Director of Philanthropic Giving
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Job Location:
Austin, TX - USA
Monthly Salary:
Not Disclosed
Posted on:
4 days ago
Vacancies:
1 Vacancy
Job Summary
Director of Philanthropic Giving
APA! BACKGROUND: Austin Pets Alive! (APA!) is one of Austins most dynamic and beloved nonprofits. The organization leads the No Kill movement nationally and is considered a national thought leader in animal welfare. APA! locally rescues treats and adopts out 10000 homeless dogs and cats each year providing the safety net for Austins most at-risk shelter pets which helps Austin to be a No Kill city while also assisting other communities in saving homeless animals. The organization is distinguished by its large volunteer workforce and the scrappiness of its grassroots and its non-traditional community-based animal rescue work.
The organization continues to innovate best practices to save lives and spreads its impact by offering resources and mentorship related to its renowned lifesaving model through American Pets Alive! APA!s national 2020 American Pets Alive! began the Human Animal Support Services (HASS) - an innovative initiative aimed at rethinking the traditional model of animal sheltering. It focuses on supporting both people and pets in the community to reduce the number of animals entering shelters and improve outcomes for both. The project encourages collaboration between animal welfare organizations and community-based services with a goal of providing personalized proactive support that positions animal welfare as a social service.
POSITION SUMMARY:
Austin Pets Alive! is in search of a dynamic data-driven professional to serve as the Director of Philanthropic Giving. Reporting to the Senior Director of Advancement this role is essential in achieving and exceeding the organizations fundraising goals through effective team leadership sophisticated data utilization and hands-on major gift portfolio management. The Director of Philanthropic Giving will partner daily with the Director of Marketing Communications also reporting to the Sr. Director of Advancement who manages all mass-channel fundraising campaigns.
The ideal candidate is an outstanding manager who excels at making data-informed decisions is comfortable with tracking revenues values clear and kind communication champions collaboration and innovation and can pivot quickly in a fast-paced mission-critical environment. The Director of Philanthropic Giving is highly organized and will put to use exceptional relationship-building and communications skills toward creating a better world for animals and the people who love them. The areas of expertise under this roles purview include: Mid and Major Individual Giving; Corporate Giving; Grants; Data Entry; Onsite Giving; Recurring Giving; and In-Kind Giving.
The professional entering this role will have the advantage of working with a talented team that exceeded ambitious 2025 fundraising goals is on-track to meet Q1 2026 fundraising goals and is set up for success to meet the annual fundraising goal for 2026.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
People Management
- Lead the daily initiatives of a small group of full-time donor-relationship professionals to consistently meet or exceed quarterly fundraising goals.
- Foster a collaborative high-performing team culture focused on strategic execution and professional growth.
- Create and manage KPIs while ensuring staff who report to you are meeting monthly activity and financial goals.
- Manage up to the Sr. Director of Advancement maintaining close contact and ensuring they receive regular reports on progress.
- Help monitor the effectiveness of all donor funding activities and adherence to the fundraising plans implementation.
- Champion APA!s commitment to growing the team through volunteers by assisting with hiring training and cultivating volunteers to perform essential duties involving stewardship solicitation data entry event planning and more.
Strategy Data Analysis and Report
- Leverage the organizations donor CRM Virtuous to run bi-weekly revenue reports and serve as the organizations expert in utilizing donor data to maximize revenue results and return on investment (ROI).
- Conduct deep-dive analytics including descriptive (e.g. retention rates) diagnostic (e.g. understanding campaign wins and losses) predictive (e.g. identifying future major donors or attrition risks) and prescriptive analysis (e.g. determining optimal ask amounts).
- Develop and implement sophisticated donor segmentation strategies combining basic demographic data (e.g. geographic location) with insights into donor behavior and preferences to tailor communication channels and messaging.
- Oversee prospect research social network mapping and the integration of qualitative donor stories to create targeted engagement plans and accurately assess donor lifetime value drawing from CRMs website statistics and external wealth trackers.
Donor Engagement Portfolio Management and Support
- Oversee planning of major donor engagement gatherings and APA! experiences and attend these events as needed
- Actively manage a portfolio of VIP donors and prospective donors
- Meet existing expectations for major mid corporate and foundation gifts in the annual revenue budget
- Develop and implement robust strategies for retaining and upgrading existing donors as well as prospecting for new potential major donors
- Build meaningful one-on-one relationships with APA!s high-level supporters focusing on creating engagement and a deep sense of community around our mission
- Create funding proposals and other written and visual collateral necessary for the stewardship and cultivation of major gifts
Job duties may include some or all of the above and other duties as assigned by manager
OTHER FUNCTIONS:
- Work independently often with little direction to ensure fundraising goals are met every month
- Take ownership of own professional development quickly getting up to speed on all relevant philanthropy and animal welfare topics needed to excel in this role
- Maintain open consistent and supportive communication with all Philanthropy and MarCom Team members
- Attend and participate in all required training sessions and meetings
- Partner with Volunteer Managers to learn about the volunteer programs and manage volunteers interested in your department on an ongoing basis
- Able to react to change productively and perform other related duties as assigned
- Able to work evenings weekends and holidays as needed
- Able to work in a high-volume fast-paced high-stress environment
- Work onsite at one APA! location a minimum of three ½ days per week
QUALIFICATIONS SKILLS & EXPECTATIONS:
- A love of animals and a passion for the no-kill mission
- At least seven years experience in philanthropy with at least two years experience leading fundraising teams including a minimum of two full-time direct reports
- Experience working in nonprofits with a > $10M operating budget
- Experience and proven success in cultivating soliciting and stewarding high-level gifts from individuals corporations and grantors
- Exceptional managerial and communication skills
- Experienced in tracking revenue numbers; comfortable with spreadsheets and driving success in reaching revenue goals
- Intellectual agility; the ability to analyze think critically and solve problems creatively
- A doer with a high degree of initiative and energy; productive and results-oriented
- Confidence creativity and maturity to establish credibility with and influence donors at all levels
- Excellent organizational skills with a proven ability to prioritize work manage time and multiple priorities and meet deadlines with attention to detail and accuracy
- Deeply relational; a good listener who is inquisitive reflective and interested in developing meaningful professional relationships with colleagues donors and other stakeholders
- Commitment to open communication teamwork and collaboration accountability and professionalism
- Ability to multi-task and work in a fast-paced environment with tight deadlines while maintaining a positive and professional attitude
- Ability to anticipate problems and use judgment appropriately to plan solutions and manage obstacles as they arise
- Proven experience in motivating leading setting objectives and managing the performance of a team
- Basic understanding of nonprofit financial reports and budgeting
- Committed to keeping up to date with new trends and best practices in philanthropy
- The highest levels of personal and professional integrity and confidentiality; a commitment to the privacy of donors
- Must embody APA!s core values of innovation respect drive resourcefulness and inclusion
- Commitment to APA!s customer experience expectations
- Willing and committed to working well with volunteers and staff in all roles
PHYSICAL JOB REQUIREMENTS:
- Must be able to work around animals (including diseased injured and/or potentially aggressive animals) loud noises chlorine or other chemicals and inclement weather
- Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer
- If reasonable accommodations are requested reasonable accommodations will be made to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions of their job absent undue hardship to the organization.
WORK ENVIRONMENT:
- Standard shared office environment with exposure to environmental conditions that include working with and near animals
- Uses own transportation to travel and transport
- Exposure to unpleasant odors and noises and possible exposure to bites scratches animal waste and contagious diseases
- Occasional after-hours or weekend work may be required to support program needs
TIME COMMITMENT:
- This is a full-time exempt position with 45 hours per week
- Shift and schedule flexibility is required as weekly schedule is subject to change
- Able to work evenings weekends and holidays as needed
LOCATION(S):
- APA! Main - Town Lake Animal Center 1156 West Cesar Chavez Austin TX 78703
- Hwy 290 Medical Clinic - 4942 W Hwy 290 Austin TX 78735
- Tarrytown Corporate Office 2414 Exposition Blvd Suite B-100 Austin TX 78703
- Hybrid (must be located in or willing to relocate to the Austin area)
- Regular weekly visits to Austin Pets Alive!s locations including new properties is required
- May travel to offsite locations as needed.
BENEFITS:
Austin Pets Alive! is proud to offer a competitive benefits package for full-time employees including subsidized employer-sponsored medical coverage subsidized and voluntary life insurance voluntary dental vision and short-term disability options all effective the first day of employment. We also offer voluntary wellness and emergency sick plans up to 2% match on 401(K) retirement plan supplemental benefits flexible spending accounts and additional life coverage. Full-time employees receive 10 paid holidays and accrue 10 days paid time off during the first year of employment with an additional 5 days of PTO accrual upon completion of 12 months of employment. Employees will also receive professional development opportunities through APA!s ongoing mission to advance our animal welfare professionals in our life saving work.
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND ACCOMMODATIONS STATEMENT
Austin Pets Alive! is an equal employment opportunity employer and we value having staff who come from communities that are most impacted by the issues we engage on. We especially encourage people of color LGBTQ people women transgender and gender non-conforming people and people with disabilities to apply.
Austin Pets Alive! does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment on the basis of race color religion sex national origin age disability veteran status marital status sexual orientation gender identity or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Austin Pets Alive! is committed to creating a dynamic work environment that values diversity and inclusion respect and integrity community focus and innovation.
APA! is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities in the employment application process. To request an accommodation please contact Talent Acquisition at at least one week in advance of your interview.
Required Experience:
Director
Key Skills
- Crisis Management
- Marketing
- Public Relations
- Fundraising
- Media Relations
- Constant Contact
- Strategic Planning
- Social Media Management
- Team Management
- Public Speaking
- Wordpress
- Writing Skills
About Company
Austin Pets Alive! is not your average animal shelter. We pioneer innovative lifesaving programs designed to save the animals most at risk of euthanasia.
