Chief Development Officer

Chief Development Officer The Trustees of Reservations January 24, 2024 Boston, MA Share About The Trustees of Reservations Founded in 1891 by a group of visionary volunteers, The Trustees of Reservations (The Trustees) is the nations premier conservation and preservation organization. The core mission of The Trustees is to protect special places across Massachusetts for future generations to enjoy in perpetuity. To date, The Trustees has helped protect more than 50,000 acres, including 27,000+ acres on more than 120 reservations that are currently open to the public. With exceptional ecological, historical, and scenic value, The Trustees portfolio of properties encompasses seashore, woodlands, farmlands, gardens, as well as art and historical museums. The Trustees team provides loving care of the reservations, builds creative new programs to engage people, and shares its expertise with neighbors and partners across the state. About Diversity, Belonging, Inclusion, and Equity at The Trustees Our commitment to Diversity, Belonging, Inclusion, and Equity (DBIE) is deeply embedded in The Trustees mission to protect and share Massachusetts iconic places - for the simple reason that nature and culture can soothe the soul and improve all our lives. Not for some. But for everyone. Forever. The Trustees overarching DBIE vision is to create inclusive spaces of belonging for staff, members, volunteers, and communities across the organization and 120 plus properties. Realizing this vision, bringing to life the essence of creating inclusive spaces where everyone feels welcome is a journey. A journey for us as an organization and for each of us as individuals. As we share our aspirations for what we can achieve on this journey, we also acknowledge this is a long-term commitment that requires continuous learning, growth, and improvement. For more information on The Trustees, please visit its . The Opportunity The Trustees seeks an exceptional leader for the role of Chief Development Officer (CDO). Reporting to the President & CEO (CEO), the role provides cutting-edge, strategic leadership on Trustees development activities with an emphasis on building enduring partnerships. Annual Fund Major Donors Corporate Foundation Public and Institutional Giving Legacy and Planned Gifts Governance Strategic Plan and Campaigns At this pivotal time, following a period of rapid growth fueled by a successful 5 year comprehensive $217 million campaign, the largest in its history, and with new leadership and an environment of positive change, The Trustees are elated about this opportunity to continue to build out the leadership team. As a key member of the executive team, the Chief Development Officer will continue to diversify and increase The Trustees broad base of support across all philanthropic areas. The successful Chief Development Officer must strategically lead and foster new levels of donor engagement while continuing to build an organization-wide culture of philanthropy. By way of background, In FY 2023 the Development Team at The Trustees raised $45,111,101 broken down as follows : Annual Fund : $5,287,875 Additional Operating : $1,878,870 Events : $1,345,025 Planned Gifts : $8,613,046 Capital Projects : $17,996,434 Restricted Gifts : $9,989,851 The Chief Development Officer manages an overall staff of approximately 22, with the following direct reports : Director Annual Fund Director Governance and Signature Events MD Institutional Development MD Philanthropy Arts and Culture Senior Director Individual Giving The Trustees seeks an innovative Chief Development Officer who will not only build strategic partnerships but has deep experience in major gifts fundraising and managing relationships with current and prospective high-net-worth individual donors. They will also have a sophisticated understanding of building a high-impact, sustainable multi-year campaign. Given the mission of The Trustees, we are highly attracted to individuals with a track record and passion in the conservation arena. The successful candidate will not only be a student of modern philanthropy but also be able to effectively leverage complementary development functions through strategic, forward-thinking integration. The Chief Development Officer will be a proven servant leader, manager, mentor, and collaborative colleague who is comfortable leading major initiatives and supporting the leadership of others. They will have a track record of effectively managing organizational change. In partnership with the President and CEO, CFO, Board Development Committee, and senior leadership team, the CDO will set annual and campaign fundraising goals for The Trustees. They will construct development strategies and execute plans aligned with The Trustees overall Strategic Plan, with a focus on sustaining annual giving revenue levels and markedly increasing individual major gifts. Collaborating with the CEO, and senior leadership team, as well as program leaders they will identify and refine giving priorities and translate those priorities into compelling opportunities for philanthropy and persuasive proposals. The successful candidate will have experience personally managing a portfolio of current and prospective individual donors at the highest levels of giving capacity, moving them through the stages of cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship. They will provide strategic guidance and mentorship to development staff, as appropriate, in managing their portfolios of current and prospective donors, especially high-net-worth individual donors, and corresponding initiatives for identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship. This includes reviewing gift proposals and working with staff to identify the best manner of engaging new prospective donors. The CDO will provide weekly development updates to the CEO, present quarterly results to board governance and work closely with the Chief Financial Officer to plan cash flow and restricted endowments. Additionally, the CDO will ensure alignment of giving prospects with volunteer leadership opportunities, committees, activities, and / or events that are appropriate to their current or potential interest. Candidate Profile Strategic Fundraising Leadership As we embark on a comprehensive Strategic Plan with the focus of launching a new campaign, The Trustees seeks an exceptional fundraising leader who is deeply analytical with a strategic orientation and a knack for building strong relationships. The successful CDO will manage the Development Team to create and promote effective cultivation and solicitation opportunities that involve the CEO, members of the senior leadership team, Board, or other governance leaders, as well as other senior constituents. With a core emphasis on building meaningful partnerships, the CDO will manage connections between prospective and current donors and governance leaders, including prioritizing the latters role and involvement in development activities. These will include implementing key communications, preparing reports, briefings, and other materials in support of this engagement. Serving as the catalyst in strengthening a culture of philanthropy intended to permeate all areas of the organization, the successful CDO will achieve objectives by the following : Providing a rigorous commitment to new major donor prospect identification. Ensuring high-quality, individualized, and meaningful stewardship of donors, coordinating with colleagues throughout The Trustees and / or personally stewarding donors as needed. Managing the design and implementation of fundraising plans for a future comprehensive capital campaign, (including a feasibility study), other special campaigns, which may include strategic initiatives and capital projects. Creating an overall strategic plan for events and other activities in support of constituency engagement. Maximize events and the visitor experience so they are highly valued by major constituents, produce desired outcomes, and appropriately relate to major gift strategies. Developing and maintaining an understanding of The Trustees programmatic campaigns and priorities to effectively promote the organization. Maximizing content delivery from program sources to the Development team, ensuring consistent, compelling, and coordinated messaging in all fundraising and direct marketing channels. Working closely with the Finance Department to ensure the highest levels of customer service and compliance when it comes to gift processing and acknowledgement. Ensuring accurate allocation in line with donor intent and maintain oversight of multi-year gifts and endowment reporting. Regularly report on fundraising targets and forecasts. Collaborating with Marketing and Communications colleagues to contribute to an integrated and effective external engagement strategy, ensuring alignment across all messaging platforms to support the involvement between The Trustees and its evolving donor base. Team Development and Management The successful CDO will be an exceptional manager, mentor, and coach. They will oversee the hiring, training, managing, mentoring, professional development, and evaluation of a talented development staff. It will be anticipated that they will do the following : Set appropriate annual production goals and monitor progress on a regular basis with the goal of maximizing staff performance regarding prospect identification, st]]>