Director of Parish Planned Giving & Major Gifts

Hours: Full time
Location: Remote or GOA-New York
Salary/Benefits: Salary commensurate with experience; for benefits see below
Start Date: Immediately

Summary:

The Parish Planned Giving & Major Gifts Director serves as a resource for the approximately 500+ parishes of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. The Director is responsible for training, educating, equipping and coaching parish leaders to cultivate, solicit, steward, and retain donors and planned giving prospects to ensure a strong base of perpetual financial support for the parish, with the understanding that strong parishes make up a strong Archdiocese.

The Director, in cooperation with the Archdiocese Administration and Finance and reporting to the Director of Stewardship Outreach & Evangelism. The Director will serve as a planned giving liaison to the parishes, preparing written materials, and will have primary responsibility for training and support of parish leaders in working with donors on deferred and planned gifts such as trusts, charitable annuities, IRA’s, life insurance, wills, and bequests. In addition, the Director will provide guidelines for the reception of gifts, formation of parish foundations/endowments, and the management/investment of those assets. The Director will be responsible for updating and maintaining the Archdiocese Endowment section of the stewardship web page in coordination with the Director of Stewardship, Outreach and Evangelism.

This position requires travel to facilitate education of parish leaders on the need for parish planned giving and providing the training of parish leaders to implement planned giving programs. Travel includes national and regional/Metropolis gatherings of parish leaders throughout the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America comprised of the United States, District of Columbia and the Bahamas, as well as individual parishes as feasible.

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America is an equal opportunity employer dedicated to achieving a diverse faculty and staff. The Archdiocese does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, or any other basis protected by and consistent with the law. The Archdiocese expressly reserves its rights and obligations to maintain its commitment to its Orthodox Christian identity and the doctrines of the Orthodox Christian Church.

We offer our employees a competitive benefits package, which includes health and dental insurance; generous paid time for all national holidays and Greek Orthodox religious observances; pension; and business travel reimbursement.

Responsibilities:

Support the overall long-term financial strength of GOA parishes, training parish leaders in the skills of visiting with donors and prospective donors about a variety of gift possibilities, particularly deferred and planned gifts.

Design and implement innovative strategies to identify, cultivate and solicit donors and planned giving prospects for major gifts. Prepare high-quality materials for communication and donor interactions. Assume primary responsibility for providing technical support and options regarding planned and deferred gifts. Establish annual goals for the program, in coordination with the Director of Stewardship,

Outreach and Evangelism, and provide regular progress reports. Apply industry best practices, maintain an awareness of successful initiatives utilized at peer institutions, and actively make recommendations to grow, refine, and develop planned giving.

Create a planned giving marketing plan to cultivate and steward ongoing donors and planned giving prospects. Maintain and continually refine a parish level planned giving recognition society for donors. Provide appropriate planning to maintain ongoing relationships with donors who have made planned giving commitments. Develop collateral and promote the benefits and opportunities offered by planned giving vehicles, i.e. planned giving brochures, advertisements, internal and external advertising media. Enhance parish planned giving by remaining current in all areas of gift possibilities and the current laws and regulations governing such gifts. Join and attend professional groups and educational sessions to keep abreast of current trend in planned giving and major gifts.

Provide seminars on planned and deferred gifts to parish leaders throughout the Archdiocese. Please note that the above list of duties is not comprehensive but generally demonstrates the types of matters under this position’s purview and responsibility.

Requirements:

Education and Experience

Required: relevant undergraduate degree (Business, Accounting, Financial Management, Public Relations, Communications, Marketing, Pre-Law or related) and a minimum of eight to ten years of proven and progressive experience in fundraising, personal solicitation, and planned giving.

Preferred: Higher education development background with fundraising campaign experience.

Preferred: JD, Certified Financial Planner, CPA or MBA. A demonstrated record of success in a related career field such as law, accounting, or financial planning is extremely helpful.

Or a combination of equivalent education and/or experience.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
  • Significant experience in the field of fundraising, preferably with a strong background in personal solicitation. Demonstrated experience conducting major fundraising activities, including capital and annual giving campaigns.
  • Working knowledge of fundraising for religious institutions or churches.
  • Strong proofreading and editing skills.
  • Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines while maintaining disciplined adherence to program goals.
  • Effective ability to use and learn computers, technology, software, and applications at a level of sophistication required for the duties of the position, including, without limitation, Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint), the internet, and databases.
  • Strong organizational skills, particularly planning, managing deadlines, and evaluating progress are required. Strong ability to read, analyze, and interpret legal and financial documents.
  • A solid understanding of current laws regarding taxability of donations, regulations pertaining to fundraising—especially planned gifts, deferred giving strategies, and knowledge of a diverse array of financial instruments are essential.
  • Knowledge of industry trends and best practices for marketing and communicating with gift planning audiences. Excellent, persuasive, and clear written and verbal skills. Well-developed leadership abilities and willingness to solve problems creatively. Persuasive, clear, and strong oral and written communication skills. Knowledgeable of general accounting practices.
  • Ability to establish effective working relationships, professional rapport, and effectively accomplish work within Archdiocese and parish settings that include a wide array of individuals, groups, policies, and processes.

Salary Range:$115,000.00 - $125,000.00
Required Documents: Cover Letter, References, Resume

Interested Candidates please send the required documents to hrreply@goarch.org.

Posted by

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

Posted on: August 10, 2023