Senior Director of Strategic and Philanthropic Partnerships, NYC
July 2022 | New York, NY
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Cradles to Crayons is seeking an entrepreneurial and results-oriented professional to join its Giving Factory Direct team as the new Senior Director of Philanthropy and Strategic Partnerships, NYC
About Cradles to Crayons
Cradles to Crayons (C2C), founded in 2002, provides children from birth through age 12, living in homeless or low-income situations, with the essential items they need to thrive—at home, at school, and at play. C2C supplies clothing, shoes, diapers, school supplies, and more, free of charge. Its vision is that one day all children will have the essentials they need to thrive.
Two in five kids in the United States are currently facing Clothing Insecurity, going without basic essentials like pants, shoes, diapers, and school supplies during their critical development years. Three of the top ten reasons kids miss school are rooted in Clothing Insecurity—just one example of the significant short- and long-term social and economic costs when these needs go unmet. C2C keeps Clothing Insecurity at the core of its mission and is the only large-scale nonprofit organization to focus on this resource gap. Since its founding, C2C has distributed more than three million customized packages of essentials to children in Massachusetts, Greater Philadelphia, Chicagoland, NYC, and nationally, through Giving Factory Direct—a first-in-kind online product donation platform launched in 2021.
C2C takes a three-pronged approach to mitigating Clothing Insecurity:
- In-person Engagement—through tens of thousands of children and adults volunteering at the Giving Factory warehouses to sort and package high volumes of new and like-new donations from local communities for Service Partners to distribute to the children they serve.
- Online Product Donations—Giving Factory Direct matches product donors directly to children who need the items they have to donate. GFD is currently available in a growing number of communities as C2C expands its reach nationally.
- Advocacy and Awareness—C2C is uniquely positioned to raise Clothing Insecurity as a national issue through awareness campaigns, data/evaluation, and legislative outreach.
C2C has earned the highest possible rating from Charity Navigator for 13 consecutive years. Only 2% of charities nationwide have received this distinction.
About Giving Factory Direct
Giving Factory Direct connects children in need directly to people who care—anywhere in the U.S. This innovative, first-of-its-kind, digital platform leverages twenty years of proven success—and three million distributed packages of new and gently used basic essentials—to empower people to fill clothing resource gaps themselves, all online. Donors log in to match with a specific child, pack their custom box of donations, then ship direct from their home to that child. With its anywhere, anytime model, Giving Factory Direct has no geographic limitations.
C2C has identified New York City as a key market to expand the Giving Factory Direct program. To date, Giving Factory Direct has served over 1,000 kids nationally and 600 in New York City. The organization sees Giving Factory Direct success in New York City as a strategic imperative going forward.
About Philanthropy at Cradles to Crayons
The philanthropy program at C2C is robust with current annual fundraising at $15M organization wide. About 50% of this revenue comes from individuals through both annual giving and major gifts, and the other 50% comes from institutions, with strong corporate partnerships nationally and within the various C2C markets. Fundraising for Giving Factory Direct is in the early stages, with most of its funding coming from individuals and corporations. There is tremendous opportunity to build upon the relationships that have been established and to leverage C2C’s New York Founders Council. The Founders’ Council is made up of 12 New York City based business and community leaders who are committed to advancing Giving Factory Direct and the mission of C2C. In addition, there is opportunity to leverage some of the organization’s national partnerships for additional funding for Giving Factory Direct.
About the Position
A new position, the Senior Director of Philanthropy and Strategic Partnerships, NYC will report to Karen Grant, the Vice President of Giving Factory Direct. This person will lead the execution of C2C’s fundraising strategy in NYC based around the Giving Factory Direct model. This person will serve as the main point of contact for the NYC based Founders Council and will work closely with C2C leadership and the Founders’ Council to execute the fundraising strategy. Additionally, they will work independently to find new sources of revenue through corporations, individuals, and foundations to support C2C’s NYC growth.
The Senior Director will work with key stakeholders to create an annual signature event to help raise awareness and revenue. While a remote role, this person is expected to live in the NYC area and have deep connections and a strong network within the NYC philanthropic community.
This person will be joining a small team working in a start-up environment, but with the added benefits of significant institutional knowledge and shared services, which enables the team to focus on achieving its ambitious goal of scaling to serve 100,000 children in three years.
Key Responsibilities
- Serve as a key member of the Giving Factory Direct Leadership Team
- Develop and implement a comprehensive revenue strategy to support and grow C2C in New York City
- Build, grow and cultivate new partnerships within the New York City market
- Support C2C fundraising initiatives including national partnerships, campaigns and individual giving
- Cultivate and steward existing partnerships with corporations and other constituencies to drive awareness and usage of Giving Factory Direct
- Collaborate with Vice President and Chief Executive Officer to set strategy for Founders’ Council and serve as their main point of contact to maximize their fundraising efforts
- Work with key stakeholders to create an annual signature event for New York City and serve as the lead for event planning and management.
- Act as the New York City “Ambassador” for C2C with select media, in the community, with key constituencies, and at events and conferences throughout the year.
Key Qualifications
Minimum of 8 years of senior level professional development experience with increasing responsibility, including direct experience and proven results growing a fundraising operation at a similar sized organization; relevant sales and/or business development experience will also be considered- Track record of identifying and engaging new donor constituencies whether corporate, individual or foundation
- Success managing and prioritizing all tasks associated with donor development work, including writing successful and compelling proposals and making in-person gift solicitations
- Experience managing a board and/or event committee
- Proven ability to use metrics to drive development decisions and achieve strategic objectives
- Knowledge of development best practices and the ability to apply them in innovative ways
- Enterprising professional with a keen sense of diplomacy
- Strong negotiation skills and maturity to navigate complex relationships
- Passion for the mission of C2C
- Strong network, knowledge and experience working in the New York City fundraising community
- Self-starter with ability to work independently and remotely
- Bachelor’s degree required
Diversity and Inclusiveness are core values at Cradles to Crayons, and we continuously strive to be a team where everyone feels welcome and supported. It is the policy of Cradles to Crayons to provide equal employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information and/or any other protected characteristic under applicable law. Individuals from underrepresented groups are especially encouraged to apply.
Please email your cover letter and resume in confidence to:
Jesse Bryan
Senior Consultant
Development Guild DDI