National Director of Individual Philanthropy

National Director of Individual Philanthropy

The National Director of Individual Philanthropy reports to the Chief Development Officer (CDO) at Lambda Legal and is accountable for ensuring that the organization establishes and maintains strong relationships with individual major donors and institutional funders around the country with the aim of generating the revenue and momentum necessary to advance our vital mission.

To fulfill on this aim, the NDIP leads the managerial function of individual and community philanthropy – this includes but is not limited to: facilitating the annual goal-setting process, developing the team-wide strategies, leading the creation of team-wide standard operating procedures, overseeing approximately 15 team members (6 direct reports), supporting Lambda Legal’s $180 million comprehensive campaign, and evaluating team results to position Lambda Legal as a best-in-class fundraising and stewardship operation and to meet its annual revenue goals.

The ideal candidate will be an experienced nonprofit fundraising professional with a track record of building and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships with donors and has solid experience or familiarity with planned giving to support the work of Lambda Legal’s Legacy (Planned) Giving team. Since events – from small-scale house parties to ticketed, highly produced events – are the primary means by which Lambda Legal engages a majority of its individual donor base around the country, the successful candidate will have solid events fundraising experience.

Furthermore, the NDIP oversees Lambda Legal’s five Regional Directors, who manage their respective regional teams of Major Gifts Officers, Senior Major Gifts Officers, and Office Managers/Regional Program Coordinators. While the primary focus of the NDIP is on the fundraising activities outlined above for individual major gifts work, the NDIP has a tremendous opportunity to support the Regional Directors in co-designing and executing localized fundraising strategies that also engage regional foundations, corporations, and law firms; and in collaboration with the Operations team, supporting their oversight of regional office operations.

This is an exciting opportunity for a fundraising leader who aspires to take on an expansive leadership role that spans across multiple organizational functions and is prepared to excel in a fast-paced environment at a high-stakes moment in the LGBTQ+ movement.

What you'll do:

This role requires people leadership, proactive thinking, strong judgment, and the ability to maintain a strategic perspective while remaining attentive to the day-to-day operations. The following is a list of the core responsibilities in five focus areas: National Leadership, Major Gifts, Legacy/Planned Gifts, Events Fundraising, and Regional Leadership.

National Leadership

• Become knowledgeable and able to speak passionately and compellingly about the impact of Lambda Legal’s work and to partner with members of the Legal and Communications teams to stay current on all successes, impact data, and progress of our impact litigation and public policy work.
• Ensure that Lambda Legal is continually deepening relationships with new and existing donors to ensure a rewarding donor experience and increased giving annually.
• Lead the integration and execution of fundraising activities (for cash and planned gifts) by front-line staff solicitors for a multi-year $180 million comprehensive campaign.
• Provide briefing materials in advance of meetings for the Chief Development Officer (CDO) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), as needed.
• Lead strategy in partnership with CDO for engaging the Board, National Leadership Council, Emeritus Board, volunteers, and other key stakeholders to create fruitful partnerships in fundraising efforts.
• Support and partner with the CDO, board members on all fundraising initiatives.
• Collaborate closely with the CDO and the National Director of Development & Marketing (responsible for the Special Events, Direct Marketing, Membership Services, Donor Database Management, and Corporate/Law Firm Giving teams) to ensure smooth operations and compliance with department-wide standards and procedures.
• Present high-level briefings on the NDIP’s purview to leadership groups, including but not limited to the Lambda Legal Board of Directors, National Leadership Council, Executive Team, and Development Team Leaders
• Partner with the CDO and the People & Culture team to hire, manage, retain, evaluate, and engage a team of approximately 15 professionals.
• Serve as a member of Lambda Legal’s Senior Management Team
• Other duties as assigned

Major Gifts

• Manage and grow the major gifts program by leading the team of Regional Directors (and their direct reports) to meet or exceed the $5M+ major giving annual goal, aggressively increasing revenue targets each year.
• Actively work with the CDO and senior staff to develop and implement a comprehensive major gifts strategy.
• Manage a portfolio of approximately 10-20 donors and prospects; work both independently, as well as collaboratively, with other team members towards the annual goal of $5M+.
• Identify, evaluate and cultivate individuals capable of contributing to the different tiers of Lambda Legal’s major gifts program with special emphasis on $5,000 through 7-figure gifts.
• Prepare meaningful and effective customized collateral and messaging for individual major donors and prospects in partnership with the Communications and Marketing teams.
• Lead the implementation of an improved moves management system to track and advance current major donors and prospects in the development database, Raiser's Edge.
• ​​​​Track and report on team KPIs for real time insight on successes and to guide major gifts strategies.

Legacy (Planned) Gifts

• Collaborate with the Senior Director of Legacy Giving in creating strategic efforts for legacy giving pipeline movement, gift proposals, policy development and goal setting.

Events Fundraising

• Collaborate with the Special Events team (which is primarily responsible for event logistics, marketing, and corporate/law firm giving) to attract prospective individual donors and engage them with Lambda Legal.
• Integrate events fundraising strategy with major gifts, legacy giving, and comprehensive campaign strategies, ensuring these revenue-generating areas coordinate and maximize each other’s assets and opportunities to yield the greatest return for Lambda Legal each year and over the long-term.
• Ensure that the Regional Directors, Senior Major Gifts Officers, and Major Gifts Officers meet event revenue goals.
• Coordinate closely with the National Director of Development & Marketing on creating and implementing an annual goal-setting process for annual fundraising events.

Regional Leadership

• In collaboration with the Operations team, oversee the five Regional Directors in their management and operations of their respective regional offices.

Who you are:

• 10+ years of demonstrated success in a major gift or planned gift fundraising function, with at least 5-7 years of people management experience.
• ​​​Experience working as a manager with unionized employees is highly desired.
• ​​​​​Proven experience having expanded and cultivated existing donor relationships over time; comprehensive campaign experience is a plus.
• ​​​​Excellent communication skills, both written and oral; ability to influence and engage a wide range of donors and build long-term authentic relationships.
• ​​​​​Flexible, adaptive, and innovative management style; a high degree of emotional intelligence; a leader who can positively impact both strategic and tactical fundraising initiatives.
• ​Ability to work both independently without close oversight, but also a team player who will productively engage with others at varying levels of seniority within and outside the organization.
• Exceptional time-management and workload prioritization skills to balance the often-competing core functions of the role.
• Strong acumen with departmental budget design and expense management.
• ​​​​​High energy and passion for Lambda Legal’s mission.
• Ability to construct, articulate, and implement annual strategic major gifts plan and major donors moves management system.
• ​​​​​​​Strong organizational skills, critical thinking and problem-solving skills, with exceptional attention to detail.​​Highly proficient with Microsoft Office applications and Raiser’s Edge database.
• ​​​​Ability to interact with all levels of the organization and to excel in an environment that emphasizes teamwork and collaboration.
• ​​​​​​​Passion for understanding and supporting the individual philanthropy and community relations functions of the Regional Leadership team
• ​​​​​​​Bachelor's degree required, advance degree preferred.