Director of Development
About the Organization
Franklin Academy, established in 2001, opened its doors in 2003 as a co-educational college preparatory boarding school. Located on a 75-acre campus in East Haddam, CT, the Academy's founding headmaster and leadership team created a learning environment for students with nonverbal learning disabilities and autism spectrum disorders. www.fa-ct.org
Franklin Academy's small student enrollment, currently at 80 with capacity to serve 95 students, prides itself on its 2/1 student to teacher ratio, with students and alumni representing a wide geographic footprint both domestically and internationally.
Job Description
The Director of Development at Franklin Academy is a senior administrator reporting to and partnering with the Head of School to create and implement the development plan for the academy. This position requires a combination of administrative, managerial, and collaborative skills, as well as a deep understanding of community and community building. The Director of Development also supervises and partners with the Associate Director of Advancement to nurture relationships with the Alumni and Alumni Parents of the school and develop alumni programs and events.
Responsibilities
- Collaborate with the Head of School and Board of Directors to develop and execute a community development and fund development strategy that aligns with and supports the organizational strategic plan of the academy.
- Participate in meetings of the Administration and the Board of Trustees. Prepare and deliver regular reports on strategy progress for community and fund development
- Act as staff liaison to the Board Development Committee, ensuring the committee is versed in community and fund development strategies, projects, and outcomes; guide the committee chair and committee members in their role in the fundraising and community building processes
- Establish goals, objectives, and programs for building a philanthropic community at Franklin Academy by acquiring new members and deepening a sense of belonging in members of the academy's philanthropic community.
- Set and achieve goals to acquire new donors, retain and grow donor pool, cultivate and expand the quality and quantity of individual giving, and convert existing donors to major investors for unrestricted and restricted operations and projects.
- Establish performance measures and design reporting tools for community development and fund development projects, objectives, and goals.
- Administer the department's database, setting policy and procedure, ensuring good data hygiene, and developing and using reports of data for decision making. Monitor and make recommendations for improvements to data tools used in community and fund development.
- Partner with the Head of School to determine capacity for fund development and revenue goals for the academy; define priorities for fund development; and identify, strategize, administer, and govern the execution of conversion donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship (major gifts) .
- Meet with administrators and faculty regularly to provide insight on development capacity and capabilities, acquire information on academy projects to identify conversion prospects for consideration, and engage administration and faculty in sharing knowledge and thought leadership on philanthropy and fundraising.
- Integrate existing events (auctions, receptions, wine tastings) into community and fund development strategy, defining the purpose for the events as they relate to the community and fund development objectives, identifying the key audience for the events by objectives, and outlining the outputs and strategy for post event engagement of community and fund development audiences.
- Oversee and partner with the Associate Director of Development to create and implement programs and projects for alumni and alumni parents to increase engagement, build community, and create opportunities for program expansion.
- Research potential grant opportunities; write and submit grants to support the program and operation of the school.
- Work with the Head of School, Director of Operations, and Head of Dining Services to plan and organize special events such as Parents' Days, Alumni Days, Receptions, Award Dinners, and Graduation. Attend all special events.
- Participate in administrative residential responsibilities as assigned. Currently, this is 4 hours of campus supervision on Sunday morning on a rotating basis, amounting to approximately 8 Sundays per school year.
Education and Experience
- Bachelor's Degree
- Experience in an academic setting is desired
- 5 years of experience in Development and upper-level administration
- Significant experience in strategic planning, community building, and grant writing
- Success in cultivating and soliciting major gifts
Organization
- Highly organized with exceptional communication skills
- Capable of managing multiple tasks under deadlines
- Proven ability to set priorities and map direction on concurrent fronts
- Proven experience in managing a comprehensive data system to drive decision making in community building and fund development
- Strong organizational, time management, and prioritization skills, typically evidenced by experience with complex projects from concept to execution
- Proven ability to maintain fundraising schedules, objectives, databases and tracking systems to ensure performance
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office and donor databases required
Communication
- Excellent written and verbal communication and the ability to be creative, articulate, concise, and persuasive
- Ability to write well in a variety of styles
- Excellent critical listening skills, including the ability to ask relevant questions at the right time
Relationship and Community Building
- Ability to easily develop rapport with a networks of leadership-level benefactors
- Ability to create and nurture community and affinity groups
Collaborative and Administrative Skills
- Experience in working with and taking direction from a financial department in data entering, monitoring, and translating contributed revenue for reporting and strategy tracking
- Strategic mindset: ability to be forward-thinking and create long-term relationships for maximum gifts, rather than focusing on single transactions
- Ability to work harmoniously within a diverse community
- Prior supervisory experience desired
This full-time position is located on site.
Occasional travel as well as work on evenings and some weekends may be required.
The successful candidate will be required to consent to a background check.
Compensation:
- $80,000 - $100,000, dependent on qualifications and experience
- Housing or housing stipend available
- Basic health insurance plan fully funded
- Voluntary participation in additional health benefits, dental and vision plan, and life insurance.
- Matched (currently 3%) and optional supplemental retirement fund (TIAA-CREF)
- Meals in dining hall when open
Franklin Academy does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or national origin in its educational program, admissions and hiring policies, or any school activities. As Franklin Academy is fully committed to a culturally diverse faculty and student body, we actively seek applications from traditionally underrepresented groups.