Chief Advancement Officer

For Pete’s Sake Cancer Respite Foundation (FPS) seeks a passionate, impact driven and collaborative individual who fully embraces its mission: to enable cancer patients and their loved ones to strengthen, deepen, and unify their relationships by creating unforgettable and lasting respite experiences. Founded 25 years ago, FPS has a dedicated 15-person staff, an engaged Board and three core programs:   the Travel Respite Experience, the Staycation Respite Experience and Respite Reinforced, which supports families post-respite.  For more information on the organization, please visit https://takeabreakfromcancer.org/.   

To expand its reach, FPS has launched an ambitious strategic plan, Vision 2030, which includes constructing the nation’s first dedicated Cancer Respite Center – a $32 million campaign titled Respite Transformed – Pete’s Vision Realized at Woodloch.  Of this, $25 million will support construction and $7 million will grow the endowment.  FPS has raised $16M thus far towards this campaign and more information can be found at www.respitetransformed.org.   The organization’s operating budget has averaged between $2 and $3 million annually with the expectation of growing to $10 million over the next six years when the Cancer Respite Center is fully online.

Reporting to the Founder and CEO, a dynamic and visionary leader, the Chief Advancement Officer (CAO) will lead a comprehensive fundraising with emphasis on capital campaigns, major gifts, planned giving and strategic partnerships.  This individual will foster a philanthropic culture among FPS constituents and play a key role on the Executive Team.

The CAO will help build and manage a development team focused on the identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of charitable gifts to the Foundation.  The role requires close collaboration with the Board of Directors.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES: 

• Fundraising Strategy & Execution:
  Develop, execute, and oversee a comprehensive fundraising plan including major gifts, annual giving, planned giving, grants, corporate partnerships, and special events.
• Donor and Stakeholder Engagement:
  Cultivate, solicit, and steward major donors and prospective funders. Build and maintain strong, lasting relationships with key stakeholders and partners.
• Leadership and Team Management:
  Lead, mentor, and grow a high-performing advancement team.
• Strategic Communications:
  Work collaboratively with the FPS team in brand awareness, public relations, digital presence, and marketing efforts to effectively tell the organization’s story and expand its visibility and impact.
• Board Relations:
  Partner with the CEO and Board of Directors to engage board members in fundraising and ambassadorial roles, including the development of the Advancement Committee.
• Campaign Management:
  Lead major fundraising initiatives, including the Respite Transformed campaign, and special projects aligned with strategic priorities.
• Data Management & Reporting:
  Working with the FPS team, help to ensure the effective use of CRM/database systems to track donor engagement and produce regular reports on fundraising progress and projections.
• Budgeting and Financial Management:
  Develop and manage the Advancement department budget, ensuring strong ROI on fundraising activities and communication strategies.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES:

Fundraising Leader with a focus on Major Gift, Planned Giving, Foundation, Corporate Giving, and Capital Campaign Activities, providing strategic direction for attaining collaborative goals.

• Formulate short and long-term fundraising goals and develop actionable strategies for meeting and exceeding those goals through fundraising activities.
• Develop strategies and tactics for all giving channels relevant to these goals, providing a clear vision on the development and growth of each channel and the necessary tactics to attain success.
• Working closely with the FPS internal team and Board of Directors, develop strategies and cultivation tactics aimed at increasing revenue from the major gift group of donors.
• Collaborate with the Board to leverage networks to diversify the base of support for FPS.
• Help develop a suite of compelling value propositions for each stage of a donor’s relationship with FPS and work with the Communications Team to provide viable marketing and communication channels to support fundraising goals.
• Participate in formulating key metrics and benchmarks to assess the performance of development staff, the overall success of fundraising efforts and adjust accordingly.
• As a member of the organization’s Leadership team, promote excellence and continuous improvement in all facets of advancement.
• Coordinate with the Communications Team to raise awareness of the Foundation and its primary goals through multichannel outreach efforts, publications, and digital media.

Portfolio Management and Solicitation

• Manage a limited portfolio of individual and corporate donors for direct solicitation.
• Assist with allocation of major gift portfolios across team members with clear goals and outcomes and utilize current and future donor data to effectively target supporters in the most effective way.
• Account for monthly/quarterly variances and adjust approaches to ensure achievement of goals.
• Work closely with the team members to ensure timely donation processing and prompt gift acknowledgement.
• Help develop and implement a matrix of touch points and donor journeys to further educate, engage and cultivate all levels of individual donors, utilizing multiple media options, especially with the Respite Transformed campaign.
• Assist in the development of compelling proposals, reports, and donor communications.
• Engage management, Board members, and program staff in donor cultivation and fund solicitation.

Management & Leadership

• Support the development of other team members, helping them plan and prioritize work activities, and work with them to develop the structures and tools they need to achieve their goals, including setting clear expectations for outcomes and timelines.
• Supervise staff to ensure that administrative functions such as research, information systems, donor records and other ancillary services are up-to-date and supportive of the development effort.
• Make recommendations to the CEO & Board regarding the staffing level necessary to build a consistent and increasing major gift program.
• Assist in establishing regional satellite offices and regional advisory councils in the northeast region of the United States.
• Energize the people around you, foster engagement and create a trusting atmosphere.

REQUIREMENTS AND QUALIFICATIONS

While not every candidate will possess all desired requirements, we are seeking an accomplished leader for this critical position. Candidates come from health-related nonprofit organizations, healthcare systems, general nonprofits, and higher education. Below is an overview of the role’s requirements and qualifications.

• Mission Alignment: Fully embrace FPS’s inspiring mission to enable cancer patients and their loved ones to strengthen, deepen, and unify their relationships by creating unforgettable and lasting respite experiences.

• Broad Fundraising Experience: At least 10 years of fundraising experience and proven success in raising money from individuals across many different channels, g., direct mail, events, online, digital, etc. and across many kinds of donors, e.g., annual donors, mid-level, major gifts, campaign leadership gifts, etc. Success with corporate, foundation giving, and planned giving is a must. 

• Successful Major Gift Solicitation and Engagement:  Particular expertise in cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding high-net-worth donors is essential.  Deep knowledge of the art and science of major and leadership gift fundraising is necessary.

• Capital Campaign Experience: Relevant experience with capital campaign activities is mandatory. Further skills include positioning the goals of the campaign thoughtfully and in coordination with annual fundraising and appreciating the various steps to make a campaign successful both monetarily and with donor appreciation.

• An Entrepreneurial Spirit with a Creative Bent: To reflect FPS’s culture, the successful candidate must be flexible, nimble, and bring innovative ideas and approaches. The person must exhibit a can-do attitude to make an impact in a fluid organization and be comfortable with the execution of a collaborative plan.

• People Management Skills: Ability to recruit, energize, and inspire staff, to develop career paths, and to build trust and a collaborative spirit to optimize teamwork.

• Interpersonal and Communication Skills: An innate ability to build relationships with donors, colleagues, a wide variety of constituencies, and others. The person must have a collaborative ethos, warmth with presence and energy.

• Analytical and Data-Driven: The person must use data to make informed decisions to achieve strategic initiatives. This includes competence in using Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge, NXT and Analytics software.

Work Environment:

• Occasional evening and weekend work required for events and donor engagements.
• Some travel is required for donor cultivation and stewardship activities.

Other Information:

• Position available: Immediately
• Status: Full time, exempt
• Salary range: $130,000 - $170,000. The final determination of the selected candidate's pay will be based on experience and qualifications.
• FPS offers a comprehensive and generous benefits package which includes medical, dental, and vision insurance, a matching retirement plan, flex spending, a generous paid time off policy, cell phone stipend and more! Requests for the Organization’s handbook can be made during the interview process.

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