Mission:

The Sanneh Foundation (TSF) is a Saint Paul, Minnesota based 501(c) (3) created to serve the holistic youth development needs of the increasingly diverse Twin Cities metro. TSF’s mission is to empower youth by supporting and promoting educational attainment through in-school and after-school programming, improve lives by providing social and emotional support through trusted and caring adult-youth mentorship, and unite communities by advancing diversity, equity, and community well-being.

Job Overview:

The VP of Advancement will lead a team of professionals responsible for fundraising, volunteer cultivation, corporate philanthropic support, communications, public relations, marketing and social media functions for the organization. They will support the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Corporate Board in cultivating and soliciting major gifts from individuals, corporations, foundations and others. As a member of the Executive Team, the VP of Advancement is a key contributor in ensuring the strategic and operational success of the Sanneh Foundation as a whole.

Reports to: Executive Vice President

Supervises: Director of Marketing and Events, Grants Manager, Volunteer Manager

DEVELOPMENT

• Create a comprehensive fundraising strategy to enable sustainable, including individual, foundation, and corporate donors and government grants
• Establish annual goals and the monitoring of progress towards stated goals.
• Lead the planning and execution of the two major events – Gala4Goals and Golf4Goals
• Oversee third-party contractors in the execution of fundraisers and other special events.
• Create the pipeline of potential supporters, building on referrals from Board members, current advocates, and research.
• Oversee the development of grant proposals and reporting requirements.
• Conduct regular analysis and reporting on donors’ giving to monitor and assess vitality and health of the organization’s budget.
• Build and foster relationships among corporations and the philanthropic community
• Interface with the Board of Directors
• Contribute to the strategic planning and annual reporting for the organization.

STRATEGIC ALLIANCES and PARTNERSHIPS

• Grow and steward strategic partnerships with leading corporations and non-profits/foundations aligned with the mission.
• Lead relationship-building strategy and activities with major individual donors, personally developing relationships with key donors and prospective donors
• Serve as a key representative understanding the needs in the community and communicating our core messages, programs and services.
• Coach senior staff in developing relationships with key donors and prospective donors
  • Identify unmet needs, goals, opportunities and challenges in existing partner relationship/structure and create a plan to drive value.
  • Coordinate with the Vice President of Programs for program partnerships.

MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION

• Create marketing/public relations strategy that cultivates and enhance meaningful relationships with targeted, high-level external audiences including the media and key influencers
• Lead the development and execution of the marketing strategy leveraging high-impact communication tools such as social media, brochures, fact sheets, presentations, case studies and blog articles
• Develop and manage messaging and positioning for program participation and donor stewardship.
• Create and share new marketing content and thought leadership with staff to ensure the most up to date content is being used.
• Manage and update the organization’s brand guidelines to deliver a consistent messaging brand voices

Key Responsibilities & Requirements:

Create & Lead Fund Development Strategy

• Craft a comprehensive fundraising strategy to enable sustainable growth, including individual, foundation, and corporate donors, and exploring potential government support in future years.
• Building a larger major donor base is of particular importance.
• Create marketing/public relations strategy that will allow TSF leadership to cultivate and enhance meaningful relationships with targeted, high-level external audiences including the media and key influencers.

Lead External Relationships with Current & Potential Donors

• Lead relationship-building strategy and activities with major individual donors, personally developing relationships with key donors and prospective donors, and coaching senior staff to do the same.
• Continually build the pipeline of potential supporters, building on referrals from Board members, current advocates, and research.
• Drive individual giving
• Lead institutional donor cultivation, supervising grant writing activities and supporting key relationships. Drive corporate and foundation giving.

Team Development/Management

• Building on its culture and productivity as a positive, cohesive, highly functioning group

Develop Fundraising Strategy & Infrastructure 

• Work closely with other members of the executive leadership team to construct an overall organizational strategy and goals.
• Communicate with colleagues across the organization to integrate development and program activities and ensure that commitments are properly fulfilled
• Work with other directors and managers to support media and public relations strategy.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in business or a closely related field. An advanced degree is preferred.
• Minimum five years non-profit development or business development experience, preferably in an education environment
• Minimum four years’ experience in managing a team of direct reports

Additional Qualifications Include:

Qualifications:

• This individual should have a passion for the mission, demonstrated effectiveness as a leader, and excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
• History of dedicated volunteer activity and/or commitment to non-profit organizations
• Demonstrated ability to plan and execute major gift activities, including the ability to ask for and close gifts of $100,000 and above
• Positive initiative and mature judgment
• Results-driven with a high level of personal and professional integrity and trustworthiness
• Highly organized, self-motivated, and able to manage complex projects, competing priorities and tight deadlines
• Highly internet savvy, with experience in Word, Excel, donor databases, and other key software tools
• Able to cultivate, solicit, and steward donors and prospects, asking questions and using listening skills to encourage prospects and donors to talk about themselves and their activities
• Prior success working closely and building relationships with diverse groups of people
• Comfortable giving and receiving honest, constructive feedback, and acting as a coach or mentor to staff
• Thrive in a fast-paced, creative and fun environment with a sense of humor even under stress
• Have a strong work ethic, take initiative, and require minimal direction