Senior Leadership Gift Officer (2)
July 2022 | Boston, MA
WBUR seeks two dynamic and mission-driven Senior Leadership Gift Officers to help shape the future of public media
About WBUR
WBUR, Boston’s NPR news station, is a public media leader committed to exceptional journalism on-air, online, on demand, and on stage. WBUR’s mission is to serve the public, report the truth and enrich lives. For over 70 years, WBUR has proudly served the City of Boston, the nation and the world with award-winning, in-depth reporting and powerful programming. WBUR currently produces more content for NPR than any other public radio station in the country. WBUR offers a deep and insightful public conversation about issues of local, national, and global importance. WBUR’s not-for-profit model, based on audience and community support, helps them to sustain independent journalism that fuels our democracy.
WBUR’s journalistic rise in Boston and around the nation makes it one of the most prominent and widely consumed organizations in all of public radio. WBUR’s local newsroom, the largest radio newsroom in New England, broadcasts to more than 350,000 listeners each week in the region. Meanwhile, WBUR’s national programs such as Here & Now and On Point are carried on more than 500 stations nationwide, broadcasting collectively to more than 6.8 million listeners each week. WBUR.org has over 2.4 million users each month and their podcasts have over 3.8 million downloads each month.
For more information about WBUR, please visit https://www.wbur.org/
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at WBUR
WBUR strives for a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion intended to create connection and community throughout the organization. WBUR knows that this requires real change across all facets of what they do and who they are. WBUR wants to design an organization where everyone thrives, and acknowledges that it must hire, support, develop, advance, and retain diverse talent at all levels of the organization with a standard of inclusive excellence. WBUR is committed to building a staff, leadership team and boards that reflect the rich diversity of our city, region, and nation. Their current staff includes approximately 25% people of color and reflects near gender parity.
In the words of WBUR’s CEO, Margaret Low, “The work begins at home. At WBUR we understand that the profound inequities that persist in our country and our city are reflected in our own institution. Addressing these inequities requires real change in our culture, our coverage, our hiring, our leadership and our staff development.”
Click here for more information on diversity, equity, and inclusion at WBUR.
About Philanthropy at WBUR
Having recently completed a successful $35 million campaign, WBUR has a plan for the future. That plan calls for investment in content, people, innovation, and technologies. WBUR will not only help shape the future of public media—playing a leading role on-air, online and in person—but also serve the community on a broader stage with far greater impact.
WBUR is supported by a diverse constituency of approximately 65,000 donors, who are culturally conscious, curious, and voracious in their passion for exceptional programming. Backed by an engaged Board of twenty-eight and an expert Community Advisory Board of twenty-one, WBUR strives to continue to build a more informed, empowered, and inspired society.
Like any bold venture, this process of transformation will require capital, the commitment of the community, and a shared belief in WBUR’s ability to create a better future. Senior Leadership Gift Officers will play an essential role in supporting this exciting next chapter for the organization, as they prepare to launch the next campaign, while continuing to strengthen annual fundraising (which totaled over $15.2 million in FY21).
About the Position
Reporting to the Director of Development and working closely with WBUR’s CEO, Senior Leadership Gift Officers will be thoughtful and professional fundraisers with a successful track record of board management and engagement with prospects and donors. Senior Leadership Gift Officers will be responsible for a portfolio of leadership annual fund and campaign gifts with an emphasis on five-, six- and seven-figure donors. Further, they will identify and cultivate prospective donors and develop solicitation and stewardship strategies, coordinating the involvement of WBUR’s CEO, thirteen-person senior management team, peers on the eight-person Development team, WBUR Board of Directors and Community Advisory Board members, and volunteers, as necessary. The position will be responsible for meeting and exceeding monthly, quarterly, and annual goals.
Working closely with colleagues and volunteers, the Senior Leadership Gift Officers will solicit leadership annual fund gifts and campaign gifts, by engaging in face-to-face prospect visits and donor meetings and writing funding requests, donor reports, solicitation letters and impactful correspondence.
The Senior Leadership Gift Officers will also conduct independent research to identify new prospects and to learn more about known prospects. They will develop and execute thoughtful strategies for the cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of each assigned project, and in coordination with WBUR staff, accompany colleagues to meetings with prospective donors, as well as provide appropriate briefing materials and coaching as part of meeting preparation.
WBUR is open to a partially remote work model, in which Senior Leadership Gift Officers could plan to be in the office two to three days a week.
Key Responsibilities
- Identify, cultivate, solicit, and renew major donors for the support of WBUR, including but not limited to: managing a portfolio of individual donors and private and/or family foundations.
- Develop and implement donor stewardship programs, renewal strategies, and solicitation strategies; working with WBUR CEO and senior staff in identifying needs and giving opportunities.
- Write funding requests, donor reports, solicitation letters and correspondence.
- Establish and maintain an effective, high-level volunteer structure designed to provide counsel, identify prospects, and assist with specific solicitations and other programmatic initiatives as necessary.
- Conduct independent research to identify new prospects and to learn more about known prospects.
- Develop and execute thoughtful strategies for the cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of each assigned project.
- Create individualized engagement plans for newly identified and known prospects, utilizing research tools and external leadership.
- Participate in program planning and the coordination of special events including donor dinners, lunches, receptions, station visits, tours, and advisory board meetings.
Key Qualifications
- Bachelors’ degree and six to eight years of fundraising experience with a proven track record of soliciting and closing major six- and seven-figure gifts.
- Passion for WBUR’s mission to serve you with thoughtful content to inform, challenge and enrich the entire human experience.
- Excellent writing and presentation skills.
- Previous capital campaign experience.
- Strong interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to build relationships in a highly collaborative environment.
- Ability to engage in building relationships of trust and mutual value added with colleagues across the station.
- Capacity to think strategically and creatively.
- Ability to inquire about and listen to a prospect’s needs, and then to understand and determine how to best develop a successful strategy for engagement.
- Advanced written communications, analytical skills, collaboration, and project management skills.
- Familiarity with the Boston-area market is a plus.
WBUR is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
Staff will be required to show proof that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment. WBUR will consider an exemption from the vaccine requirement if employees are unable to get vaccinated due to a qualifying medical disability or a sincerely held religious objection. An accommodation or exemption from the vaccine requirement will be considered if one is available that would not pose a direct threat to others in the workplace and would not create an undue hardship for the organization.
If you are interested in being considered for this upcoming search, please email your cover letter and resume in confidence to:
Lynn Shevory
Senior Consultant
Development Guild DDI