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About The Position
The Director of Community Philanthropy (DCP) is a strategic and relationship-driven leader who serves as a strategic fundraising leader, combining direct portfolio management with oversight and development of a team of frontline fundraisers, maintaining a modest personal portfolio of high-impact donors and prospects. This role fosters a high-performance fundraising culture grounded in accountability, where each team member is supported in owning and actively managing a portfolio of donors with clear strategies, measurable goals, and a focus on meaningful engagement that guides the work. Through both personal practice and team leadership, the DCP models effective portfolio management, fosters strong donor relationships, and supports the team in achieving consistent, sustainable results.
Central to this role is advancing a community-centric, relationship-based approach to philanthropy that prioritizes long-term engagement, donor retention, and lifetime value. The DCP leads the design and execution of strategies that deepen meaningful, multi-year partnerships with individuals and institutions, ensuring sustained support for Northwest Harvest’s mission. By aligning cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship efforts across portfolios, the DCP strengthens the organization’s ability to secure transformational gifts while building a diverse and resilient base of support.
This position is responsible for actively pursuing internal and external partnerships to ensure that fundraising goals are met using traditional and innovative methods, including but not limited to major individual gifts, planned gifts, corporate and foundation support, direct appeals, monthly giving and online giving. The successful incumbent will implement well-demonstrated donor giving strategies and work closely with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Advancement Officer (CAO), and relevant Northwest Harvest staff to develop and deepen relationships that lead to meaningful financial gifts to NWH.
Additionally, this position will be passionate about the mission of Northwest Harvest, be able to ignite and inspire a team and is responsible for cultivating an organizational culture, based on Northwest Harvests values, while putting in to practice our Six Agreements, and our Purpose Driven, Anti-Racist, Connected, Interwoven (PACI) framework.
As a member of the Leadership Team (LT) the DCP is responsible for contributing to the overall health of the LT by working to build trust, engaging in constructive conflict, demonstrating commitment to team decisions, holding oneself and others accountable, and focusing on results. As an LT member, the DCP holds these key responsibilities in support of our strategy work: know and be able to communicate the Four Strategies; appreciate that our strategy work is central to the achievement of Northwest Harvest’s vision to achieve equitable access to nutritious food for all in Washington State; communicate to their team (and, when applicable, to external audiences) about the strategies; and encourage their team to pursue engagement in the strategies directly or as a support function.
Schedule: This position may be required to work occasional off-shift hours as necessary for special events or other duties assigned.
Travel: Be responsive and adaptive to opportunities throughout Washington (WA). This can include but is not limited to local travel and occasional travel to Eastern and Western WA.
Requirements
- Principles, practices, and procedures of fund development, particularly in the areas of major gifts, planned giving, corporate partnerships (including cause marketing), proposal development and portfolio management
- Donor relationship management skills and the ability to establish meaningful relationships with major donors and work with a diverse range of individuals
- Annual fund campaigns, including but not limited to direct mail appeals, online giving, recurring gifts and workplace giving
- Current fundraising trends and best practices, including basic principles of community-centric fundraising and ethical storytelling
- Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office applications ( Word, Excel, Power Point , Outlook) and collaboration tools such as, Teams, and Zoom; ability to efficiently learn and work within evolving organizational systems and platforms including HRIS, ERP, and document management tools (i.e., ADP, SharePoint, Microsoft Dynamics NAV, and Net Suite)
- Understand individuals who have experienced poverty or food insecurity
- Demonstrate interest and commitment to supporting equity and inclusion for members of historically marginalized groups including racial and ethnic minorities, LGBTQIA+ populations and people with disabilities
- Take initiative and think critically by identifying, analyzing, and solving problems
- Project manage and multi-task successfully
- As an adaptive servant leader, practice collaborative, persuasive, and transformative leadership styles, and lead through influence rather than relying solely on direct-line authority
- Establish and maintain effective working relationships with staff and leadership to ensure a high degree of mutual accountability
- Navigate and lead through ambiguity while keeping team members engaged and encouraged
- Ask questions to understand the merits of different approaches and shift strategies in response to the demands of a situation
- Possess integrity, maturity, and ethical awareness
- Handle sensitive information with strict confidentiality
- Problem-solve in a collaborative, efficient, and effective manner
- Analyze issues, synthesize information, make evidence-based decisions, and learn from mistakes
- Cultivate and steward professional relationships with diverse constituencies
- Manage, inspire, and motivate a team within a collaborative working environment.
- Maintain a calm and positive can-do attitude in the face of challenging situations; develop and inspire innovative solutions
- Adopt the PACI (purpose driven, anti-racist, connected, and interwoven) model and practice the Six Agreements (Speak our truths responsibly, Listen to Understand, Stay engaged, Be willing to experience discomfort and do things differently, Expect and accept non-closure, Honor confidentiality
- Support equity and inclusion for members of historically marginalized groups including racial and ethnic minorities, LGBTQIA+ populations and people with disabilities
- Communicate effectively, verbally and in writing
- Listen and ask questions in order to understand
- Communicate effectively, orally and in writing, including the ability to listen and to explain NWH’s vision and mission, as well as issues related to poverty, food insecurity and race and equity to external constituents
- Bachelor’s degree in or certifications in relevant fields such as non-profit management, Philanthropy, Fundraising, Business Administration, Public Administration or a related area or an equal combination of education and relevant work experience with a personal orientation as a life-long learner.
- Minimum (7) + years of progressively responsible experience in the field of funds development with a successful track record of managing a multi-million-dollar revenue budget, creating, and implementing a multi-faceted annual fundraising plan and securing gifts at all levels, including six- and seven-figure gifts with (3) + years’ of solid people management experience to include a successful track record of leading a team with direct reports.
- Successful completion of a background check is required.
Nice To Haves
- Non- Profit experience is desired but not required
- Ability to speak a second language is desired but not required
Responsibilities
- Drives a relationship-based fundraising model that prioritizes long-term donor engagement, retention, and lifetime value, not just single-year results
- Lead efforts to create and implement a growth campaign strategy rooted in a commitment to valuing gifts at all levels of the giving pyramid; creating accessible access points for all donors to engage with Northwest Harvest
- Deepen relationships and cultivate new opportunities with individuals and organizations based on our PACI values and organizational objectives
- Lead and inspire NWH staff to participate in philanthropic activities
- Create an annual revenue budget with monthly and quarterly targets and evaluation; propose course corrections as needed
- In partnership with the community philanthropy team, secure targeted revenue goals for each constituency group: individuals, foundations, corporations, civic and religious organizations, and others as assigned
- Secure diverse types of support, such as cash contributions, in-kind goods and services, stock gifts, grant awards, bequests and other planned gifts, sponsorships, workplace contributions, multi-year pledges, and event revenue
- Personally manage a strategic portfolio of major and principal gift donors and prospects, including qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship to secure significant multi-year commitments
- Ensure all frontline fundraisers develop, execute, and are accountable for individualized portfolio plans, with defined goals, moves management, and performance metrics
- Demonstrate curiosity and initiative in leveraging technology and systems to enhance fundraising effectiveness, including identifying opportunities to streamline processes, automate routine tasks, and improve donor engagement
- Initiate and cultivate relationships with potential and current donors of all types of constituents; arrange meetings between donors and staff and/or the CEO and/or Board members
- Collaborate regularly with the Advancement Operations staff to ensure creation of and adherence to systems, processes, and policies to ensure smooth gift processing and data analysis
- Collaborate regularly with the Communications Team to expand Northwest Harvest’s presence, seeking opportunities for funds development growth throughout the state of Washington
- In collaboration with the fundraising and communications teams, plan and implement foundation, corporate, and individual donor cultivation, stewardship, outreach events and activities
- Act as a servant leader to supervise, support, professionally develop, and hold accountable by leading and mentoring a team of fundraising professionals by setting a strong vision for the team, including clear priorities, objectives and measurable goals. Collaborate with individual team members to co-create annual work plans to align with organizational and department strategic objectives
- Provide professional development support to meet people where they are and mentor individuals toward professional and personal success
- Foster an environment that values and rewards collaboration, multidirectional communication, celebrating the whole person, leadership, excellence, accountability, and mutual respect
- Lead through influence across the department and through the organization
- Inspire human-centered and community philanthropic development
- Champion clear and consistent communication internally and externally about activities, initiatives, successes, and learnings
- Ensure milestones, indicators and targets are developed and tracked for fundraising goals in support of NWH strategies
- Collaborate with the CAO to develop annual expense budgeting
- Speak on behalf of the agency and act as a professional goodwill ambassador representing the agency in the communities we serve, as it pertains to cultivating corporate partners
- Stay informed and knowledgeable about strategic priorities, programmatic activities, and partnership opportunities
- Participate in cross functional teams and other activities as requested
- Demonstrate the initiative to learn and enhance skills that promote anti-racism, cultural competency and an understanding of oppression and its impact
- Participate in intentional learning efforts, including events relating to understanding and dismantling institutional racism and building cultural competency
Benefits
- medical/dental/ vision/ insurance
- long term disability insurance
- Life/AD&D insurance
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
- 401(k) retirement plan
- Vacation and Sick leave
- 8 paid holidays; New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, after Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day
- Floating holidays for you to use should you observe a holiday not outlined in Northwest Harvests current observed holidays or at your discretion
- birthday holiday
- Flexible Spending account-HRA and DCE
- various AFLAC and New York Life plans