Death with Dignity - Development Director

NOTE: THIS POSITION HAS BEEN FILLED AND WE ARE NO LONGER ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

About the Position

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Death with Dignity is searching for a dynamic, dedicated, and strategic thinking Development Director to join its team.

Historically, Death with Dignity has been successful in steadily growing its funding resources year-over-year and needs a person who can not only maintain this growth, but operationalize it and take it to the next level. The ideal candidate is not opposed to getting their hands dirty and working with the entire team.

With a laser focus on Major Donor development and the ability to oversee, set the strategy, and work with staff and consultants to continue to grow the direct mail, online and digital, planned giving, and foundation funding, this leader will be crucial to the continued success of the organization.

This person will work with leadership, the small-but-mighty Death with Dignity staff, and consultants to drive all development programs and operations.

Death with Dignity is a national nonprofit organization that advocates for end-of-life care policy reform. Our mission is advanced through both the Death with Dignity National Center (501c3) and Death with Dignity Political Fund (501c4).

For more than 25 years, our organization has advocated for the fundamental freedom of choice in life and death. We authored, passed, and defended the first Death with Dignity Act in Oregon (1994/1997/2006); spearheaded successful efforts to pass Death with Dignity statutes in Washington (2008), Vermont (2013), California (2015), Washington, DC (2017), Hawaiʻi (2018), Maine (2019), and we were a leading partner in the successful effort to pass a law in New Mexico (2021); and this year, we are also leading state legislative campaigns in Massachusetts and New York.

Seven in ten Americans support Death with Dignity as an end-of-life option for individuals with terminal illness, and most people join our movement because of a heartbreaking personal experience. We are an organization led by social workers and powered by storytelling. 

Death with Dignity is a welcoming and inclusive organization. Our Core Values are: Dignity, Freedom & Autonomy, Trust, Financial Stability, Moral Courage, and Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion.

Duties Include

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The new Development Director will divide their time among several functions and work with staff across the Death with Dignity team. A general breakdown of how they will spend their time is as follows.

Major Donor Development (50%)

• Maintain and expand giving relationships with existing major donors

• Work to elevate low and mid-dollar donors to the major donor level

• Actively prospect potential new donors to bring into and expand the major donor base

• Work with the CEO and President with their portfolios of high potential donors

Development Program Management (40%)

• Drive and implement a comprehensive strategy to identify, cultivate, and solicit funding aligned with mission, work, and approach of the organization

• Manage consultant in charge of the established direct mail program including streamlining of staff time spent, expansion of tracking donations, and ensuring that the mail universe is efficient

• Manage the growing digital and online giving program to ensure that the donor pool is growing and fully engaged

• Work with leadership and consultants to expand and operationalize the already large pool of planned giving donors

• In time, bring on and manage a grant writing consultant or staff members to develop and operationalize the foundations giving program

• Work with leadership and consultants to evaluate the current data platform (Salesforce) and plan for a potential migration to a new platform

Administration, Data Oversight, and Strategy Development (10%)

• Working with staff, ensure that donor data - including recent donations, notes, follow up, thank you notes, and donations processing - is up to date.

• Work with leadership to ensure that staff and consultants are meeting goals and motivated to be part of the fundraising operation

• Create, implement, and regularly evaluate the overall development strategy for the organization

Skills and Qualifications

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• Experience: At least 5 years of experience as a fundraising professional in a nonprofit organization. Experience working directly with major donors is an absolute requirement. Demonstrated experience in managing and implementing a successful, comprehensive fundraising program and preparing work plans to achieve goals. 

• Management and Training: Experience leading and managing a team of coworkers as well as consultants. Interest in and ability to coach, support, and advise others in becoming effective fundraisers. Prefer at least 3 years of full-time, permanent staff management, preferably at a nonprofit organization.

• Track Record of Success: Demonstrated success in identifying and securing increased funds from current and prospective donors through a coordinated, strategic approach. 

• Creativity and Innovation: Ability to see opportunities, think creatively, and develop new approaches for development. 

• Self-direction: Track record of taking initiative and working independently. Takes initiative and actively seeks to deepen current donor relationships and to forge new ones. Ability to be self-sufficient in a small staff environment.

• Communications: Skilled in creating powerful, compelling written and oral communications for fundraising. Strong relationship building and “people” skills. 

• Collaborative Spirit: Ability to lead a team of hard-working, energetic professionals, taking input from a diverse group of colleagues.

• Prioritization, Time Management, and Detail Orientation: Excellent organizational and time-management skills, detail-oriented, including ability to manage multiple tasks independently. Ability to set and meet goals, prioritize, plan, manage, and complete work on deadlines.

• Major Donor Development: Deep experience in shepherding donors through the donor continuum as well as expanding the pool of major donors in a systematic way. Must have experience making substantial asks and love the relationship building that the job requires.

• Planned Giving: Some knowledge of the process and programmatics of a successful planned giving program and the ability to manage a team member or consultant as the program is built out and expanded.

To Apply

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• ​Click below or email us at jobs@jmmstrategygroup.com with the subject line "DWD DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR"

• Send your resume and a cover letter in one document in pdf format

• No calls, please

JMM Strategy Group and Death with Dignity strongly encourage women, people of color, people with disabilities, and members of the LGBTQ+ community to apply. We do not tolerate discrimination on any level and are actively working to ensure that all people have access to the jobs and positions they are qualified to succeed in.