Gifts Officer

Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health

It's All Yoga

Job Description

GIFTS OFFICER, KRIPALU CENTER FOR YOGA & HEALTH
Stockbridge, Massachusetts

ABOUT US
Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to serving people and communities in realizing their full potential through the transformative wisdom and practice of Yoga. Our purpose is to ignite personal and societal transformation and our vision is a world united in service towards well-being, justice, and peace.
 
Kripalu teaches skills for optimal living through experiential education for the whole person; body, mind, and spirit. It is the largest retreat center for yoga, health, and holistic living in North America. Each day, our employees strive to offer compassionate service to our guests and to each other.
 
Kripalu is committed to becoming an employer and community where all belong. Kripalu is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity in its workforce. We do not discriminate in employment and personnel practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, military status, national origin age, disability or genetic information, or any other basis, especially those prohibited by applicable law.
 
After a year-plus of pandemic-necessitated closure, we are in the process of building back our offerings and our team. 

DEPARTMENT SUMMARY
Kripalu’s Gifts & Gratitude team is charged with raising money and awareness to support the mission, and with supporting a culture of philanthropy throughout the organization and the communities it serves. We must ensure that Kripalu’s standing as a mission-driven charity is understood and appreciated by our audience and staff. Kripalu is blessed by a relatively small but deeply loyal donor base. Gifts & Gratitude’s imperative is to expand and retain Kripalu’s donor base at all levels of giving, and to highlight the many ways that our programs and services—and the donors who support them—advance Kripalu’s mission. We emphasize service, gratitude, and the development of meaningful relationships with donors at all levels. 

POSITION SUMMARY
Reporting to the Director of Gifts & Gratitude and working closely with the CEO and Gifts & Gratitude staff, the Gifts Officer identifies, cultivates, solicits, and stewards a fluid portfolio of lead donors and donor prospects for outright and deferred gifts generally in the range of $10,000 and higher. S/he will work closely with the G&G team and CEO to steward, renew and expand portfolios of top level donors. S/he will be an essential leader and thought partner for Kripalu’s G&G staff as it seeks to sustain and improve upon new and existing fundraising practices, including but not limited to moves management for existing donors, prospecting and lead development, campaign planning, legacy giving, and stewardship.  
 
ACCOUNTABILITIES
  • Craft cultivation and solicitation strategies for prospects in consultation with Director of Gifts & Gratitude, CEO and other organizational leaders
  • Bear primary responsibility for the qualification, cultivation, solicitation, acknowledgement, and stewardship of a fluid portfolio of approximately 75 donors and prospects including in-house or videoconference meetings, donor events, and significant travel for face-to-face meetings
  • Provide advice and counsel to colleagues, including Kripalu’s CEO, with regard to management of his/her donor portfolio
  • Keep well-informed of organizational mission, strategy and priorities in order to inform prospects about Kripalu’s direction and needs
  • Recommend and facilitate strategic meetings for donors with Kripalu leadership as needed, e.g., CEO, Trustees, and Kripalu staff and faculty
  • Provide input and support for Gifts & Gratitude staff on appeals, special campaigns, and content for digital, print, and in-house communications publications
  • Collaborate with G&G staff in efforts to make maximal strategic use of Kripalu’s guest database for purposes of lead prospecting, cultivation, campaign planning and gift solicitation
  • Provide significant support and direction for cultivation and stewardship events
  • Assist with other projects, activities, and events as requested by the Director of Gifts & Gratitude
  • Maintain thorough records of prospect communications and contacts in Raiser’s Edge
  • Participate in professional development as opportunities arise to update field knowledge and skills

COMPETENCIES
  • Demonstrated commitment to valuing equity, diversity and contributing to an inclusive environment.
  • Possesses strong core ethics, integrity, and values consistent with Kripalu’s organizational principles.
  • Builds effective relationships, identifies internal and external guest and donor expectations, sees issues from their point of view; offers practical, mutually beneficial recommendations, solutions, and ideas.
  • Willingness and ability to be agile in work, supporting evolving needs across own department as well as across the organization as needed.
  • Demonstrates the knowledge and abilities necessary to perform required job elements to established standards, remaining current regarding development and trends in areas of expertise.
  • Embraces experiences as learning opportunities.
  • Accepts responsibility for personal and professional learning and growth.
  • Models the values of Kripalu including service, presence, inquiry, compassion, practice, and integrity 

ESSENTIAL SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
  • Interpersonal qualities required to create and sustain meaningful relationships, including but not limited to, empathy, humility, honesty, optimism, responsiveness, flexibility and reliability
  • Communications skills, including active listening, verbal and written communications, attentiveness to detail and nuance
  • Meticulous record-keeping
  • Energy, stamina, positivity, and resilience
  • Collaborative, creative, and adaptable approach to achieving goals
  • Self-discipline and motivation to self-start and work independently
  • Proven ability to close five- and six-figure gifts
  • Proven ability to sustain relationships and giving outcomes over multiple years
 
MINIMAL QUALIFICATIONS
  • Bachelor’s degree
  • +/-5 years’ experience in fundraising environment, with successful record as 1:1 gift solicitor
  • Proficiency in developing and/or managing fundraising systems as noted above 
  • Fluency with standard office software, including Word, Excel, email
  • Familiarity with Raiser’s Edge or other donor database systems
  • Ability to travel

The Gifts Officer may work primarily from a remote position, but regular visits to the Stockbridge campus will be required to fulfill the duties of the job, including sustained visits at the outset of employment to get oriented, meet colleagues, and get to know organizational culture and programming.

Please apply with cover letter and resume to Tad Ames, Director of Donor Communications (tad@kripalu.org)