Vice President of Advancement

YW Boston (Positively Partners)

Eliminating Racism, Empowering Women

Job Description

ABOUT YW BOSTON

YW Boston works to eliminate racism, empower women and promote peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. We work across racial, gender, religious and social lines with organizations in all sectors to educate people about disparities and provide them with tools to dismantle them. We pride ourselves on being reflective, innovative, outcomes oriented, and passionate about our work. 


THE OPPORTUNITY

The Vice President (VP) of Advancement will serve in a key leadership role for the organization and will be instrumental in leading the organization to meet its restricted and unrestricted fundraising goals, while growing and diversifying its funding base. This person will oversee and manage day to day development operations while engaging staff, board and volunteers in expanding revenue streams to support current and new initiatives. The VP of Advancement is responsible for growing the foundation portfolio, developing a major donor program, expanding corporate sponsorships and overseeing stewardship. Reporting to the Chief Engagement Officer, the VP of Advancement is a member of the Leadership Team who works collaboratively with all Leadership Team members. The VP of Advancement also works closely with the Advancement Committee, the Board, foundations and other funders. Supporting efforts include developing metrics, staff and board training; gift entry and acknowledgement; database management and funder research. Direct reports include the Associate Director, Annual Fund and Special Events and Advancement Associate. The role also manages a consultant who writes grant proposals.

The VP of Advancement position is an exciting opportunity for someone looking to build a robust fund development team that includes individual, corporate, and foundation giving and special events to support the organization in achieving its goals. Key organizational values at YW Boston that are crucial to this role include People, Collaboration, Liberation, Courage, and Shared Leadership.


KEY OUTCOMES

  • Develop a multi-year fundraising strategy and operating plan with annual goals and plans to diversify and increase philanthropic revenue from foundations, corporations, and individual donors

  • Lead and engage the Leadership Team in developing effective messages for donor audiences

  • Establish monthly, quarterly and annual metrics to demonstrate progress towards goals

  • Support and mentor the President and CEO, Board, Leadership Team and staff in their fundraising efforts

  • Working with the Chief Engagement Officer to develop and execute a robust cultivation and engagement strategy with corporate partners



KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

General Advancement Strategy and Implementation

  • Support the overall development, strategic planning, service delivery and management of the organization

  • Advise the Leadership Team, board members, and staff on current resources, trends, obstacles and developments in fundraising and donor relations

  • Successfully establish and execute an annual comprehensive and strategic plan for development with targeted goals, objectives, tactics, quantifiable outcomes and timelines.

  • Develop and execute a strategy that ensures the continuous growth of philanthropic revenue through various methods including donors from all categories (individuals, foundations, corporate philanthropies, etc), donor retention and stewardship

  • Coach the President and CEO and Advancement Committee members to effectively execute development efforts

  • Deploy resources efficiently and effectively towards organization goals, working with staff to balance workload and effort, and provide regular feedback so staff can continuously improve.


Budgeting, Revenue Targets and Reporting

  • Develop and monitor ambitious and achievable fundraising goals with reasonable revenue and expense projections, in partnership with the Chief Engagement Officer, Chief Financial Officer and President & CEO

  • Oversee the management, tracking, and reporting of all areas of responsibility to ensure targets are being hit, growth is being achieved and CFO has necessary data to provide to accountants and auditors

  • Report performance metrics to key internal and external audiences in a meaningful way to ensure understanding about organizational performance and to inform key decisions

  • Work closely with internal departments regarding funder reporting requirements and ensure data compliance.


Management of Staff and External Relationships

  • Builds and manages a team that can support and execute the fundraising plan

  • Mentor and develop staff using a supportive and collaborative approach on a consistent basis. Establish and monitor staff performance and development goals, set objectives, establish priorities and conduct regular performance reviews

  • Recruit, manage and work closely with the Advancement and Academy of Women Achievers Committees to achieve the organization’s fundraising goals

  • Proactively ensure that the organization develops strong long-term relationship with individual, foundation and corporate donors/funders.  Cultivate and steward key relationships to ensure deeper engagement and increased revenue from philanthropy

  • Provide consistent follow-up after meetings, events, and other activities to secure commitments and advance donor engagement

  • Publicly represent YW Boston with external constituency groups and individuals to build awareness and excitement for YW Boston’s mission

  • Supervise relationships with outside consultants who provide services to support advancement activities and events

  • Ensure accurate and timely data entry into Salesforce database.


QUALIFICATIONS + EXPERIENCE

The VP of Advancement must have a strong base of technical and communication skills and be able to serve as the lead strategist for fundraising. Successful candidates will have at least 10 years progressive experience in nonprofit fundraising and exhibit a strong drive to reach goals, and resiliency when setbacks occur. Successful candidates will be intellectually curious, effective communicators, strong relationship builders, and able to offer creative ideas.

Specific qualifications include:

  • Demonstrated experience with planning, developing, implementing and maintaining a successful, comprehensive fundraising program and preparing an annual workplan and calendar to achieve goals, preferably within a social services or advocacy setting

  • Excellent interpersonal, organizational and verbal and written communication skills; a professional demeanor and a proven track record in establishing and nurturing long-term relationships with Board members, donors and community leaders

  • Experience with coordination and preparation of project budgets preferred

  • Demonstrated success in identifying and securing new foundation grants of five-figures and up

  • Demonstrated success with generating increased funds from individual donors and corporate sponsors at all giving levels through a coordinated, strategic approach

  • Hands-on experience with one or more donor databases/software, preferably Salesforce

  • Demonstrated success in learning the details of an organization’s substantive work and applying that knowledge in drafting successful fundraising communications

  • Demonstrated success in conducting initial outreach to prospective foundations/donors, arranging for organizational leadership to meet with prospective donors/foundations and successfully preparing for and debriefing from those meetings

  • Ability to think creatively about how to effectively engage new donor audiences

  • Knowledge of Boston corporate and community leaders and philanthropists

  • Successful administrative experience including donor/market analysis, and data and personnel management

  • Outstanding project management skills with an ability to develop ambitious goals and achieve them on time and within budget

  • Demonstrated commitment to racial, gender and social justice



ADDITIONAL ORGANIZATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Ability to travel primarily within Boston but occasionally outside of Boston

  • Adhere to agency policies and procedures for maintaining organizational culture and transparency

  • Participate in organizational events and perform additional tasks assigned by the President & CEO


SALARY + BENEFITS

This is a full-time, exempt position based in Massachusetts. The salary range for this position is $123,000-$134,000. Salary scales are set according to an explicit compensation policy, and relevant market data is analyzed when setting ranges for each role. To ensure internal parity, YW Boston will analyze the overall number of years of experience as well as relevant experience pertaining to the position of the candidate and in comparison with staff in the same job group to make the offer salary. Because salary ranges are small and the internal parity review is thorough, offers are firm.

YW Boston provides employees a comprehensive benefits package, including generous paid time off, medical and dental insurance, flexible spending accounts, flexible schedule options, life insurance, long-term and short-term disability insurance, accidental death, and a 403(b) retirement savings plan.


HOW TO APPLY

YW Boston is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer, and encourages applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, or veteran status, or to other non-work-related factors.

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. At this time, YW Boston is not able to offer employment VISA sponsorships. For applicants living outside of Massachusetts, YW Boston does not cover any relocation expenses. There be a few times during the year when the organization will require staff to be in person for events and travel expenses are expected to be covered by employees. YW Boston requires all employees to be fully vaccinated per YW Boston’s COVID-19 policy.

YW Boston strongly encourages candidates from diverse backgrounds and experiences. We recognize that people from structurally marginalized groups often only apply to jobs if they meet 100% of the qualifications, despite the reality that applicants rarely ever meet 100% of the qualifications. If this position aligns with your experience and interests, please apply!