Director of Major and Planned Gifts

Public Broadcasting Atlanta (PBA) is a non-profit organization formally called Atlanta Educational Telecommunications Collaborative, Inc. (AETC).  As a broadcast service, PBA is comprised of WABE90.1FM, WPBA-TV30 (ATL-PBA) and numerous podcasts and digital offerings. For more information on the broadcast service, programming and opportunities, please visit www.wabe.org.

Summary:

The Director of Major and Planned Gifts leads development PBA’s effort to cultivate and secure Major Gifts and Planned Gifts.  This is a strategically important position for the organization which includes management and oversight of the Cornerstone Society, managing Cornerstone campaigns to support pledge drives, and systematically increasing the number of transformational gifts to the organization to support the PBA strategic plan.  This position is also responsible for Planned Giving and helping to process bequests to the organization.  In the current fiscal year, PBA will be building out a more structured and formalized Planned Giving program, which will be fully integrated with Major Gifts. This position also oversees Major Gifts and Planned Giving pipeline development through cultivation of mid-level membership donors. This position supervises one fundraising manager.

The successful candidate will have a proven fundraising track record, a range of skill sets including effective donor cultivation and networking, oral and written communications, knowledge of donor research and CRM systems, generous cross-team collaboration, board engagement, and presentation development and delivery. Experience in Planned Giving or Planned-Giving adjacent fundraising is highly desirable.

Accountabilities:
  • Identify, cultivate, and solicit donors and prospects with a focus on increasing the number of annual Major Gifts, the average size of Major Gifts, and the number of donations above $5,000. Execute strategy to cultivate highest potential donors and report out regularly on results.
  • Engage in personal networking and leverage the capacity of other team members, senior management and the board of directors to make contacts and engage, secure and retain donors.
  • Execute strong stewardship practices including generating regular updates, personalized communications, and creating “insider” opportunities with the station for donors.
  • Help to organize events with the PBA Community events team, special events with community partners, and board-hosted events for Major and Planned Giving donors.
  • Manage, publicize, and continue to maximize the value proposition of Cornerstone membership and other Major Gifts benefits (e.g. access to ticketed events). Obtain donor feedback regularly.
  • Create a named Planned Giving Society and design benefits, activities, recognition, and publicity for this program.
  • Manage the relationship with the PBA wealth screen vendor, share and interpret this data for the fundraising team, and regularly analyze the overall donor file to identify top priority prospects for cultivation.
  • Oversee mid-level giving manager strategies to cultivate the mid-level member segment and devise and execute strategies to continuously move donors toward Major Gifts giving.
  • Provide prospect list, outreach materials, and manage communications for two campaigns per year to generate Major Gift contributions to matching funds for on-air membership drives.
  • Devise messaging and draft/contribute to communications (on air scripts and messages, email, direct marketing, social media, etc.) targeted to Major Gifts and Planned Gifts prospects. Secure testimonials from Major and Planned Gift donors for use in public communications.
  • Serve as a leader on the fundraising team, helping to lead team-wide meetings, providing editing support or other constructive feedback to team members, devising and executing annual implementation plans, analyzing trends and best practices and generally supporting the team fundraising effort across-the-board.
  • Coordinate with the finance team and, as appropriate, the station attorney or outside professionals to process bequests or to provide information and support for Planned Gift donors to PBA and their agents.
  • Generate a board survey twice per year of contacts with Major and Planned Giving Donors or prospects and devise strategies to leverage this information in fundraising plans.
  • Monitor public media giving trends and attend webinars, educational sessions on fundraising, or conferences to identify effective new fundraising approaches and share learning with colleagues.
  • Work in close partnership with the SVP-Fundraising, the CEO, and others on relationship cultivation, events, and development and execution of campaigns to maximize engagement opportunities.
  • Other duties as assigned.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
  • Bachelor’s degree required. Advanced degree or additional fundraising training desirable.
  • 5 years fundraising and donor cultivation experience with proven results with at least 2 years Major Gifts experience and ideally also Planned Giving experience.
  • Ability to devise and execute strategies and team plans with minimal oversight and to drive execution with team peers, board members, and supporters of PBA.
  • Strong communication and interpersonal skills (with peers and donors) are a must. Direct experience engaging boards of directors highly desirable.
  • Must have excellent time management skills and the ability to produce products from start to finish effectively under pressure and meet deadlines.
  • Experience with donor research and CRM systems and show experience/aptitude to work with complex operational systems.
  • Candidate must be self-motivated and demonstrate initiative and be a strong team player.
  • Experience in public media fundraising highly desirable.
  • Experience developing and executing email marketing, generating social media, designing campaigns and digital or creative skills desirable.
Work Environment & Physical Demands:

The physical demands and work environment described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Individuals may need to sit or stand as needed. May require walking primarily on a level surface for periodic periods throughout the day. Reaching above shoulder heights, below the waist or lifting as required (up to 5 lbs.), filing documents or store materials throughout the workday. Proper lifting techniques required. For the most part ambient room temperatures, lighting and traditional office equipment as found in a typical office environment. Position, at least initially, will be located off-site in accordance with station policy on off-site work for most staff in response to coronavirus. Candidates must be willing and able to work from home but provide their own transportation to the station once off-site work conditions are lifted.

For consideration, submit cover letter, resume, and samples of work to:
Public Broadcasting Atlanta
Attention: Human Resources
740 Bismark Rd. NE
Atlanta, GA 30324
Fax: 678-553-3026
Apply online at: www.wabe.org
Email: jobs@pba.org
EOE