Assistant Director of Individual Giving

October 2023 | New York, NY
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CancerCare seeks an Assistant Director of Individual Giving to support the continued growth of its individual giving program.

About CancerCare

Founded 79 years ago, CancerCare is the leading national organization providing free, professional support services and information to help anyone impacted by cancer manage the emotional, practical and financial challenges of cancer.

CancerCare services are provided by master’s-prepared oncology social workers and world-leading cancer experts and include case management, counseling and support groups over the phone, online and in-person, educational workshops, publications, and financial and co-payment assistance. Last year alone, CancerCare provided over $80 million in financial and co-pay assistance.

All of CancerCare’s support services and programs are completely free of charge and administered by oncology social workers. CancerCare serves a diverse population of all ages across the US in almost every zip code.   

CancerCare’s core services are as follows:

• Case Management

CancerCare provides free telephone case management in English and Spanish to people impacted by cancer, including the individual diagnosed, caregivers, young adults, and the bereaved.

• Counseling Services and Support Groups

CancerCare’s counseling services are provided in English and Spanish in New York and New Jersey and focus on the emotional and practical challenges that arise from cancer.

CancerCare’s support groups can be offered live and online. Live support groups are led by licensed oncology social workers and offer the opportunity to connect with others who share similar concerns and experiences. The online groups are open to anyone in the United States, Puerto Rico and U.S. Territories.

• Education

CancerCare’s educational programs and resources provide up-to-date information on the latest in treatment options and related topics. Educational offerings include:

• Connect Education Workshops and patient psychoeducational programs on a host of clinical and practical perspectives
• An extensive list of publications that includes more than 300 easy-to-read educational titles, providing expert insights on a host of cancer-related topics
• Cancer Out Loud Podcast series featuring a diversity of patient voices
• CancerCare’s websites, which have become highly respected online cancer resources that welcome more than 2 million visits annually

• Financial Assistance

CancerCare offers limited financial assistance for cancer-related costs such as transportation, homecare, and childcare; in addition, the staff of oncology social workers can assist in securing help from resources outside of CancerCare.

As part of CancerCare’s ongoing efforts to expand program offerings and better address the changing needs of people affected by cancer, they have developed the following special initiatives:

• CancerCare@work

The CancerCare@work initiative helps employers manage cancer-related work issues for employees who are patients, survivors, and caregivers, as well as for the colleagues of these individuals.

• Cancer Disaster Preparedness Alliance (CDPA)

The CDPA is a coalition of preeminent cancer and disaster organizations led by CancerCare. The goal of the coalition is to ensure that cancer patients experience little or no disruption to their treatment in the aftermath of a natural disaster, epidemic, or pandemic anywhere in the United States and its territories. 

• Pet Assistance and Wellness (PAW) Program

The PAW program assists people undergoing the emotional, physical and financial challenges of cancer treatment to care for their pets.

• Caregiver Treatment Decision-Making Study

As part of CancerCare’s ongoing efforts to understand cancer caregiver involvement in the treatment decision making process, the Caregiver Treatment Decision-Making Study was developed with the goal of better understanding their experiences.

• What Matters to Me Decision Tool

CancerCare’s What Matters to Me Decision Tool was developed as an easy and efficient treatment decision-making tool for cancer patients to communicate their personal priorities so that physicians can consider their quality of life when recommending treatment. The tool is currently being feasibility-tested among patients and oncology clinicians in three cancer clinics at the Montefiore/Einstein Cancer Center. The study findings will then be disseminated through posters at cancer-related conferences, journal articles in relevant publications and in conjunction with the New York State Department of Health Cancer Consortium.  

About the Position

CancerCare is at an exciting point of growth in the organization’s history, and the Assistant Director of Individual Giving (ADIG) will play a key role in the advancement. Raising approximately $2.7 million in FY22, individual giving is an integral and expanding component of CancerCare’s philanthropic revenue and the ADIG will work to increase and diversify this funding while also supporting its key focus areas (Annual Giving, YPC, Bequests and Direct Mail).

The ADIG will report to the Senior Director of Philanthropy and will be responsible for successfully managing a donor prospect list, serving as the primary liaison to CancerCare’s direct response partner as well as internal and external stakeholders, and drive and support CancerCare’s Young Professionals Committee (Junior Board) and its Annual Fundraising Event. In addition, the ADIG will support the Senior Director of Philanthropy, Trustees and Leadership through the development of individual giving proposals and subsequent reports on revenue and goal achievements.  The ADIG will be responsible for cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding a portfolio of approximately 100-120 mid-range annual giving and planned giving prospects and donors.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop a comprehensive and strategic annual giving plan including direct response, donor recognition, grateful client program and volunteer engagement.
• Work collaboratively with direct mail partner in the stewardship of donors for further engagement and increased giving.
• Prepare and present an annual giving strategic plan with clear strategies to maximize prospect engagement based on donor segmentation and inclination.
• Manage a prospect pool of approximately 100-120 prospects to coordinate cultivation, solicitation and stewardship including opportunities for personalized prospect engagement.
• Identify prospects capable of giving $2,500+ on an annual basis, with a goal of securing 25 new commitments per year.
• Work closely with the Senior Director of Philanthropy, CFO, finance team and outside firms to assist with estate and planned giving management, reporting and follow-up.
• Partner collaboratively with other members of the Individual Giving team toward operational efficiency and effectiveness to meet and exceed annual fundraising goals.

Key Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years of development experience, ideally in annual giving; experience with direct response a plus.
• Proficiency with data analysis in terms of managing and manipulating large sets of numbers to drive strategic fundraising moves.
• Strong planning, organizational and analytical skills.
• Familiarity with Raiser’s Edge and ability to learn new systems quickly.
• Experience with/interest in individual prospect cultivation, solicitation and stewardship engagement.
• Expertise with the Microsoft Office Suite and proficiency integrating prospect management systems.
• High energy and positive attitude with a desire to grow skillsets.
• Experience writing proposals, presentations, reports, agreements, and related documents.
• Excellent interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience in or familiarity with cancer, healthcare, or social services a plus.
• Strong administrative and operational skills and attention to detail.
• Highly organized, ability to manage multiple projects and priorities.
• Excellent judgement and discretion with the ability to anticipate needs and navigate shifts.

CancerCare is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, genetic information, veteran/military status or any other protected characteristic as established under law. We are dedicated to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for our staff and clients.

The compensation range for this position is $90,000-$100,000 commensurate with experience.

For applications, please use the form below to submit your cover letter and resume in confidence.

Mary Plum Senior Consultant

Kieran McTague Senior Vice President and Director, New York