American Rivers is seeking a dedicated, energetic, and strategic Director of Philanthropy to grow major giving support in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.
Clean, healthy rivers are the lifeblood of our communities and are vital to the public’s health, safety, and quality of life. Most Americans live within a mile of a river or stream, and all our drinking water comes directly or indirectly from rivers and streams. Protecting and restoring rivers helps protect clean drinking water, creates jobs and recreation opportunities that benefit the economy, and revitalizes natural heritage for future generations.
Founded in 1973 the mission of American Rivers is to protect wild rivers, restore damaged rivers, and conserve clean water for people and nature. American Rivers has protected and restored more than 150,000 miles of rivers through advocacy efforts, on-the-ground projects, and the annual America’s Most Endangered Rivers® campaign. Headquartered in Washington, DC, American Rivers has offices across the country and more than 355,000 members, supporters, and volunteers.
For more information, please visit www.americanrivers.org
American Rivers embraces and celebrates diversity, equity, and inclusion in all that they do, and seeks to build and embody diversity in their organization and throughout the conservation field. To achieve their mission and vision, they cultivate diversity, promote equity, and foster inclusion in all aspects of their work. The life experiences, knowledge, innovation, and talent that everyone can bring to American Rivers provides unique perspectives, experiences, and competencies which are critical to the organization’s effectiveness in protecting wild rivers, restoring damaged rivers, and conserving clean water for people and nature.
Rivers Connect Us is more than their slogan, as the beauty of rivers is that they connect all people and communities.
Raising around $15M in philanthropic revenue annually, American Rivers is poised to enter a period of significant growth. Together, American Rivers’ CEO Tom Kiernan (appointed February 2021), staff, and Board of Directors have developed a North Star Framework to provide an integrated, aspirational, and bold vision to improve the health of rivers and waters given the concurrent crises of climate change, racial injustice, and biodiversity loss.
American Rivers is currently engaged in a Strategic Plan refresh with the goal of aligning their current Strategic Plan (2020 – 2024) with the North Star.
To achieve these ambitious goals, fundraising will play a critical role in providing sustainable revenue for the organization. Specifically, American Rivers sees growing and expanding its national major gifts program as a priority in those efforts.
Reporting to the Senior Director of Philanthropy, the Director of Philanthropy, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Regions, will be responsible for securing major gifts of $10,000+ from individual donors. This position will work from a home office, preferably in New York City or the greater Philadelphia area, traveling throughout the region to meet with donors and prospects up to 50 percent of the time.
The Director of Philanthropy will partner with the President/CEO as well as Board Members and other leadership staff and volunteers. This person will have a history of success in cultivating, soliciting, and closing major gifts from individuals; developing portfolios of individual donors and prospects with major gift potential; and building relationships and sustainable donor engagement strategies. They will also possess a deep understanding of best practices in major gift philanthropy as well as the ability to see the big picture and translate strategy into targeted goals and actions. This role is for someone who likes to build programs, identify prospective donors, and develop case statements.
This is an opportunity to join a talented, passionate and fun team of three other major gift directors who work closely together and support each other.
American Rivers is an equal opportunity/equal access/affirmative action employer fully committed to achieving a diverse workforce and complies with all applicable Federal and State laws, regulations, and executive orders regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action in its programs and activities. American Rivers does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, ethnic or national origin, gender, genetic information, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and veteran’s status. American Rivers is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities upon request.
All employees and interns working in any American Rivers office location; attending in-person meetings with staff or external partners, vendors, and donors; or traveling on American Rivers business must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 unless a reasonable accommodation is approved.
Please email your cover letter and resume in confidence to: americanrivers@developmentguild.com
Jesse Bryan
Senior Consultant
Development Guild DDI