The position of Development Director for the Ottawa Jewish Community School was created to generate funds on an annual basis to ensure the sustainability of the school.
All private schools raise funds to augment traditional sources of revenue, such as tuition, and to ensure dollars are available to support students whose families cannot pay the full tuition costs. Our Annual Campaign averages around $400,000 per year, but work needs to be done to maintain and steward those donors over time. These funds are used to make targeted academic improvements in the school each year and to contribute to the fund that provides subsidies to students.
The position reports directly to the Head of School.
JOB DESCRIPTION
Implementation of all aspects of the Annual Giving Program with a significant focus on Individual Major Gifts.
Individual Major Gifts
To secure funds for the OJCS by managing a group of assigned and qualified donors (caseload); spending the majority of their time developing and nurturing relationships with new and current donors including families, alumni and leaders of the Jewish community.
- Coaching and leading volunteers in our Face-to-Face Solicitation Program
- Oversight of donor data management in order to provide accurate and timely reports on individual donor giving and overall giving trends and opportunities
- Working closely with the Chief Accountant and Development Committee (of the Board of Directors) to ensure accurate and timely financial reports
- Key staff support to all fundraising volunteers in all fundraising programs
- Keeping connected with the Head of School on Major Gift Prospect activity
- Ensuring ongoing donor recognition and stewardship to grow support for the school based on donor satisfaction
- Review and engage the Alumni database in order to maximize Alumni support for the school
- Manage an efficient expense budget in order to resource the fundraising process
Other Areas of Responsibility:
Direct Mail, Events, Sponsorships, Foundations and Planned Giving
The dominant focus of the annual giving plan is to build robust individual donations however there will be a lesser portion of time spent on other areas of fundraising:
- Coaching and leading volunteers in the presentation of a small number of fundraising special events that add fun and funds to the school
- Acquisition of minor sponsorships for fundraising events
- Maintaining and growing a small number of corporate sponsorships
- Development of customized proposals to targeted charitable foundations
- Identifying and assisting with planned giving visits through the school’s responsibilities for the community’s endowment campaign
IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE
The ideal candidate will bring the following skills and experiences:
- A minimum of three years of progressive responsibility in a development role, ideally a private school environment or other Jewish non-profit organization.
- A sincere passion for Jewish education and its comprehensive benefits to students, families and the community at large.
- Relationship building – proven and sustained success building and maintaining trusted relationships with key stakeholders and the ability to interact with multiple constituencies.
- Effective communication – excellent written, verbal and presentation skills.
- Decision-making – the ability to make sound databased judgments.
- Teamwork/collaboration – demonstrated success in ensuring teamwork and collaboration for high performing teams in a culture of accountability and discipline.
- Visioning – demonstrates innovation, creativity and a commitment to excellence.
- Flexibility – ability to help design and implement new fundraising initiatives, within an ever-changing organizational environment.
- Community –knowledge of Judaism and a personal passion for Jewish values and traditions, coupled with a strong desire to share this passion.
- Strategic - can anticipate future consequences and trends accurately; has broad knowledge and perspective; is future-oriented; can articulately paint credible pictures and visions of possibilities and likelihoods; can create competitive and breakthrough strategies and plans.
- Effective at forging strong personal interpersonal alliances at all levels both within and outside the organization; is personable, well-liked, and easily bonds
with others; builds solid relationships characterized by mutual respect, loyalty, and trust.
- Sets concrete and measurable objectives; exhibits a strong drive for results and success; conveys a sense of urgency and drives issues to closure; persists despite obstacles and opposition. The capacity to exercise strong self-discipline in the pursuit of a central goal.
Ideal Character Traits
- Intellectually and Socially Curious
- A thirst to learn more about people, places and things
- Accesses a deep and wide repository of knowledge to inform donor discussions
- Identifies the link between seemingly disparate ideas
- Probes donors by asking thoughtful, insight-generating questions about their goals and interests
- Behavioural and Linguistic Flexibility
- The skill to change speaking style and behaviour depending on the audience
- Changes tone, inflection and vocabulary based on the background and experience of the donor
- Reads nonverbal cues, including body language, and adapts approach accordingly
- Utilizes prior experience working with diverse audiences in order to take calculated risks
- Information Distiller
- The ability to recognize, curate and communicate relevant information
- Possesses fluency with donor-related data and analytics to enhance donor prioritization
- Quickly zeros in on relevant details related to donor motivations and interests
- Explains complicated issues in a comprehensible fashion
- Strategic Solicitor
- The confidence and skill to artfully ask prospective donors to make a contribution
- Understanding that fundraising is an exchange of values
- Knows the details of OJCS’s school program
- Knowing the interests and passions of each donor on your caseload
- Understanding that a “no” is not a personal rejection
- Donor centered
- Understands and ensures Donors are a core asset to the OJCS
- Will have a fundraising philosophy that centers on caring for and nurturing donors while pursuing organizational objectives
- Articulates an operating philosophy that values the donor as much as the mission of the organization.
- Team Oriented
- Recognizes and values the contributions of other OJCS team members
EDUCATION
Bachelor’s degree required (advanced degree preferred)
JOB TYPE: Half-Time, Permanent
SALARY RANGE: $40,000 - $60,000 plus benefits
Application Instructions: If interested, please send a cover letter and resume to Dr. Jon Mitzmacher, Head of School, at: [email protected]. Only applicants who are being actively considered will be contacted.
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