The Director of Philanthropy plays a leadership role in driving the financial growth of the ACLU of Arizona by leading a comprehensive, multi-channel fundraising strategy with an emphasis on building strong relationships with donors and institutional supporters to generate transformational gifts to support the ACLU of Arizona’ current and future work. They will develop and oversee the program to raise funds for both the ACLU Foundation of Arizona – 501(c)3 – and the ACLU of Arizona - 501(c)4, which includes planning, supervising, and executing the ACLU of Arizona’s major gifts program, grants program, individual giving, and overall donor communications.
The Director of Philanthropy supervises and supports a committed and high-performing development team, works directly with the Executive Director, leadership team, and board of directors, and collaborates closely with the National ACLU and ACLU of Arizona staff to align fundraising efforts with organizational goals and ensure the financial sustainability and impact of our work.
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Starting Salary Range: $95,000- $110,000, commensurate with experience
Deadline to Apply: May 11, 2025; we will review applications on a rolling basis
Supervision: This position reports to the Executive Director, is a member of the Leadership Team and supervises two direct reports, as well as occasional interns and volunteers.
Classification: Full-time, exempt
Develop, lead, and regularly assess a comprehensive annual development plan and budget that focuses on major gift fundraising with ambitious goals and clear metrics for cultivating major donors (gifts of $10,000 and greater), deepening donor commitments and securing long-term support.
Develop and execute special cultivation and stewardship opportunities for supporters, provide executive-level support to senior staff in preparation for donor contact, and participate in donor cultivation events.
Oversee the department’s administrative systems including Salesforce data management, donation tracking, processes and procedures, reporting, gift processing/acknowledgement.
Build and manage the grants program to identify new foundation opportunities, track grant deadlines, partner with program staff to align proposals with program goals and prepare grant reports and other communication with funders.
Contribute to the development of the organization’s strategic plan with insight and information on fundraising trends and practices.
Regularly assess and adjust development strategies with the Finance Director and Executive Director to ensure financial goals are met and exceeded.
Maintain a working knowledge of ACLU of Arizona programmatic priorities and issues.
Serve as a thought partner to the Executive Director and in collaboration with the leadership team to proactively raise solutions to ongoing challenges and opportunities.
Report to the Executive Director and Board of Directors on development efforts and goals.
Manage a portfolio of approximately 75 donors and institutional supporters, creating individual goals and a comprehensive engagement plan for each donor.
Identify new high-capacity prospects, cultivate and maintain strong relationships with current and prospective donors.
Solicit five- and six- figure annual and planned gifts through individual meetings with donors and prospects in collaboration with local and national development teams.
Staff the development responsibilities of the Executive Director’s portfolio and development-related time and duties, scheduling meetings with donors, partnering on meetings with donors, etc.
Develop and implement an annual communication plan for donors and supporters including strategies that foster growth and effectively and ethically showcase ACLU of Arizona successes.
Manage and write communications (proposals, reports, letters, emails, etc.) to current and prospective donors about the ACLU of Arizona’s mission, activities, and successes in a compelling, inspiring, and motivating way.
Work collaboratively across departments to compile and share stories of success and impact to various audiences across multiple channels.
Lead and mentor a high-performing and ambitious team of development professionals in a collaborative and goal-oriented way.
Set clear goals and outcomes, support the team in achieving goals, and regularly evaluate team progress.
Provide the tools, training, and support to encourage professional growth.
This job description provides a general but not comprehensive list of the essential responsibilities and qualifications required. While no candidate will possess every quality, the successful candidate will possess many of the following qualifications and attributes. Even if you aren’t sure but are excited about the position, we encourage you to apply. Consideration will be given to individuals who may not meet the listed qualifications but demonstrate strong skills, knowledge, and potential.
Demonstrated commitment to the ACLU of Arizona’s values, mission, and vision.
A _minimum _of 5 years professional experience in philanthropy required, ideally in a rapidly evolving institution with progressive responsibility and a proven track record of securing visits with prospective donors, soliciting, closing, and stewarding major gifts in the $10,000+ range.
A _minimum _of 2 years successful management and leadership experience, including the ability to motivate, lead, set objectives and foster an environment of creativity and professional growth.
Successful experience converting donors/prospects into major donors, and experience soliciting special, multi-year campaign commitments and planned gifts.
Experience with donor database management and systems to track goals, metrics, and progress across the development team and a commitment to setting and achieving aggressive fundraising goals.
Experience working collaboratively and across departments to create plans for donor communication that results in donor cultivation, stewardship, and solicitation.
Experience successfully growing and building grants, major gifts, planned gifts, and individual giving programs.
Excellent interpersonal, oral, and written communication and presentation skills, with a demonstrated ability to simplify complex themes and activities into a short, compelling presentation or written piece.
A commitment to Community Centric Fundraising (CCF) principles and a belief that fundraising must be grounded in social and racial justice and equity.
Experience soliciting 501(c)4 non-tax-deductible gifts a plus.
Ability to travel within the state of Arizona and work occasional evenings, weekends, and irregular hours.
Cultural Responsibility: Demonstrated awareness of one’s own cultural identity, views about differences, and the ability to learn and build on varying cultural and community norms. A complex understanding of racial justice and the urgency of confronting institutional racism and inequity. Commitment to equity and inclusion as an organizational practice and culture. Proven track record of working across lines of race, immigration status, ethnicity, language, class, gender, and other identities and experiences including record of arrest or conviction.
Working Conditions: The ACLU of Arizona offices are open between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. The physical demands and work environment described below represent those required and encountered by an employee to perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.
Inputting information into a computer for extended periods of time.
Periodically working extended hours, including some evenings, weekends, and holidays.
Regular travel locally and in-state, and some out-of-state travel as needed.