Director, Individual Giving

POSITION SUMMARY 

The Director, Individual Giving & Special Events will join a 17-person Development and Marketing team, raising approximately $14 million annually from individual donors, foundations and institutions, corporations, special events and government to support our free programs in New York City parks. Reporting to the Chief Marketing and Development Officer, this position will oversee, maintain, and grow a portfolio of approximately $3.4M coming from memberships, individual donor solicitations (focusing on gifts of $10K or more), and multiple special events, and work closely with the Board of Directors and the Executive Director.

The Director will be responsible for individual donor and prospect cultivation, stewarding and securing major gifts, developing our individual giving team, oversight of our annual fundraising events (Golf Classic, Tennis Benefit at the U.S. Open, Gala at SummerStage), creating and managing additional cultivation events, and overseeing our SummerStage membership program and cultivation at SummerStage concerts. The Director will supervise a team of four development professionals. 

COMPENSATION $100,000 - $120,000 per year

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead and manage the Individual Giving and Special Events department with four direct reports
• Develop and manage an individual giving program for all donor levels, with a focus on growing major gifts of $10K or higher
• Manage all fundraising events, including annual Golf Benefit, Tennis Benefit at the U.S. Open, and Gala at SummerStage, working with relevant consultants and vendors and with fundraising committees.  
• Plan for new event revenue opportunities and any additional cultivation events as needed
• Oversee the SummerStage membership and Member for a Day program at SummerStage
• Build out an organization-wide young patrons and/or junior board program 
• Create strategies and support team in prospecting and cultivating relationships with new donors
• Implement new strategies to improve small donor retention and recurring donors
• Support Board and Program Committee fundraising, helping program directors and/or Executive Director with strategy development, solicitation support, meeting prep, and relationship cultivation
• Create and implement an annual fundraising plan and track all goals with regular reporting and evaluation of progress
• Propose and implement creative communication plans and appeal campaigns, and possess excellent writing and storytelling skills
• Support staff use of moves management and other stewardship tools effectively, and ensure that donor information is accurate and up to date
• Collaborate across other development and program teams and work closely with senior staff for cultivation and prospecting
• Collaborate with the Chief Marketing and Development Officer on all department deliverables
• Support the Executive Director as necessary

QUALIFICATIONS

• 7 years of successful fundraising experience in building and growing individual giving portfolios and in planning and implementing special events
• Excellent relationship-building skills, interest in stewarding individual donors to build meaningful and lasting connections and strong understanding of donor protocol and etiquette
• Experience supervising multiple team members with different donor portfolios
• Excellent storytelling, written and oral communication skills
• Experience working directly with senior leadership teams and other key stakeholders
• Knowledge of fundraising trends and best practices
• Strong CRM skills (Salesforce preferred) and experience with donor software
• Ability to work on nights and weekends as needed
• Active knowledge of NY philanthropic community is preferred
• Passion for our mission, providing free programs in arts, environmental education, sports and community volunteer work in NYC parks

ABOUT CITY PARKS FOUNDATION

At City Parks Foundation (CPF), we are dedicated to invigorating and transforming New York City parks into dynamic, vibrant centers of urban life through arts, environmental education, sports, and community building programs for all New Yorkers. Our ethos is simple: we believe thriving parks mean thriving communities.

Community engagement includes Partnerships for Parks, a public-private program of City Parks Foundation and NYC Parks, which supports and champions a growing network of community leaders who care and advocate for the transformation of our neighborhood parks and the Parks and Open Space Partners-NYC coalition of conservancies and alliances. We also administer the NYC Green Fund, a regranting program for parks and open space nonprofits and grassroots organizations.

We produce SummerStage, the iconic free, outdoor performing arts festival in NYC, presenting world-class artists from across the globe and our own neighborhoods on our mainstage in Central Park and in local parks in all five boroughs, and our Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre and roving PuppetMobile present marionette puppet theater throughout New York City.

We connect youngsters to nature in the urban environment through progressive, experiential teaching. Using parks as classrooms, we provide learning experiences and hands-on activities in urban forests, coastal areas, and gardens.

Free golf, tennis, track & field, soccer, and fitness programs bring high-quality instruction and equipment into areas where few organized athletic opportunities exist. We offer leveled training, year-round scholarship coaching, and special pro events.

Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States. City Parks Foundation does not offer visa sponsorship.