Hope & Comfort is a high growth nonprofit distributor of essential hygiene products such as soap, shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant, laundry detergent and menstrual products. Our mission is to provide these products free of charge to support the health, dignity, and confidence of children and adults in need in MA. Hygiene insecurity, or not having access to essential hygiene products, is a hidden crisis and impacts physical and mental health, school attendance and employment. SNAP (formerly known as food stamps) does not cover hygiene products. With inflation at 50-year highs, the need for these products has exponentially increased among people who are struggling. In MA, an estimated 2.3+ million people are hygiene insecure.
We are the largest exclusively focused hygiene hub in the US and a founding member of the American Hygiene Coalition. In the last three years our distribution has tripled, and we are anticipating that we will distribute 5 million products in 2024. We are on track to meet our 2030 goal of distributing 20 million products.
General Description of Position
Reporting to the CEO, this position is new and will have a tremendous impact on the organization's growth. The focus of the role is to retain and grow our base of existing major individual donors as well as attract new major donors to support our mission. Major gifts are defined as $50,000 over 5 years. The Director of Philanthropy will oversee the overall individual giving strategy and implementation. As part of that, this person will oversee a portfolio of existing and prospective donors as well as support the CEO, Board Chair and Board members with their stewardship.
This position will be the first dedicated development professional in the organization. The candidate we select will have the opportunity to build and shape the role. The Director of Philanthropy will be the architect of major gifts strategy and will be expected to partner with the board of directors to leverage their connections and cultivate prospects. We are seeking candidates with experience and a verifiable track record in major gifts fundraising / development, processes, and procedures.
This role is for someone who is excited to partner with the CEO, take their development and leadership skills into a new arena to create a best-in-class major gifts program.
Primary Responsibilities include: • Strategy: Partner with CEO to create and execute a major giving strategy • Existing major donors:
o In partnership with CEO and Board, create individual goals for each major donor based on the history of giving and the level of knowledge of the donor's potential
o Develop a system to ensure proper stewardship and continued engagement
o Provide support to CEO and Board in the stewardship of major donors
o Create recognition opportunities
o In partnership with CEO and Board, secure renewed funding • New major donors: identify, qualify, solicit and close new donors to achieve annual budget goals
o Existing donors
§ Identify best targets within existing portfolio to move to major gift level
§ Cultivate relationships and activate strategies to move donors up to major giving level
o Prospects
§ Research, identify and qualify prospects
§ Work in partnership with marketing / communications leader to develop donor communication strategy
§ Create and implement of targeted campaigns in partnership with the marketing leader
§ Manage the opportunity pipeline with a disciplined process
§ Cultivate relationships with a long-term view • Lapsed donors: Develop and implement a strategy to engage lapsed individual donors to increase support to achieve 2030 distribution goals.
Tracking system: Work with a team to develop and maintain a system for tracking and engagement of major donors across the organization. Tracking of activity and outcomes to be done consistently for management and reporting purposes.
• Campaigns: Collaborate with team to successfully launch a growth campaign to fund the next three years of growth.
Qualifications for this role
Experience:
o At least 5 years' experience in professional fundraising
o Proven track record of major donor fundraising / development experience including closing 6 figure gifts (defined over 5-year period)
Education: college degree
Qualitative attributes
o A passion to make a difference in the lives of people
o Ability and desire to work independently and with a small, fast paced team
o Entrepreneurial mindset, creative problem-solving skills
o Attention to detail and strong project management skills
Skills
o Excellence in building and maintaining relationships
o Proficiency with CRM and donor management systems
o Excellent written and verbal communications skills
o Proficiency with applications for Microsoft Office (Excel, Word and PowerPoint), Google Suite (Docs, Sheets, Slides), and teleconferencing software, such as Zoom
o Proficiency with Internet and database/fundraising applications
Schedule flexibility: Ability and willingness to work a flexible schedule, including evenings, early morning and occasional weekends
TO APPLY: Contact CEO Kerry Carter at kcarter@hopeandcomfort.org