Posted on December 30, 2012

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Development Director

Position Summary: National CARES is seeking an experienced fundraising professional to mobilize resources in service of our mission – providing group mentoring, wellness and academic enrichment programs for Black children and teens in nearly 60 U.S. cities. The Development Director will be responsible for managing the design, planning, and execution of all fundraising and development activities. This will include, but is not limited to, donor cultivation, major gift fundraising, event planning, grant writing and financial reporting.

OVERVIEW

The National CARES Mentoring Movement is a community-engagement effort committed to closing the gap between the relatively few Black mentors and the many Black children in need of mentoring support. Getting straight to the heart of the dilemma facing our communities, National CARES is building consciousness-changing, group-mentoring initiatives, equal to the crisis our under-resourced children are facing. National CARES was founded in 2006 as Essence CARES by Essence magazine editor-in-chief emeritus, Susan L. Taylor. In a short time, National CARES has become the fastest growing and most highly regarded national organization in the Black mentoring arena. We are dedicated to the mass recruitment of African American mentors and the recovery and forward movement of our under-resourced children and community. For more information on the National CARES mission, vision and other initiatives, please visit: www.caresmentoring.org.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Visioning & Planning: Create a multi-year development plan guided by the organizational mission in collaboration with the staff and leadership of National CARES. Implement annual development plan and strategy, including a systematic plan to identify, solicit, steward, maintain and upgrade giving from multiple donor prospects.

Fundraising: Lead and manage National CARES’ overall development efforts to raise an annual budget of $1.5M.

Prospect Research: Conduct assessment of potential funding prospects, research opportunities, and provide briefings for Founder/CEO and Executive Director in advance of funder meetings and events.

Relationship Management: Cultivate and nurture relationships with private foundations, corporations, corporate foundations, and individual donors.

Financial Reporting: Maintain accurate accounting of all income and its sources and restrictions. Interface with National CARES team and accountants to fulfill information requests and maintain reporting accuracy.

Event Planning: Coordinate site visits, fundraising and friend-raising events.

Database & Records Oversight: Supervise staff in management of donor database and donor acknowledgement processes. Ensure security and quality of donor data.

Communications & Public Relations: Produce fundraising and communications materials that reflect the goals and mission of National CARES Mentoring Movement. These materials include grant proposals, funder reports, contributions to websites, newsletters and other organizational communications materials.

Staff Engagement: Build National CARES’ staff participation in and contribution to grant communications and donor engagement.

Participate in organizational planning processes and activities as appropriate.

QUALIFICATIONS

The ideal candidate is a strong and passionate leader committed to empowering underserved young people. This person is a seasoned manager, reflective thinker, and possess excellent relationship building skills. In addition, they must have:

• A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college and at least three years of progressively responsible fundraising experience, including demonstrated success in activities to coordinate, attract, and close major funding support for a non-profit organization, including face-to-face solicitation of gifts of $100,000 or more, with foundations and high-net worth individuals.
• A proven track record of achieving fundraising targets and/or a quota of over $1M annually.
• The ability to develop and manage budgets, and prepare financial reports.
• Experience fundraising for organizations serving youth of color.
• Exceptional organizational and time management skills.
• A self-starter who is proactive and takes initiative.
• Demonstrated ability to write clearly, quickly and persuasively about the organization, its programs and accomplishments; and strong verbal communication skills.
• Competency in MSWord, Excel, PowerPoint, donor database programs, online project-management tools, texting and social-media applications, such as Twitter and Facebook.
• Experience and comfort working in a start-up environment and coordinating with staff in-person and virtually—via phone, Skype and virtual-planning tools.

Application Instructions

Qualified applicants should submit a thoughtful cover letter, resume, and a writing sample to CARESHR@caresmentoring.org. No phone calls or staffing agency solicitations please. All inquiries should be submitted by email. The search is open until filled, but applications submitted by January 17th will receive highest priority. We will not follow-up with all applicants, but will contact candidates who will be invited to interview for the position. The National CARES Mentoring Movement is an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages candidates of all backgrounds to apply for this position