Director of Development

About the Organization

Lions Tigers & Bears is dedicated to providing a safe haven for unwanted and abused exotic animals and to educating the public about the abuses of the exotic animal trade. Lions Tigers & Bears (LTB) offers a wide range of programs and services including captive exotic and wildlife rescue, providing lifetime homes to rescued animals, educating the public about the abuses of captive exotic animals being used for entertainment/amusement, for canned hunts, and for the sale of body parts, and advocating for the regulation of private ownership of exotics. We are a sanctuary that allows the animals in our care to live out their lives with dignity in a caring and safe environment.

Our team is passionate, hardworking and believes in rolling up our sleeves for a mission that matters. If you’re a driven, experienced, and talented fundraiser, ready to make a lasting difference and have fun while doing it, we’d love to meet you.

Position Summary

The Director of Development (DOD) is responsible for leading and executing the fundraising activities of the organization, including establishing expectations, goals and developing new opportunities for growth. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in nonprofit fundraising, excellent communication skills, and a proven track record of successfully securing grants, soliciting, and building long standing relationships with donors, corporations, and foundation partners.

We see a dynamic, results-driving DOD who thrives on making the ask and will work closely with LTB leadership to implement strategic projects and initiatives in addition to providing oversight and support of development, outreach, membership, customer service, and marketing- communications.

Hours: Full-time, year-round. Occasional evening and weekend work.

Benefits: Health (55%), Dental (50%), Vision, Life Insurance, 403b Matching (after 1 year, up to 3%)

Title: Director of Development.

Reports to: Director/Founder.

Reviews: Performance reviews at 30, 60, 90 days and quarterly thereafter. Monthly reporting required.

Salary Range: $95,000 - $110,000

Strategic Fundraising Planning:

• Develop a comprehensive fundraising plan with clear strategies and actionable and measurable goals to identify, cultivate, and solicit donors.
• Manage the development department’s annual budget, creating effective strategies for maximizing donations, and timely communication with the Director/Founder, apprising her of the status of fundraising activities.
• Create new and innovative plans and evaluate each fundraising activity to ensure a strong return on investment in staff time and cost of production.
• Formulate and strive to meet significant fundraising targets, such as securing high-dollar contributions and attracting 5-6 figure gifts annually.
• Oversee key fundraising initiatives and special campaigns to maximize donor engagement and revenue, and manage all stages of the donor lifecycle for all types of donors and giving levels.

Community Engagement and Marketing:

• Work with communications and marketing staff to enhance fundraising efforts, including help writing marketing and fundraising collateral material.
• Serve as a representative of LTB by attending business, community, and philanthropy events to communicate our impact and future goals.
• Work with staff and volunteers, plan and execute all aspects of fundraising events such as Wild in the Country, Christmas with the Animals, Spooky Camp Over, donor recognition events and receptions, and assist with events booked by outside groups such as weddings and corporate meetings as needed.
• Work closely with and provide appropriate direction and support to staff and volunteers responsible to help with event sponsorship and raffle/auction item acquisition.
• Meet with event vendors as needed to ensure quality materials and successful events.

Grant Research and Application:

• Ensure timely submission of grants and reports and any other grant requirements.
• Manage the organization’s grants program, researching and following-up potential funding opportunities, draft grant proposals and take responsibility for reporting on the use of grant funds and managing the grant tracker workbook.
• Nurture relationships with grant managers.

Donor Relationship Management:

• Build and maintain a robust donor pipeline by conducting research with clear prospect identification and tracking. Coordinate donor-based research activities.
• Maintain positive relationships with existing donors and stakeholders.
• Communicate effectively and eloquently and be up to date on all LTB activities in order to engage donors and potential donors in meaningful conversation.
• Implement a donor recognition program to sustain and acknowledge donors and upgrade funding from current partners.
• Work closely with the gift processing coordinator to ensure the LTB’s donor database is kept up to date, contact notes are consistently maintained, that donors receive timely acknowledgements, and gifts are properly coded to ensure accurate reporting.

Administrative Responsibilities:

• Help ensure all donor accounts in our CRM are updated and maintained with accurate contact information, activities are tracked, and accounts coded correctly for marketing list management.
• Provide backup administrative support as needed, such as answer telephones, screen and route visitors and callers, maintain administrative files, coordinate mailings and data requests, order office supplies, etc.
• Handle information of a highly confidential and sensitive nature appropriately.
• Become competent using LTB’s development software programs and analysis tools in order to manage budget, manage donor information and gifts, and maximize fundraising income.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• Work with staff, develop written policies and procedures (SOPs) for each area that reports to the Director. Update policies and procedures as needed.
• Attend all special events as the key staff member overseeing the event.
• Ensure that LTB’s website is accurate with up-to-date information.
• Coordinate with any outside contractors for social media, fundraising/grant writing, website maintenance, and others as assigned.

Volunteer Services:

• Work closely with the Volunteer Coordinator and LTB staff and volunteers to ensure that volunteers are being recruited as needed for all events, properly trained and managed for fundraising events, and are recognized and appreciated for their important contributions.
• Work with Volunteer Coordinator, create and update volunteer job descriptions for each fundraising event.

Key Interfaces:

• Director/Founder, board of directors, various fundraising committees.
• Executives and decision makers of key partnerships and sponsors.
• Donors, business owners, corporate executives, community leaders.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree, or a combination of relevant education and experience
• 3-5 years of nonprofit fundraising experience. Preference will be given to candidates whose experience is generalized and has had a variety of professional development work.
• 3+ years of supervisory experience preferred.
• Valid CA Driver's License and Insurance with a clean driving record required. Reliable transportation for meetings and events offsite.

Skills and Abilities:

• Friendly, hard-working team player.
• Strong knowledge of philanthropy and fundraising strategies, procedures, and best practices.
• Strong computer literacy. Must be proficient in MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and commonly used CRM fundraising software, such as Donor Perfect.
• Sound judgement in maintaining the strictest confidentiality of proprietary, financial donor information.
• Confidently conduct face-to-face and phone asks, partnering with the CEO and board members to maximize fundraising opportunities.
• Ability to develop long-term donor relationships, ask for donation requests, and overcome objections.
• Superior writing skills. It’s imperative the candidate be an exceptional writer and be able to easily and quickly craft stories, and write compelling collateral based on proven tactics for writing copy that motivates donors and supporters to action.
• Superior speaking skills. The candidate must be an excellent communicator and be able to hold comfortable conversations with strangers, ask for money in face-to-face settings, and speak with ease to large audiences.
• Strong interpersonal skills to effectively work and develop relationships with a variety of people (including donors) with all types of personalities and all types of backgrounds.
• Goal-oriented, organized, detail-oriented approach to work. Persistent and persuasive.
• Ability to plan, prioritize, and manage own work; ability to work unsupervised and make decisions and solve problems independently, effectively, and creatively.

Work Environment:

Lions Tigers & Bears is an outdoor animal sanctuary in Alpine. The person in this role is expected to walk throughout the property to interact with staff and work events. The person in this role will be exposed to diverse weather conditions and rugged terrain. Administratively, the position routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, and filing cabinets.

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to communicate. The employee frequently is required to lift, squat, stand; walk; use hands to finger, handle or feel; and reach with hands and arms. This position requires the ability to occasionally lift up to 40 pounds.

Employer will provide reasonable accommodations as required by law.

EEO Statement:

Lions Tigers & Bears provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to age, disability, genetics, national origin, pregnancy, race, color, religion, sex or sexual orientation. In addition to federal law requirements, Lions Tigers & Bears complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

Disclaimer:

This job description is only a summary of the typical functions of the job, not an exhaustive or comprehensive list of all possible job responsibilities, tasks, and duties. The responsibilities, tasks, and duties of the person filling this role might differ from those outlined in the job description and that other duties, as assigned, might be part of the job.

Please send cover letters and resumes to admin@lionstigersandbears.org