Director of Development

May 2023 | Boston, MA

Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center seeks a mission-driven, entrepreneurial Director of Development to design and implement a momentous capital campaign and build a sustainable fundraising program.

About Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center

Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center (HSNHC) strives to provide equitable, exemplary, high-quality, and timely care to their community at every opportunity.

Located on Blue Hill Avenue in Dorchester, HSNHC provides a comprehensive system of care that is responsive to the community’s health care needs. Since its founding in 1969, HSNHC has continued their mission to serve as a primary health resource through the delivery of comprehensive, patient-centered medical care without regard to race, sex, color, political philosophy, religious beliefs, or one’s ability to pay. HSNHC is a firm believer that all people have the right to high-quality, available, and accessible healthcare. The organization’s core values are:

• Dedication to staff and clinicians
• Meaningful and impactful engagement with patients and families
• Stability within the community and organization

HSNHC offers a full complement of services and programs which include pediatric, adolescent, and adult medicine, dental, behavioral health, OB/GYN, nutrition, orthopedic, laboratory, pharmacy, Food Pantry, Veterans Outreach Center, and WIC. HSNHC serves over 7,800 children and adults each year throughout Suffolk, Middlesex, and Norfolk counties, primarily from the neighborhoods of North Dorchester, Mattapan, and Roxbury.

In May 2021, Charles Murphy, JD, MPA rejoined HSNHC, reprising his role as President and CEO. Prior to his time at HSNHC, Charley served eight terms in the Massachusetts legislature. He also held leadership roles at Steward Health Care as Senior Vice President, Strategic Initiatives and at Montachusett Veterans Outreach Center as Executive Director. Charley has worked as a Massachusetts attorney since 1994. Early in his career he served on active duty with the United States Marine Corps. 

With a passionate eight-person leadership team in place, an annual operating budget of approximately $14M, a transformative building project on the horizon, and substantial government support, HSNHC is embarking on an exciting next chapter—one in which fundraising will play a significant role.

About the Campaign

Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center has partnered with The Community Builders to create a new, standalone health center and to reimagine HSNHC’s current location. Plans began in 2015, were put on hold due to the pandemic, and have recently gained new momentum. The building project will proceed in two phases, with the goal to break ground by Fall 2025.

In the first phase, a new, state-of-the-art, three-story, 35,000-square-foot health center will be built in the lot behind HSNHC. In the second phase, HSHNC’s current location at 632 Blue Hill Avenue will be repurposed to include a commercial space on the first floor (to be managed by HSNHC) and 50 affordable housing units on the remaining floors (to be managed by The Community Builders).

With a total project cost estimated at $35M, these ambitious plans have already attracted significant public funding. An additional $5M will be needed in private funding.

About the Position

This newly created position will join the HSNHC team at a critical moment in the organization’s history. Reporting to the President and CEO, the Director of Development will be an experienced, proactive fundraising professional who can lead and successfully complete HSNHC’s first capital campaign and work collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders.

With a focus on building a donor pipeline, the Director will work closely with the President and CEO to create and implement campaign plans and prospect strategies, and establish an ongoing major gifts program for corporate and individual donors to sustain and support HSNHC’s future growth. 

The ideal candidate will have solid capital campaign and/or major gifts experience, preferably in the Boston area, and will demonstrate an authentic ability to convey the mission and impact of HSNHC. The Director will join a passionate and dedicated leadership team, which includes a Director of Communications and Grants, who focuses on foundation and government grant-writing.

The position will be primarily remote, with an expectation that the new Director will be onsite to interact with staff and donors as needed (approximately 2 days a week).

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the campaign strategy and collaborate with the leadership team to leverage relationships and ensure consistency in messaging
• Assess current stakeholder relationships and determine campaign structure, timetable, phases, and metrics for success
• Lead and manage the implementation of the capital campaign through all phases, coordinating activities between all parties
• Successfully close major gifts for the campaign preferably in the 5-7 figure range
• Oversee and actively manage the database, campaign prospect lists, prospect research, and prospect tracking
• Partner with President and CEO, senior leadership, and other volunteers (Board, campaign committee, etc.) to leverage existing relationships, open doors to new relationships, cultivate prospects and solicit major gifts
• Schedule and support campaign meetings and manage the campaign expense budget
• Prepare reports for the President and CEO, campaign leadership, and Board of Directors
• Develop and execute targeted cultivation plans and solicitation strategies for a range of prospects
• Ensure that systems are in place for timely and accurate donor acknowledgement, stewardship, and public recognition
• Develop, launch, and implement a sustainable philanthropy program for HSNHC
• Develop philanthropic communications and branding materials for the program in collaboration with the Director of Communications and Grants, with an eye toward raising brand awareness
• Participate in strategic planning with the President and CEO and senior leadership team
• Towards the completion of the campaign, lead the evaluation of fundraising goals and create and implement a strategic plan for fundraising

Key Qualifications

• Passion for HSNHC’s mission
• Minimum of five years of senior fundraising experience, preferably in a campaign setting
• Demonstrated understanding of best practice fundraising principles and major donor strategies
• Exceptional writing ability and capable of distilling content for audiences into a variety of formats (talking points, presentation decks, proposals, correspondence, etc.)
• Ability to organize and manage complex and multifaceted projects
• Demonstrated success in closing gifts at the five- and six-figure level; experience preparing senior leadership to meet with donors
• Experience working with governance and building a philanthropic culture among Board members
• Strong entrepreneurial skills with the credibility and persuasiveness to build and leverage relationships with existing donors and to secure new donors
• Willingness and ability to be self-sufficient, “roll up one’s sleeves,” and do the work
• Strong collaborative skills to ensure effective partnerships with internal and external stakeholders
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communications; organizational and time-management skills
• Ability to convey the impact of racial and social-economic disparities and urgent need for economic investment in community health
• Boston and Massachusetts fundraising experience and relationships strongly preferred

All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.  

Proof of vaccination is mandatory, and masks are required in the building.

Please email your cover letter and resume in confidence to:

HSNHC@developmentguild.com

 

Lynn Shevory

Senior Consultant

Development Guild DDI