Director of Individual Giving

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) is the nation’s first and largest organization dedicated to serving the 2.5 million veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, from their first day home to the rest of their lives. IAVA strives to build an empowered generation of veterans through programs in four key impact areas: Health, Education, Employment and Community.

• Health - IAVA makes it a priority to ensure that both mental and physical health needs are being effectively addressed in our community, and has provided support to over 20,000 returning veterans nationwide.
• Education - With nearly a million new veterans headed back to school under the New GI Bill, IAVA has provided over 500,000 with the tools and support needed to make informed decisions about their education.
• Employment - No veteran should come home from Iraq or Afghanistan to an unemployment check. To fight shockingly high joblessness rates, IAVA’s Combat to Career initiative helped over 270,000 veterans in their transition to civilian careers in 2011.
• Community - Less than 1% of the country served in Iraq and Afghanistan – a stark contrast to the 12% that served during WWII. Building community, both online and on the ground, is a critical factor in fulfilling IAVA’s mission, which means bridging geographical divides to create a united, supported and proud movement of new veterans

Based in our New York City headquarters, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) is seeking a highly skilled and seasoned Director of Individual Giving. This is an exciting opportunity to join a dynamic organization as it enters its second decade at the forefront of the veterans’ movement, advocating for our newest generation of heroes. The position reports directly to the Chief Development Officer.

As part of a senior fundraising team, the Director is responsible for managing individual donor relations and overseeing strategic Moves Management of a large and untapped donor pool to increase revenue.  The Director will develop strategies and oversee implementation, targeted outreach, cultivation and stewardship.  The emphasis is on building a renewable and sustainable annual giving program and identifying prospects who can become major gift donors.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Design and execute individual donor programs, including annual giving and direct response appeals, on-line appeals, major gifts, planned gifts, and monthly sustainers
• Coordinate efforts to coordinate efforts to expand, renew and upgrade the individual donor base at all giving levels and implement practices to increase gift size and maximize retention
• Design cultivation strategies to engage and solicit prospects and current donors.
• Support solicitation, cultivation and stewardship activities by the CEO, CDO and senior program staff
• Develop and oversee prospecting efforts with individual donors, including managing research to ensure a robust pipeline of prospective major donors
• Oversee junior staff in the development of profiles for existing and prospective donors, as well as reports on donor giving and stewardship
• Initiate and manage events to cultivate major donors and prospects
• Engage existing donors as connectors in efforts to broaden donor base
• Oversee individual donor direct response program, including grassroots and mid level annual fund efforts.
• Provide support and leadership for the Circle of Valor and Leadership Council.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree with 10 years + of related work experience in the development field with significant and demonstrated success in raising funds from individual donors and knowledge of effective strategies for retention and upgrade.  
• Knowledge and exposure to planned giving a plus.  Experience in  NY philanthropic community preferred.  

• Knowledge of and exposure to direct response a plus.
• Highly-organized and efficient, capable of juggling multiple tasks and meeting deadlines within a fast-paced environment
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Exceptional attention to detail and accuracy
• Ability to develop and drive idea from concept to goal;
• Experience with Salesforce a plus
• Passion for IAVA’s mission

Start Date: Immediate

Application Deadline: Rolling

Salary and Benefits: Salary is commensurate with experience. IAVA provides comprehensive health and dental coverage, access to vision benefits, a Flexible Spending Account, Transportation Savings Account and a 403(b) retirement plan, in addition to thirty Paid Time Off days per year.

To Apply : Please apply here http://iava.org/careers/. Include a cover letter that concisely explains how your experience could be applied to IAVA. Applications without a cover letter will not be considered. No phone calls, please.

IAVA is an equal opportunity employer; VETERANS OF THE CONFLICTS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN ARE HIGHLY ENCOURAGED TO APPLY.

To learn more about IAVA’s history, mission and model, click here.