Director of Development

September 2024 | Lawrence, MA
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Lazarus House Ministries seeks a Director of Development to oversee a comprehensive fundraising program and set the strategy to increase support for the mission.

About Lazarus House Ministries

Since opening its doors as an emergency shelter in 1983, Lazarus House Ministries (LHM) has been supporting people struggling with poverty from its base in Lawrence, Massachusetts, one of the poorest communities in New England. LHM serves the people of the Merrimack Valley who live a daily struggle to get their most basic needs met. The mission of Lazarus House Ministries aims to honor God in their work by serving every person – their Guests – with dignity and respect.

Known as the “Immigrant City,” Lawrence and some of the surrounding areas have always been multi-ethnic and multicultural and residents benefit greatly from the temporary shelters, transitional housing, comprehensive life skills training program, food pantry, soup kitchen, thrift stores, advocacy, and programs offered by LHM. The vital programs offered by LHM assist families by stretching their dollars so they can afford rent and utilities. Emergency and transitional housing programs provide a place for homeless families and individuals to live, stabilize, learn, and grow.

This holistic approach offers a hand up – not a hand-out so Guests can gain the confidence and skills they need to be self-sufficient. Philanthropy has played a significant role in the ability of LHM to fulfill its mission, and support from the general public, businesses, foundations, and religious organizations is vital to its ongoing ability to serve the community.

About Philanthropy at Lazarus House Ministries

In FY 2024, Lazarus House raised $3.5 million in philanthropic contributions from the following sources: 28% from events, 19% from grants, 19% from annual appeals and 33% from institutional and major individual gifts. LHM’s events include the Hike for Hope, Boston Marathon, a Golf Tournament, and an Annual Dinner which has gradually increased in total funds raised since FY19. Lazarus House also receives significant support from in-kind donations and thrift store sales.

Giving to LHM soared during the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching $5.2 million in FY 2021, and then decreased over the subsequent 3 years. The annual fundraising goal for this fiscal year (April 2024 – March 2025) is $3.86 million to return to pre-pandemic fundraising levels. In addition to the annual goal, LHM is in a capital campaign to fund five additional units of much needed housing. The new Director will need to lead the team to raise $575,000 by end of FY 25 to complete the campaign.

The new Director will be responsible for setting the strategy to increase philanthropic gifts from current donors and broadening the base of major gift support in order to generate $5 million annually to support program growth goals moving forward.  LHM has a long and proud history of making a deep impact in the community, and philanthropic support is vital to meeting its mission.

For more information about Lazarus House Ministries, please visit https://lazarushouse.org/

About the Position

The Director of Development will be responsible for creating and executing strategies to engage external stakeholders to increase and diversify philanthropic support to meet ambitious revenue goals. The Director will report to the Executive Director and serve on the executive leadership team. Major responsibilities include developing, implementing, and monitoring a comprehensive fundraising plan to keep pace with program current needs and future growth, directly manage a portfolio of high-capacity donors and provide day-to-day leadership to the 8-person development, marketing, and communications team. The Director will work to build awareness of Lazarus House Ministries’ programs and services with community members, organizations, donors, and prospects.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership

• Provide thought leadership to Lazarus House as an expert in fundraising best practices.
• Collaborate with leaders across Lazarus House to set annual development goals.
• Work with the senior leadership team to develop strategies and reports and present to the Board of Directors information related to the ongoing status of development activities, efforts, and progress to goal.
• Serve as staff to the Board of Directors Development Committee and support the donor engagement and solicitation activity of the committee members.

Management

• Collaborate with leaders across the Ministry to further development and marketing goals.
• Oversee the day-to-day operations of the development function to ensure the goals are being met for all aspects of the annual program
• Implement policies and procedures to guide the development team’s efforts, decisions, and practices.
• Provide strategic direction, supervision, and evaluation of development team for all areas of fundraising, communications, and marketing.

Strategy

• Create and implement an annual development strategy to achieve or exceed the organization’s fundraising revenue goals.
• Develop a long-range Strategic Plan for development to ensure fundraising aligns with and supports the Lazarus House goals and objectives.
• In concert with the executive team, and the board’s development committee, work to develop the annual fundraising revenue goals.
• Translate annual organizational fundraising goals into executable plans.

Fundraising

• Manage a portfolio of high-capacity donors and present regular reports to Executive Director and Board leadership on progress towards fundraising goals.
• Partner with the Executive Director, Board, and the Lazarus house team to manage relationships  and solicit major donors and prospects.
• Spearhead efforts to implement a planned giving and monthly giving program.
• Engage volunteers to steward relationships with current donors and cultivate and solicit new donors.
• Evaluate and refine current campaigns to optimize revenue potential, return on investment, and brand awareness.

Key Qualifications

• Minimum of 7+ years’ development and staff management experience, in a senior role in a non-profit mission driven environment.
• Demonstrated experience securing 6 figure gifts and managing multi-channel annual appeals.
• Proven track record of achieving and exceeding revenue targets.
• Positive, “can-do” approach, sincere affinity for the mission, flexibility, teamwork approach, attention to detail, and high degree of initiative.
• Solid financial and technical skills (including intermediate knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite and fundraising software) needed to effectively communicate and implement development strategies.
• Strong verbal, written and interpersonal communication skills.
• Style and approach to tasks that both inspires confidence and demonstrates effective leadership.
• Capability to oversee multiple tasks and see them through to a successful conclusion.
• Proven experience working with high-net worth donors and institutional funders.
• Solid track record of cultivating and managing volunteer committees.
• Demonstrated thorough understanding of development best practices.
• Familiarity with donor networks in the Merrimack Valley preferred.
• Bi-lingual verbal fluency in English and Spanish a strong plus.

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.

Compensation: This position has a salary of $125,000+, commensurate with experience.

If you are interested in being considered for this search, please use the form below to submit your cover letter and resume in confidence.

Tracy Marshall

Executive Director, Search Practice

Development Guild DDI