About the job

Title: Director of National Philanthropy
Date: February 15, 2021
Reports to: CEO
Salary Range: Grade F, Starting at $90,000, DOE
Location: Based out of any Conservation Legacy office in the Region or remote within service
area. Eastern Region: Harrisonburg, VA; Chattanooga, TN; Raleigh, NC. Western Region:
Flagstaff or Tucson, AZ; Durango, CO; Albuquerque, N.M.
Status: Full Time, Exempt
Benefit Eligible: Full Benefits per Personnel Policies

About Conservation Legacy

Conservation Legacy provides support for local conservation service programs under the
leadership of a national organization, delivering high quality programming in communities
across the country to produce enduring impact through local action. A team of dedicated staff
nationwide helps advance goals of increasing opportunities in conservation, stewardship,
national service and workforce development.

Program Summary

Conservation Legacy is a nationwide non-profit. The organization’s programs engage
participants on diverse conservation and community service projects. These projects provide
opportunities for personal and professional development and meet the high priority needs of
public land managers and community partners. Through the mission of fostering conservation
service in support of communities and ecosystems, Conservation Legacy works toward a legacy
of healthy lands, air and water; thriving people and resilient communities.

Position Summary

The Director of National Philanthropy is a new full-time position for Conservation Legacy. With
the re-brand of the organization there is incredible opportunity to elevate both the awareness for
the organization and strengthen community support. The position will lead efforts to design and
implement a comprehensive national fundraising program including diversifying revenue with a
focus on expanding awareness in the community, building partnerships with Corporate and
Foundation prospects, and expanding support amongst individual donors especially major gift
prospects.

The Director of National Philanthropy will serve on the leadership team and develop
Conservation Legacy’s private fundraising activities across the country, working nationally,
regionally and locally. This is an excellent opportunity for a person who has an entrepreneurial
spirit and a demonstrated track record of significantly growing a philanthropy program. The
successful candidate will be proactive and creative in the pursuit of new fundraising
opportunities and the cultivation of new and existing donor relationships. This is both a strategic
and tactical position, requiring the ability to set strategy and implement the work simultaneously.

Required Skills

Essential Responsibilities and Functions:

Thought

• Create and implement an annual strategic fundraising plan that is aligned with the

organization’s strategic plan and supports the vision of the organization.

• Develop annual list of prospects and generate expected revenue targets for annual

budgeting.

• Cultivate and steward existing funders in close partnership with staff members.
• Provide fundraising leadership to the Board of Directors, including attending Board

meetings, facilitating Board trainings, identifying prospects, and managing Board giving.

• Prioritize major gifts and lead the CEO and Board in major donor activities.
• Continue to foster a culture of philanthropy amongst staff and Board.
• Serve as an internal resource for staff regionally and locally for philanthropic efforts.
• Facilitate regional working groups for collaboration and sharing of best practices.
• Understand the elements of Conservation Legacy programs and ensure development

opportunities align with current strategic and program goals and needs.

• Conduct ongoing analysis of current opportunities at the national and regional level to

ensure the organization is well positioned with staffing and resources to take advantage of
opportunities.

Results

• Provide leadership for planning, creating, and executing all fundraising activities including an

annual campaign; foundation grants; corporate giving; peer to peer; major donor
identification, cultivation, solicitation, acknowledgement, and stewardship.

• Oversee all foundation strategy and implementation including developing foundation

prospects, foundation relations, and private grant writing. Work with grant writers to ensure
seamless submission and reporting is complete.

• Develop relationships with potential corporate funders.
• Serve as a thought leader on the Leadership Team and other internal teams as needed.
• Work closely with communications team to craft messaging and collect stories and data to

support donor communications.

Other Duties

• Successfully engages, leads and supports an inclusive work environment for those of

underrepresented populations within the organization and the communities we serve.

• Leads and/or participates in organizational-wide teams, projects and initiatives that

support the work of the strategic plan goals.

Who Are You?

• You are curious and driven. You are excited by the idea of developing and growing a new

position. You are self-motivated, take initiative, and are willing to pitch in and do what it
takes in pursuit of the team’s goals.

• You are detail oriented and a big picture thinker. You have keen attention to detail and a

desire to produce high quality work. You are able to manage data in the database while also
being able to operate at the 30,000 ft level developing fundraising strategy for the
organization.

• You are a people person. You are a skilled communicator who enjoys connecting with

others, building relationships, and following through.

• You have at least 10 years of experience in fundraising. You are an experienced

fundraising professional, with a proven ability to successfully create, manage, and lead a
strategic fundraising program with annual contributed revenue in excess of $2 million

• You are analytical. You ask good questions and enjoy finding the answers. You are skilled

at analyzing data and presenting it in a digestible format for the CEO, staff, board and
donors.

• You are passionate. Passionate about the issues of conservation, your role, and our

impact. That passion energizes you.

• You invest in people. You recognize you are part of a whole. You learn from others, teach

those around you, and truly care about the people you work with.

Physical Requirements

Periodic overnight travel and non-traditional work hours, inclusive of weekend and evening hours. To
successfully perform essential functions this position is required to sit, stand, walk, speak and hear. This
position may be required to climb, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl on an infrequent basis. They
must be able to operate office equipment, telephone, and computer. The ability to drive an organizational
vehicle is also required. Reasonable accommodations may be made for qualified individuals with

Minimum Qualifications

disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Bachelor’s Degree
• Strong written, verbal and public speaking skills.
• Demonstrated success in securing gifts and developing partnerships with individuals,

corporations, and foundations.

• Experience building new relationships in a large geographic area while maintaining

deadlines and attaining goals.

• Ability to manage and develop budgets.
• Experience conceptualizing and implementing campaigns.
• Ability to organize time effectively, establish priorities, and manage many tasks

simultaneously in a fast-paced environment.

• Must be able to pass all Conservation Legacy’s criminal history checks.
• Valid driver’s license and insurable driving record.
• Proficiency using Microsoft products and fundraising databases.
• Willingness to travel nationally to regional offices periodically to build relationships and

provide trainings

• Exhibits the ability to effectively work on diverse teams or with a variety of populations,

including those underrepresented at our organization and those of BIPOC communities.

• Minimum of 5 years of experience in development directing.
• Experience with influencing diverse groups of employees to achieve common goals.
• Flexibility, adaptability and capacity to work in a fluid, changing work environment.
• The ability to carry out assigned work independently or with minimal supervision.
• The ability to communicate effectively, manage complexity, cultivate innovation, drive

and influence results of oneself and others.

• Ability to keep others, in remote locations, accountable to expectations.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading philanthropic goals of medium to large organization.
• Master Degree

To Apply: Send Cover letter and resume to Jennifer Erickson (at) JErickson@conservationlegacy.org
Subject line in this email must include “Applicant”.

Cover Letter must include a response to the following question: Provide some examples of your
experience working effectively with diverse communities, including those specific to the BIPOC
community & other underrepresented populations, in personal or professional context.

Conservation Legacy is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to hiring a breadth of diverse
professionals and encourage members of diverse groups to apply. All qualified applicants will receive
consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, protected
veteran status, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, genetic
information, or any other characteristic protected by law.