Job Description

Community Foundation Santa Cruz County is now accepting applications for a dedicated and experienced fund development professional to build assets for the needs of Santa Cruz County, now and in the future. The Chief Philanthropy Officer is central to achieving our mission to bring together people, ideas and resources to inspire philanthropy and accomplish great things.

What Makes this Position Great?

The Chief Philanthropy Officer plays a leadership role in building assets for the communities, initiatives, dreams, pressing issues, and needed solutions for Santa Cruz County. The CPO is an important fund developer, managing an individual and team portfolio to build assets for the future; develop gifts for today’s needs; and create more robust support for the Foundation’s work. The CPO is the philanthropic strategy lead for overall growth of private philanthropy. The successful candidate will be responsible for developing growth strategies, facilitating complex and planned gifts, and with the CEO and Donor Services Director, securing principal gifts for community initiatives and Foundation funds. The CEO, staff, and Board are excited to continue to grow the Foundation to meet community needs.

About Community Foundation Santa Cruz County

The Community Foundation was born in the wake of the 1982 floods and mudslides that devastated the Pajaro and San Lorenzo valleys. Generous people looking to help were searching for a central organization to send donations to—one that would support the long-term recovery efforts. But such an organization didn’t yet exist, and Community Foundation Santa Cruz County was formed to meet that need. From those humble beginnings over 40 years ago, we’ve grown to address needs far beyond disaster. Since our founding, our donors have helped us award over $250 million in grants, loans, and scholarships across education, the arts, human services, the environment, health, and economic development. Today, the Foundation has over $220 million in assets and makes over $20 million in grants annually. We have approximately half endowed and non-endowed funds allowing us to accomplish great things, now and in the future. We value community-driven solutions that are based on trusted relationships with our nonprofit partners and donors.

What will the Chief Philanthropic Officer Do, Be Responsible For, and Accomplish?

Act as lead strategist and thought partner for the CEO to create a comprehensive fund development strategy including:

Develop, implement and oversee a touchpoint plan for all donors
Segment a plan for different fund types (endowments, scholarships, donor-advised funds, etc.) and types of gifts (cash, real estate, QCDs, securities, partnerships and illiquid assets, etc.)
Evaluate areas for growth in different giving vehicles such as CGAs, CRTs, DAFs, etc.
Evaluate approaches to renew and establish a network of professional advisors and implement planned strategy
Develop and oversee an annual campaign to support annual Foundation operations and perpetual support
Plan annual programming to connect donors with the Foundation, opportunities for donor-advised grant making, updates on community initiatives and charitable giving

-Provide expertise and mentoring on planned gifts, complex gifts, and fund development for the whole staff.

-Bring and maintain a broad knowledge of tax laws that impact charitable giving, personal assets, and estates.

-Cultivate a portfolio through all stages of the gift cycle, meeting goals annually.

-Oversee donor services research, messaging, and portfolio reviews.

-Lead the donor services team and ensure that team members have clear development goals and implement professional development activities for ongoing mentorship.

-Analyze prospective donors, cultivate new relationships, and ask for major and principal gifts.

-Support CEO in all aspects of development.

-Provide expertise and seniority to serve as an executive leader of the Foundation, furthering organizational goals with a firm grasp of organizational data, budgeting, long term planning, sustainability, supporting high performing team members.

What are the Qualities, Skills and Attributes of a Successful Chief Philanthropy Officer?

A love of community philanthropy.
A desire to increase understanding of the people, places, issues, and solutions of Santa Cruz County.
A belief that donors and social impact leaders can create lasting change and an orientation to community service.
Alignment with the Foundation’s values of trust, solutions, and opportunity and leveraging resources to create more equitable opportunities for Santa Cruz County.
Commitment to advancing racial equity in Santa Cruz County.
Demonstrated history of fund development with experience securing principal, major, and planned gifts.
Strong knowledge of fundraising principles and experience in charitable gift planning and taxation.
Demonstrated leadership and management success; experience leading and inspiring ambitious and goal-oriented teams.
Strong collaboration skills and a mindset for partnerships.
Clear strategic mindset.
Strong leadership skills.
Excellent professional judgment and decisiveness to inspire confidence among prospects and donors.
Strong time prioritization, time management and organization skills with an attention to detail; problem-solving, research and analytical skills.
Outstanding interpersonal and relationship building skills (with internal and external audiences), including excellent written and verbal communication skills.
High initiative with a demonstrated ability to achieve and exceed goals.
Desirable technical knowledge: Database skills (the Foundation uses Foundant’s Community Suite), Microsoft Teams, and Office365.
Ability to travel throughout the County and attend events on evenings and/or weekends.

Everyone is welcome here

Our vision is to make Santa Cruz County thrive for all who call it home, now and in the future. That starts in the workplace. We strive to build an office community where employees feel that they belong and can thrive. Learn more about our equity approach and actions. We encourage Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), LGBTQ+ people, Bilingual (Spanish/English) candidates, veterans, and people with disabilities to apply. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, status as a veteran, and basis of disability or any other federal, state or local protected class.

What’s great about working at the Community Foundation?

We contribute to powerful, lasting solutions to the issues in our community.
We rally timely, flexible resources to meet needs.
We build bridges across difference through learning and innovation, lifting voices and culture, and addressing critical challenges together.
We believe in a culture of philanthropy and we open a donor-advised fund at no fee for every employee with an annual contribution and a matching gift.
We value work-life balance; employees get a minimum of four weeks paid vacation.
We contribute the equivalent of 6% of employee wages into a 401K retirement account.
We have snacks and bottomless coffee and tea!
Our backyard is the Forest of Nisene Marks State Park and our front yard is Seacliff State Beach.
We have electric car charging stations and indoor bike storage.
We are a staff team of surfers, dog lovers, cat aficionados, parents, caregivers, bikers, bakers, crafters, hikers, musicians, softball players, readers, and volunteers.
We truly and deeply care about the people and places of Santa Cruz County and celebrate that our work is about helping build a safe, happy, and healthy county for everyone.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $170,000.00 – $210,000.00 per year

Benefits:

401(k)
Dental insurance
Dependent health insurance coverage
Employee assistance program
Flexible spending account
Health insurance
Health savings account
Life insurance
Paid time off

Schedule:

Monday to Friday
Evenings as needed
Weekends as needed

Ability to Relocate:

Aptos, CA 95003: Relocate before starting work (Required)

Work Location: In person

How to Apply

To Apply

Please submit your resume and a letter telling us why you are interested in this position and describing your abilities and experience to:

Develop philanthropic strategy
Secure major, principal, and planned gifts
Support fund development activities of the CEO
Serve as a team and organizational leader

Submit to Susan True - strue@cfscc.org

We plan to hold initial interviews on a rolling basis until we find our first CPO with the first interviews on September 5th. Please submit your resume and letter by August 30th for consideration and please indicate if you cannot accommodate a September 5th interview.

Community Foundation Santa Cruz County

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