Embark on a transformative journey with Jack.org, where you will play a pivotal role in reshaping youth mental health across Canada. Our mission is to empower young individuals with community, knowledge, and tools to champion mental well-being. We envision a world where youth experience mental well-being, not distress. We stand poised and empowered for this crucial task, fortified by dedicated donors, a robust financial reserve, visionary leadership, and a high-performing team eager to drive change.
Focused on addressing the prevalent issue of mental health distress among youth, particularly those systematically excluded from mental health dialogue and action, we adapt programming to cater to diverse youth demographics and communities across Canada. Our approach centers on upstream prevention of mental distress and the promotion of mental well-being.
Ready to play a vital role in supporting the team that shapes the future of youth mental health in Canada? Join us in ensuring our dedicated staff is well-supported, enabling them to deliver on our mission with excellence for the benefit of the youth we serve!
Position: Director of Philanthropy
Reporting to: VP, Development
About You:
- Strong relationship builder with a proven ability to foster connections with and develop a portfolio of valuable donor prospects across communities
- Creative and strategic approach to developing, managing and growing portfolios
- A leader with strong emotional intelligence who leads with empathy, self-awareness, and compassion
- Experienced in fundraising or sales in the corporate or not-for–profit sector with experience in Major Gifts fundraising and a proven track record of revenue generation
Your Impact:
Reporting to the VP, Development and a key member of the Senior Leadership Team, this role is responsible for contributing to the achievement of the Development team’s annual fundraising target while leading the Major Gifts and Events team revenue target of $3M annually.
The incumbent will lead the development and execution of the Major Gifts and Events team strategy to raise new individual gifts of $100,000 and more; cultivate existing donors; and contribute to the planning and implementation of organizational activities to maximize individual and family foundation giving. In particular, this role will focus on building the major donors’ portfolio at Jack.org.
Key Duties and Responsibilities:
Revenue Generation (40%)
- Lead a portfolio with a personal revenue target of $1.5M
- Build connections with and develop a portfolio of donor prospects across Canada that have the ability and affinity to give to youth mental health
- Lead the identification of new communities with major donor potential and develop and foster links within those communities.
- Support corporate and institutional foundation relationships through partnership prospecting.
- In collaboration with the VP, support relationship management of senior volunteers/Board members to inspire personal philanthropy, encourage to exercise their influence in their own networks and engage to support fundraising activities
- Lead the creation and management of a Campaign Fundraising Cabinet
Donor Cultivation and Stewardship (20%)
- Lead the development and implementation of a stewardship strategy
- Lead the Identification, growth and management of a portfolio of 25+ individual and family foundation major gift prospects.
- Liaise with senior leadership, executive or board members to effectively cultivate and steward relationships.
- Work closely with Jack.org’s Founder to transition relationships
- Evaluate reasonable partnership risk-taking opportunities and stimulate new ways of thinking and solving problems.
- Lead the design, development and implement strategies unique to each individual prospect or donor.
Oversee Planned Giving Portfolio (10%)
- Lead the development of the Planned Giving strategic plan
- Ensure lead generation campaigns are optimized and grows confirmed bequests
- Lead the development of a Planned Giving donors stewardship and recognition strategy
- In collaboration with the VP develop a strategy to ensure the Board and major donors have the opportunity to leave a legacy to Jack.org.
- Collaborate with Direct Response and Marketing teams on campaigns which generate leads
Planning and Administration (15%)
- Lead the annual budget and planning process for the Major Gifts and Major Events teams
- Maintain an up-to-date and deep knowledge of Jack.org programs, leadership and projects for discussion with donors and prospects.
- Represent the Development team internally in a variety of internal settings
People Management (15%)
- Develop an effective, motivated team to achieve common goals with clearly defined accountabilities, which are aligned with the overall strategy.
- Recruit, retain and develop an effective and motivated team to achieve common team goals.
- Conduct goal setting planning as well as quarterly and year-end performance reviews for direct reports as established by organization processes.
- Encourage, coach and foster opportunities for development and personal growth.
- Support employee engagement strategies as required
Desired skills, competencies
- A post-secondary degree or diploma with a focus in fundraising, marketing, sales, or other applicable disciplines
- 7+ years’ of relevant work experience in fundraising or sales in the corporate or not-for–profit sector with experience in Major Gifts fundraising and a proven track record of closing gifts at the $50K + level.
- Emotional intelligence, including the ability to read people and situations, as well as high levels of self-awareness and compassion
- Excellent natural relationship building/management skills both internally and externally
- Proven experience in leading and managing cultivation and stewardship events.
- Demonstrated experience in independent prospect pipeline development
- Strong experience in Planned Giving
- The ability to work independently in a hybrid environment while at the same time ensuring collaboration and teamwork.
- A creative approach to cultivation and stewardship.
- Entrepreneurial minded with the able to navigate complex situations
- Superior verbal and written communications skills, including public speaking.
- Experience with Salesforce or relational databases and donor database report tracking to ensure appropriate prospect/donor documentation.
- Excellent computer skills (Microsoft Office, G-Suite)
- CFRE designation an asset
- French speaking an asset
What’s in it for you?
- A full-time, permanent position starting at $110,000 - $125,000 per annum
- A competitive, comprehensive benefits package
- Working for an organization that supports personal and professional development and that will invest in your growth
- A flexible, trust-based culture: we offer uncapped sick days and flex hours
- A fun, exciting environment filled with an amazing group of driven, talented people
- In addition to vacation allowances, we offer a winter and summer office closure so that we can all recharge simultaneously
- A chance to contribute to the growth of an aspirational, well-funded organization and make a significant impact on the mental health and well-being of young people across Canada
How to apply:
If you’re the person we’re looking for, apply with your cover letter and resume (PDF format preferred). We will be accepting applications on an ongoing basis, but we will consider them as they come in, so don’t delay! We hope to have the successful candidate start by March 2025.
While the work involves supporting a network of youth in all provinces and territories, this position is at the Jack.org headquarters in downtown Toronto (hybrid work, across home and office).
At Jack.org, we strongly believe that having a diverse team with various skills and abilities will inspire creativity and drive innovation in our organization. We are committed to building a team representative of different backgrounds and perspectives, and we encourage applications from all candidates who represent the full diversity of communities across Canada.
Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that equity-deserving communities, including women, people of colour, people from the LGBTQ2S+ communities, and people with diverse abilities are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every qualification. At Jack.org, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, authentic, and accountable workplace, so if you’re excited about this role, but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply as you may be the ideal candidate we are looking for.
Reasonable accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the hiring process. Accommodation requests can be made by contacting accessibility@jack.org.
Thanks for applying! 💙
