago, IL

T: +1 312-782-1581

E: [email protected]