| Job Description: |
Department: Development
Location: Flexible within the NE Region (CT, RI, MA, ME, NH, VT)
Overview
The Land Trust Alliance is a national conservation organization whose mission is to save the places people love by strengthening land conservation across America. The Alliance works with Congress to pass tax incentives and funding that help landowners to choose conservation over development. The Alliance serves as a university for land conservation that trains the people who do the work to conserve cherished farms, forests, parks and trails. It strengthens community-based land trusts by providing workshops, online learning, research, standards, and accreditation services. The Alliance’s conservation defense program helps land trusts ensure that conserved land stays protected forever. The Alliance works with the media to promote land conservation and engage more Americans in saving the lands that give meaning to our lives.
Summary Description
The External Relations Officer, reports directly to the Vice President and works closely with the Development team (especially the Individual Giving team), NE Regional staff and the Land Trust Board Services multi-departmental team.
The Officer is a key player in the organization’s strategic goal to increase the individual membership base of the Alliance, raising funds to support the wide array of services, tools, and trainings available to land trusts across the nation. As such, the incumbent will manage the relationships for a group (150+/-) of donors and prospective donors in the New England/Mid-Atlantic area who contribute or have the potential to make major gifts to the Alliance. Performance goals will include both acquisition of new $1K plus donors as well as cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of existing donors with giving capacity of $5K plus.
The incumbent will also support NE program staff in an effort to help them achieve their individual fundraising goals. This will require close coordination with the Donor Relations Manager and may include major gifts training for regional staff as well as assisting them with individual donor/prospect strategy development and implementation.
As a member of the Land Trust Board Services team, the incumbent will work to implement the land trust board services initiative, which is designed to strengthen the effectiveness of land trust board members throughout the country, foster a close relationship with the Land Trust Alliance, and encourage financial and program support from land trust board members not only to local land trusts but also to the Alliance. This will include general presentations at conferences, land trust board meetings and events; creating opportunities to further engage land trust board members in the activities of the Alliance; as well as fielding questions and connecting board members to services, program staff, and other resources available to them through this new program.
Finally, the incumbent will work closely with the development team and regional staff to successfully plan and execute Alliance events in the NE Region for land trust board members, Alliance donors and prospective donors.
Responsibilities
- Proactively cultivate, solicit, and upgrade donors and prospects into the Guardians of the Land Society ($1,000+) and manage (cultivate, solicit, steward) a portfolio of 150 donors with $5K plus capacity to meet annual fundraising goals.
- Work with the Vice President, Alliance Board and the Land Trust Board Services team to develop and implement a comprehensive, multi-year plan to improve the effectiveness of land trust boards and to strengthen relationships with land trust board members.
- Work with the development team, NE regional offices, and Training & Conferences team to coordinate events for donors/prospective donors as well as land trust board members. Integrate Alliance training opportunities with the individual membership program in NE region. Assist with organization of land trust board member summit(s), and member events at our national and NE regional conferences.
- Present and/or lead discussions with land trust boards, staff and volunteers to keep them abreast of national land conservation issues of importance, inform them about services, tools, opportunities available to them through the Alliance, and listen and learn about challenges, issues, and concerns of land trust boards.
- Work closely with the NE staff to help them achieve their individual fundraising goals, including strategy development and major gifts coaching/training as needed.
- Manage a volunteer force of partners and program staff in the NE region to advance the Alliance’s national fundraising goals.
- Participate in all Alliance, general development, individual giving, and NE regional meetings as assigned.
- Input into iMIS database all relevant information related to individual portfolio.
- Assist in developing the fundraising and board development content for our annual conference, Rally; quarterly journal, Saving Land; extranet, the Learning Center; and other materials as needed.
- Assist in research and preparation of donor and prospect briefing profiles for senior staff solicitors visiting donors and prospects in NE region.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s Degree and a minimum of 6 years development experience in individual major gifts fundraising, including experience with face-to-face solicitations and demonstrated success in securing 5 and 6 figure gifts from individuals.
- Significant experience working with boards and/or other leadership groups.
- Superb verbal and written communication skills.
- Ability to work effectively without daily supervision and as part of a team.
- Ability to work quickly, meet deadlines and multi-task.
- Organized and attentive to details.
- Willingness to travel extensively.
- Willingness to work a flexible schedule including occasional weekends.
- Experienced with prospect research.
- Computer proficiency, especially with Microsoft Office and database programs.
- Passion for saving land a must. Knowledge of private land conservation techniques and/or land trusts highly desirable.
Compensation
Competitive salary and benefits provided commensurate with experience.
Contact
Send resume and cover letter via email to hr@lta.org. If email is not an option, applications will be accepted by mail to Human Resources Manager, Land Trust Alliance, 1660 L Street NW, Suite 1100, Washington, DC 20036.
The Land Trust Alliance’s mission is to save the places people love by strengthening land conservation across America. The Land Trust Alliance is an equal opportunity employer and will not discriminate because of race, creed, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, or marital status.
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