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Director of Development, Tostan
Position: Director of Development
Functional Area:
Organization: Tostan
Location: Washington DC
Metro Region:
Overview:
Tostan is a Senegalese-born non-profit organization dedicated to educating and empowering Africans who have had little or no access to formal schooling. Tostan’s community-led programs have resulted in thousands of villages deciding to abandon the practices of female genital cutting and child marriage, increase formal education of children, use problem solving and literacy skills to generate income and further develop local economies, and incorporate regular healthcare. This vibrant organization is rapidly scaling its successful model across Africa. For more information, please visit: http://www.tostan.org
Position:
Tostan is seeking a dynamic, self-starting fundraising professional to serve in the newly created role of Director of Development. Reporting to and working closely with the Executive Director, the Director of Development will develop relationships and execute strategies that result in significant support from new and existing donors. This leader will develop and implement a major gifts strategy and action plan. Building on Tostan’s large base of committed donors, the Director of Development will create a foundation for stewardship of all donors while managing innovative events and relationship-building activities internationally to cultivate donors’ ongoing commitment to Tostan.
Responsibilities:
- Develop a major gifts strategy to support Tostan’s strategic plan; identify, cultivate and successfully solicit donors and prospects independently and jointly with Tostan’s senior leadership
- Develop and present proposals and communication materials to solicit major gifts from family foundations, individuals, and corporate matching sources, widely sharing the organization’s successes
- Build a pipeline of donors by cultivating relationships with high net worth individuals, linking and connecting donor interests with Tostan’s priorities
- Leverage a large number of existing supporters that donate consistently, and cultivate relationships to increase donation amounts
- Oversee donor stewardship and implement strategic donor outreach opportunities and events to cultivate donors’ commitment to Tostan
- Prepare and monitor the major gifts budget, and maintain information systems on donor contributions and the overall major gifts program
- Convey the charisma, cultural sensitivity, and communication skills necessary to tailor messages to various audiences and, in turn, be an effective representative of Tostan to its diverse constituencies
Qualifications:
- 5+ years of experience in donor cultivation and relationship management with a demonstrated track record of managing a portfolio of high net worth individual donors
- Experience with fundraising with a focus on major gifts for internationally based programs preferred, with an affinity to travel abroad to experience programs and meet beneficiaries first hand
- Demonstrated ability to think strategically while executing tactically within a resource-constrained environment
- Exceptional communication skills; articulate, with proven ability to write and speak effectively and persuasively
- Strong attention to details; organized and systematic in donor follow-up and stewardship
- Ability to make decisions independently combined with an ability to work as part of a team; ability to creatively problem solve and drive solicitation strategies that tap into donors’ passions
- Passionate belief in and commitment to Tostan’s mission to empower African communities to bring about sustainable development and positive social transformation based on respect for human rights
- Fluency in verbal and written English; comfort with verbal and written French highly preferred
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience required
- Some travel (15-20%) as well as occasional evening and weekend activity for donor events and meetings is expected
To Apply:
Please upload a resume and thoughtful cover letter, outlining how your skills and experience meet the qualifications of the position and stating how you heard about this opportunity, both in Word format and addressed to Jennifer Hedrick at http://jobs.cgcareers.org/application.aspx?id=1803. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
