Posted on July 12, 2012

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President and CEO

The Organization

The Community Foundation of Collier County (CFCC) was incorporated in 1985 by local visionaries who believed that a community foundation in Naples, like foundations in other cities across the country, could help charitable-minded people create legacies for the immediate and future needs of the area.

William Oberhelman, a retired businessman from Cincinnati, Ohio, and Donald T. Franke, a well-known Naples attorney, combined resources and formed a Board of like-minded citizens and raised $300,000 to fund the fledgling organization’s permanent charitable endowment. Bill Oberhelman was named executive director and Don Franke continued as chairman of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees. Their dedicated efforts in the early years of the Foundation ensured a perpetual source of income to meet the ever-changing needs of Collier County.

The Foundation’s first grants, awarded in 1986, included seed money for a new agency – The Shelter for Abused Women, and support for construction of the band shell in Cambier Park. By 1987, assets increased to $975,000 and 21 nonprofits were awarded grants, among them funds for a recycling project at the Conservancy.

After 25 years, with generous community support, the Foundation’s assets have grown to over $65 million dollars. The Foundation currently manages almost 500 funds established by charitable individuals and organizations and makes grants from the investment earnings on these funds to address the community’s needs and issues. Last year the Foundation awarded more than $5.5 million in grants.

The Position

The President and CEO is responsible for implementing the policies and directives of the Board of Trustees and the overall administration and management of the Community Foundation, which includes grantmaking and community leadership, asset development and marketing, donor services, investments and business operations. This is a full-time, exempt position, hired by and directly accountable to the Board of Trustees through its elected board chairman.

The President and CEO oversees a current staff of 10 FTE and leads with the help of a management team of three Vice Presidents: Community Investment, Philanthropic Services and Administration and Finance.

The President and CEO is specifically responsible for the following priorities established by the Board:

• Implementing the goals and objectives of a newly adopted strategic plan and developing annual work plans to achieve those goals;
• Helping to grow the assets of the Foundation through a new and aggressive asset development plan;
• Working with the board to define a community leadership agenda that benefits the community within the resource limitations of the Foundation;
• Working with a dedicated and committed staff to further build a team-oriented approach to growing the Foundation;
• Overseeing the development of an annual operating budget and three-year budget forecast.

The Challenges

The Community Foundation of Collier County is a highly regarded and well-respected organization. Through its grantmaking and community leadership programs, it has evolved into a true leader in the community. However, the needs in Collier County continue to increase and additional permanent philanthropic resources are needed to meet these on-going and ever-changing needs. The new President and CEO will work closely with the Board of Trustees to grow the assets of the Foundation while maintaining strong internal fiscal stewardship and discipline which has long been a hallmark of the Foundation. The new President and CEO must develop new relationships and nurture existing relationships, as well as motivate the board and staff to continue to achieve the highest level of service to new and existing donors.

To move the Foundation forward, the new President and CEO will need to be an effective and articulate spokesperson in promoting both philanthropy and the Foundation. A key challenge will be to continue to form, as well as build on, existing partnerships with other community organizations to strengthen Collier County while growing the Foundation.

The Ideal Candidate

This is a highly visible position that will require a multitude of personal attributes and professional skills in order to be successful. CFCC seeks someone with excellent interpersonal, communication and management skills. The candidate must be a committed leader, ideally with knowledge of community foundations, someone who can motivate and work collaboratively with staff, manage change and also work collaboratively with a high-powered and dedicated Board of Trustees. Candidates should have experience working with appointed boards and community leaders, as well as the ability to bring consensus on complex and, at times, controversial issues to a wide variety of stakeholders. Intelligence, integrity and a good sense of humor will be excellent assets to bring to this work. This is a position of trust where personal integrity and ethics must be beyond reproach.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree
• Minimum 5 years of senior management experience supervising a minimum of five employees
• Preference will be given to candidates from the nonprofit sector, ideally with experience at a community foundation
• Demonstrated track record in asset development
• Strong leadership and team-building skills
• Excellent oral, written and interpersonal skills
• Strong fiscal, financial and investment skills, including fiduciary oversight experience
• A passion for philanthropy and community

The Community

Collier County, located in southwest Florida on the Gulf Coast, is home to 321,000 people year-round and more than 400,000 in the winter season. Naples is the county’s largest city and one of the nation’s premier upscale retirement destinations. Collier County boasts of beautiful beaches, excellent restaurants, shopping, world-class golf courses, multiple universities, a professional symphony, opera and theater, a fine art museum, a new children’s museum, a renowned botanical garden, an accredited zoo, fine and unusually well-equipped public schools and a variety of outdoor activities.

Along with a strong sense of community and a vibrant cultural environment is an unusually active philanthropic community. There are more than 400 charitable organizations and family foundations, according to reliable estimates. Collier County demographics skew toward a wealthy, older and well-educated population, but the needs are great with a wide gap between the rich and the poor, a large migrant community and a diverse immigrant population. Three of every five public school students are minorities, and 62% of students qualify for free or reduced lunches.

Application Instructions

To Apply

Interested applicants should submit a cover letter and a resume, in confidence, through our consulting firm:

Sutherland~Edwards, LLC
Consultants to Philanthropy
Website address for applying is: http://cfccsearch.jobscore.com

ALL APPLICATIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY VIA THIS LINK

Resumes will be accepted until a successful candidate is selected.
Ideal start date is November 1, 2012.
Interviews will begin in late summer.

Questions about the position should be directed to:
Sutherland~Edwards, LLC Consultants to Philanthropy
Email: cfccsearch@consultants2.net
Christina Sutherland, Principal, 510-652-7794

or

Dave Edwards, Principal, 802-592-3300