ABOUT FORTERRA

Forterra’s mission is to secure places—urban, rural, and wild—that are keystones of a sustainable future for all. From wildlands and working farms and forests, to places in the city for affordable housing, parks and the arts, we work simultaneously across all landscapes because they are interconnected. And ultimately people and lands must all thrive together.  To achieve this mission, Forterra works with regional partners and stakeholders to engage in community visioning, planning, policy work, economic development, recreation initiatives, and conservation—all with the aim of making land conservation work for our communities. Forterra also draws on its real estate expertise to help urban communities accommodate new growth while maintaining a high quality of life for all residents.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Philanthropy Director of Individual Giving serves in leading all individual and major giving strategies to advance the mission of Forterra. Promotes the integration of a formal major gifts program to secure over $2M in annual philanthropic revenue from individual donors and prospects, working collaboratively with staff across the organization using a robust prospect management system. Main responsibilities include the oversight of the moves management process for the department while carrying a personal portfolio of 100+ prospects to solicit gifts at the $25,000 level and above. Ensures that frontline fundraising staff and organizational leadership are leveraged effectively from cultivation to stewardship. Works closely with the VP of Philanthropy to ensure that all solicitations and donor engagements are donor-centered and aligned with Forterra’s strategic priorities. Supervises one or more team members and provides guidance and support for all major gift strategies and opportunities across the organization. As a senior staff member of the Philanthropy team, this role will be committed to the DEI work ahead for the organization and the Philanthropy team.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Job responsibilities are stated in broad terms and are not intended to be a comprehensive listing.

Major Gift Fundraising (80%)

• Supports the VP of Philanthropy in driving the strategic direction of Forterra’s fundraising priorities with a focus on individual major donors.
• Manages top individual donor prospects, working with the CEO and staff across the organization to identify the strongest opportunities for funding aligned with Forterra’s organizational priorities.

• Accountable for developing and driving individual giving strategies for the team rooted in fundraising best practices and robust moves management systems.
• Responsible for achieving budgeted fundraising goals as directed by the VP of Philanthropy and working collaboratively to forecast philanthropic revenue streams.

• Responsible for efficiently and strategically managing donor efforts with the CEO, the board and the Executive Leadership Team in building a strong pipeline of prospective major donor and investor prospects.
• Responsible for creating and planning opportunities for the CEO to solicit major philanthropic gifts from donors, investors, guarantors, and new prospects towards fundraising priorities.

• Works collaboratively with the Philanthropy Director of Institutional Giving in supporting foundation and corporate relationships.
• Maintains a “Top 25” pool of prospective major gift prospects for multiple fundraisers who directly solicit donors.
• Manages a portfolio of 100+ prospects and completes a minimum of 8-10 meetings (virtual and other) per month; engaging 80% of the portfolio every 6 months.
• Secures gifts from prospects at the $25K+ level for outright gifts.
• Oversees strategies to build an individual giving pipeline for the investor and guarantor programs.
• Develops and presents 12 to 15 major gift proposals each quarter with a target of securing new and increased commitments, in partnership with the CEO and staff across the organization.
• Supports the recruitment and training of organizational leadership and board members to assist with major gift fundraising activities and serves as a strong partner.

Administration and Analytics (15%)

• Accountable for the accurate and timely entry of all prospect cultivation, stewardship, and solicitation activity into Raiser’s Edge/NXT, including proposals and donor reports.
• With direction and support from the VP of Philanthropy:
  • Leads all internal prospect management strategy and discovery meetings.
  • Accountable for the individual giving team’s work towards meeting agreed upon metrics and measures of success.
  • Provides counsel to the marketing department for all relevant approved fundraising materials.
• Participates in building Forterra’s case for support and trains staff on positioning and use of cultivation and fundraising tools.
• Accountable for the accurate and timely preparation of all written proposals, communication, informational materials, presentations, and other fundraising documents using a donor-centered lens.

Service and Collaboration (5%)

• Provides counsel, coaching and collaboration to staff across the organization as it relates to philanthropic giving opportunity, working closely with the Director of Institutional Giving and the VP of Philanthropy.
• Strengthens the philanthropic culture throughout the organization in all interactions within the organization and with supporters at all levels.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

This role supervises one or more staff members within the individual giving function of the team. Management responsibilities include the following:

• Coaches and trains staff within the supervisory culture and policies of the organization.
• Provides leadership and strategy counsel to all supervisees, working collaboratively across the team to ensure that comprehensive team goals are met, and individual team members are successful.

EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field; or equivalent education/experience.
• At least 5 years of successful experience in nonprofit fundraising, with an emphasis on cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major donor prospects.
• Minimum of 3 years of fundraising experience securing major gifts of $25k or more.
• Minimum of 3 years of experience managing staff.
• Experience working directly with a board, institutional leaders and the philanthropic community to fundraise for a nonprofit organization.

Preferred

• Experience as a frontline fundraiser or in a philanthropic capacity/role for conservation, environmental, or other relevant nonprofit subsector.
• Certified Fundraising Executive or other fundraising certification.
• Experience building key metrics and analytics that will support individual giving priorities.
• Experience with fundraising software such as Raiser’s Edge/NXT.
• Experience with prospect research.
• Experience with building strong connections/relationships with knowledge of this region’s philanthropic community.

COMPETENCIES

Required

• Ability to represent and support Forterra’s mission, vision and values through the priorities of their role.
• Ability to be a strong lead on the team in supporting a positive team culture and the organization’s DEI priorities.
• Demonstrates awareness and willingness to consider historically uninvited or underserved populations, as it relates to their work.
• Demonstrates exceptional communication and collaboration skills across an organization to ensure that all donor relationships are managed with care and a donor-centered focus.
• Proven success in personal solicitations of major gifts (at least $50K) including cultivation, case presentation and gift closure.
• Self-motivated; able to multi-task with excellent attention to detail and deadlines; able to work independently and with teams of all sizes.
• Ability to develop and cultivate positive working relationships with a wide variety of stakeholders including board members, elected officials, foundations, business leaders, community advocates, landowners, volunteers, and internal staff/leadership.
• Takes responsibility and initiative to set and meet goals, objectives and obligations of their position.
• Knowledge of tax laws that impact charitable giving, personal assets and estates.
• Ability to make decisions in ambiguous situations, exercise good judgment in a fast-paced, dynamic, deadline-driven environment.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Microsoft Word, Excel, Teams, Skype, Outlook and PowerPoint). Willingness and ability to learn how to effectively use and leverage the Raiser’s Edge/NXT customer relationship management system.
• Ability to successfully manage teams and individuals, providing a balance of coaching, support and accountability.

Salary Target: $80,000 to $95,000

BENEFITS

Forterra’s benefits include ten paid holidays per year and paid time off (PTO) leave. You will be eligible to enroll in the employer-sponsored medical, vision dental, and flexible spending account (FSA) plans. You will also be able to enroll in Forterra’s 401(k) program.

BACKGROUND CHECK

Because this position involves access to confidential/sensitive information and physical assets, a criminal history background check will be conducted on the final candidate prior to beginning employment.

TRAVEL, WORKING CONDITIONS, AND PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

Forterra is currently requiring all employees to work from home due to COVID-19 precautions. This position will be based in the home office and field for the foreseeable future. This position is subject to indoor environmental conditions typical to a professional office setting. Forterra will provide reasonable accommodation for people who are differently abled. The essential physical requirements of this position include:

• Ability to exert up to 20 pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects.
• Ability to sit, stand or otherwise remain in a stationary position at a computer workstation for the majority of the work day.
• Ability to occasionally move about inside the office to access file cabinets, office equipment, etc.
• Ability to constantly operate a computer and other office equipment such as calculators, copy machines and printers.
• Ability to communicate accurately and persuasively with co-workers, clients and members of the public about Forterra’s work.
• Ability to lead and participate in outdoor project/site tours. This may require navigating uneven terrain in inclement weather.
• Frequent travel in the Greater Puget Sound and Central Cascade regions, mostly in the form of day trips from Seattle.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer that values diversity of all kinds. We encourage applicants from all backgrounds to apply for this opportunity.  It is our policy to ensure that qualified individuals are considered for employment and treated equally without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, veteran status, or any other class protected by law. Assistance and/or reasonable accommodations during the application process are available to individuals with disabilities upon request. To request assistance or accommodation, please contact Human Resources at jobs@forterra.org.

Apply here: https://forterra.org/about#careers