Requirements
To meet the basic qualifications for this role you will have legal authorization to work permanently in the United States for any employer without requiring a visa transfer or visa sponsorship. To be a good fit for the Donor Engagement Officer opportunity, you also should have:- A bachelor's degree or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience
- 3 to 4 years of experience in fundraising for nonprofit organizations; donor relations and stewardship experience is preferred
- A demonstrated understanding of how nonprofits work, particularly regarding relationship management, communications, events, etc.
- An understanding of moves management, including both laying the foundation for the ask and directly asking donors for contributions Quick question for you - click here
- Excellent writing ability and demonstrated experience writing acknowledgements, cultivation and other development copy
- 2 to 3 years of experience with development databases and database systems such as prospect solicitation and gift tracking, acknowledgements, etc.
- Experience with individual giving is strongly preferred
- Experience working for a land conservation organization is a plus
- Exceptional people skills and the ability to develop and maintain relationships
- Strong execution and follow up skills
- A collaborative approach
- The ability to work with teams across geographic areas
Role
Reporting to the Director of Philanthropy for Texas, you will collaborate with our Program Area Director as well as a Philanthropy Coordinator who supports Texas remotely from Tennessee.A role you can grow
If you're proud of your entrepreneurial spirit, this could be a good role for you. You will be our first Donor Engagement Officer in Dallas so you will have some say in shaping the role with help from some excellent role models in other states. The Director works primarily with high net worth individuals and corporations. Yours will be the face of the organization to the smaller donors within North Texas. You will help shape the personality of the local organization.
Although not a start up operation, we are still building. We have a very robust list of small donors who have had little outreach beyond letters. We will want you to reach out to them on a more personal level. Your role is donor facing, and you will be responsible for donor discovery, as well as recommending, implementing, and coordinating donor relations and stewardship to promote interaction with and recognition of donors giving annual gifts between $1,000 and $50,000.
The Director, who gained his own experience in environments where he was mentored enjoys cultivating people and will work closely with you to increase your knowledge and leverage your strengths. If your goal is to move up the philanthropy chain--to go from writing grants and proposals--to engage more with donors, you will be given lots of opportunity for success. Your wins benefit the organization; you will be fully supported.
An intentional approach to moves management
You'll work closely with staff to identify key donor populations to be cultivated, develop and manage individual stewardship plans for low-level donors, and ensure timely reporting to donors on the impact of their gift. There will plenty of cold calling, but we'll look to you to leverage analytics and other information to optimize the effectiveness of your efforts. You'll be able to use data about donors such as wealth capacity, interest areas, geographics, history, number of gifts and more. This will help you target your approach and craft your messages with a goal of developing meaningful lifetime relationships that increase giving and inspire the spirit of philanthropy with donors and staff.
How you'll spend your time
You will invest about 70% of your time in prospecting for new donors through research, discovery calls, meetings, and other standard prospecting techniques. This will include establishing and coordinating individual and/or annual stewardship plans for key donors of all types, and serving as Relationship Manager for approximately 75 to 125 donors at the $1,000 to $50,000 level who require personalized attention. You'll provide support to philanthropy staff including assistance with preparation of highly personalized letters, proposals, and impact reports for donors as well as coordination and tracking of donor engagement activities and events.Quick question for you - click here
Another 20% of your time will go to overseeing acknowledgements to all donors.
You'll spend about 10% of your time coordinating efforts with the National Annual Giving and/or Marketing Departments on donor stewardship and recognition, including Conservation Champions benefit fulfillment, preparation of the annual report donor listings, donor stories in Land & People, and other donor communications.
The Work You Will Support - Smart Growth for Dallas
Dallas is on the cusp of a new era in its history
With a growing population and booming economy, there is a renewed spirit of optimism in Dallas that is driving us to address some of our city's most persistent challenges: Is our water supply big enough, and clean enough, to meet our needs? How do we handle escalating health care costs? How can we meet the ever-growing mobility demands of our citizens? How do we extend the benefits from recent improvements in our urban core to surrounding neighborhoods?
Parks and open spaces are powerful assets for our cityDallas’ parks and open spaces can grow the local economy, connect communities, improve public health, clean our air and water, and protect the city’s most important natural places. Smart Growth for Dallas uses computer modeling and community engagement to help the city find and protect its most important natural places.
Video: to become more climate-resilient, cities must restore natural functions of the land by weaving green elements into the built environment. The Trust for Public Land helps cities meet the climate challenge through conservation and design -- from protecting waterfront parks and wetlands to creating green alleys and "water smart" playgrounds.Why TPL
Next chapter in your careerYou may have built some solid skills in a relatively modest role in philanthropy -- this is your opportunity to move up. You'll share ideas and insights with a variety of experienced professionals here in Texas, from other state offices, and from our national team. Within two or three years your resume will be robust. History shows that strong, ambitious performers are able to move into new opportunities within TPL. Some opportunities will require relocation.
Multiple ways to engage donors
The Trust for Public Land enjoys a unique paradigm that is different than many philanthropic organizations. You're not pigeonholed, but can help your donors meet their dreams and interests by focusing individual giving on programs that speak directly to that donor. Whether they are interested in parks for people, health, fitness, clean water, hiking trails, social equity or another endeavor, we have a wide array of interesting and exciting projects. You can also share press coverage of our successes.
Exciting, fundable programs
Our message and mission are very popular and attractive to donors. You'll help increase name recognition for The Trust for Public Land throughout North Texas, leveraging a compelling story: we are at the forefront of making cities better. We're also very successful in our programs and our fundraising. For example, it's an exciting time to join us because we're in the middle of our first national campaign, the Power of Place, and we're well on our way to meeting our goal of raising $400 million by 2017!
Top ratings
Because we spend so little to gain so much, The Trust for Public Land is one of the country's top-rated nonprofit organizations. Our skill at pooling many funding sources allows us to conserve $4 worth of land for every $1 donated. A couple of examples:
- The American Institute of Philanthropy gives The Trust for Public Land an "A for efficiency" for putting 84% towards program costs while generally spending only $9 to raise $100.
- Forbes Magazine gives us high marks for fundraising efficiency and charitable commitment, in our entry on their list of "The 200 Largest U.S. Charities."
In addition to a competitive salary we offer comprehensive benefits, including health, dental, vision and prescription plans; generous paid time off; flexible spending accounts; retirement savings plan; a commuter benefits program; and more.
Pictured: above, urban parks and green spaces change lives and transform communities. Below, in addition to recreation and renewal, open water and lands perform critical behind-the-scenes services, from helping mitigate the effects of climate change to safeguarding clean drinking water.
Keys to Success
This role is about much more than writing proposals and letters. To excel here you will need to be driven to engage individuals and lead them on a long-term journey with TPL. You'll need to truly enjoy creating the moves management strategy and meeting with potential donors -- and you can't shy away when the time comes to solicit gifts.It has often been said that, in Texas, you'll raise more money talking about your kids than the project you represent. Texans love good communicators who can weave a great story. The ability to establish personal relationships and to practice the art of philanthropic story-telling is important. If this description fits you, then you're already on the road to success.
We foster a spirit of collaboration and, if you're the person we're looking for, you'll find that attractive. You'll engage in brainstorming sessions with senior leaders, and you'll need the confidence to put your ideas out there and take in some critical feedback. Once the group has agreed on action steps, you'll showcase your ability to execute and drive results.
Our senior philanthropy team has developed metrics that will inform your activities, clarify expectations and provide feedback on your performance. At the same time, we are very creative and will look to you to bring new ideas. In addition, you should be self-motivated and able to work independently while also being a solid contributor to team efforts. There will be lots on your plate, so you should be adept at managing multiple activities and adapting to changing priorities.
About The Trust for Public Land
The Trust for Public Land works to protect the places people care about and to create close-to-home parks -- particularly in and near cities, where 80 percent of Americans live. Our goal is to ensure that every child has easy access to a safe place to play in nature. We also conserve working farms, ranches, and forests; lands of historical and cultural importance; rivers, streams, coasts, and watersheds; and other special places where people can experience nature close at hand. We focus our efforts in two major areas:Parks for People
For the 80 percent of Americans who live in or near a city, neighborhood parks offer the closest connection to nature. Yet, today there is only 1 park for every 3,000 people in America. As a result, an entire generation is growing up disconnected from nature and the outdoors, missing out on the fun, fitness, and relaxation that parks provide.
Research shows that parks promote public health and revitalize local economies. They make cities more energy-efficient and less vulnerable to the effects of climate change. They connect people to the great outdoors and to each other.
The Trust for Public Land was founded to create parks and protect land for people to enjoy, and we're still the only national conservation organization focused on this goal. Today, nearly ten million Americans live within a ten-minute walk of a park or natural area created with our help, and millions more visit these sites every year. We're working toward a day when everyone has easy access to a safe, green place to play.
Our Land and Water
The American conservation movement was born from a shared desire to protect our wildest places. Early visionaries proposed setting aside land to safeguard natural resources and connect people to the great outdoors. These park pioneers believed that as cities grew, access to nature would become one measure of a great nation.
Today, the wilderness and waterways they protected are integral to our health, our happiness, our economy, and our quality of life. And with an estimated two million acres lost to development every year, it's more important than ever to protect these special places.
The Trust for Public Land helps communities nationwide balance the demands of growth with the protection of wilderness, waterfronts, and working farms and forests. We use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology to identify and prioritize conservation goals -- then we employ our internal expertise to accomplish them. Whether improving the health of a local bay or preserving public access to a beloved mountain trail, we're protecting life-giving land and water resources for all to enjoy.
Video: The Trust for Public Land is thrilled to announce our first-ever comprehensive fundraising campaign to connect more people to nature and the outdoors.