Director Of Strategic Gifts

Description

Established by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1940, the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation is entering a new chapter of growth and impact. Our vision is a better world shaped by Wright’s legacy and ideas, inspiring how we live, learn, and build. Our mission is to connect people to the continued relevance of Wright’s architectural legacy; preserve the buildings, landscapes, and collections of Taliesin and Taliesin West; and advance the impact of architecture and design. We embrace Wright’s philosophy and transform it into action for a thriving future.”

Position Summary:

The Director of Strategic Gifts leads the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation’s major-gifts and individual philanthropy program, building the strategy, team discipline, and donor experiences needed to deepen relationships and grow significant philanthropic investment. This is a builder role, with responsibility for helping create the best-in-class, donor-centric, relationship-driven fundraising operation envisioned in the Foundation’s strategic plan. The Director provides strategic leadership for prospect development, relationship-management portfolios, cultivation and solicitation planning, donor stewardship, and Taliesin Circle—the Foundation’s leadership donor society launching in FY27.

Reporting to the Chief Advancement Officer, the Director supervises frontline fundraising staff, manages a focused portfolio of high-priority donors and prospects, and partners with the Chief Advancement Officer, CEO, board members, and institutional leaders on principal and major-gift relationships. The role works closely with Membership and Conversion teams to create intentional pathways from member and annual donor participation into deeper philanthropic engagement, and with Engagement Operations, storytelling, and Advancement Operations colleagues to ensure that donor strategies are supported by strong data, communications, events, and follow-through.

Success will be measured by major-gift revenue and pipeline growth, donor retention and upgrades, portfolio health and movement, the effectiveness of Taliesin Circle, the quality and consistency of stewardship, and the performance and development of the frontline fundraising team.

Essential Functions:

• Major-Gifts Strategy and Performance: Develop and lead a comprehensive major-gifts strategy aligned with the Foundation’s mission, institutional priorities, case for support, and annual and multi-year revenue goals. Establish fundraising priorities, activity and pipeline expectations, performance indicators, and regular review practices that drive donor movement and results.
• Team Leadership and Supervision: Supervise, coach, and develop Strategic Gifts Officers (one at present) and other assigned staff. Set clear goals and portfolio expectations, conduct regular one-on-one and portfolio review meetings, support solicitation strategy, strengthen frontline fundraising skills, manage performance, and foster a collaborative and accountable culture.
• Portfolio and Relationship Management: Manage a focused portfolio of high-capacity donors and prospects through timely identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship as the Foundation’s senior dedicated individual major-gifts officer, partnering closely with the CEO and Chief Advancement Officer on principal-gift relationships. Build individualized strategies, secure meaningful donor visits, prepare compelling asks, document interactions and next steps, and move relationships toward increased and sustained philanthropic commitment.
• Portfolio Management System: Implement and maintain a disciplined relationship-management framework across major-gift portfolios. Lead prospect assignment, stage and rating standards, moves management, next-action planning, portfolio balancing, forecasting, and routine pipeline reviews in partnership with the Chief Advancement Officer and Advancement Operations and Intelligence colleagues.
• Taliesin Circle Leadership: Lead the strategy, launch, and ongoing development of Taliesin Circle as the Foundation’s leadership donor society. Define the value proposition, qualification and renewal pathways, engagement calendar, member experience, communications, and relationship outcomes; partner with site and program colleagues on distinctive experiences at Taliesin, Taliesin West, and other relevant locations.
• Donor Stewardship and Recognition: Help design and lead implementation of a comprehensive stewardship framework that recognizes donors appropriately, demonstrates the impact of their giving, fulfills commitments, and creates clear opportunities for renewed and increased support. Develop individualized stewardship plans for priority donors and guide consistent stewardship practices across frontline portfolios.
• Principal Gifts and Executive Partnership: Partner with the Chief Advancement Officer and CEO on the Foundation’s highest-priority individual donor relationships. Prepare strategy briefs, meeting plans, proposals, talking points, and follow-up; coordinate the participation of board members, volunteers, and institutional leaders in cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
• Donor Pipeline and Conversion: Collaborate with Membership, Annual Giving, Audience Acquisition, and Conversion teams to identify and qualify donors with greater philanthropic potential. Establish practical handoffs, referral criteria, engagement pathways, and feedback loops that help move members and annual donors through Taliesin Circle and into major, leadership, principal, and transformational giving relationships.
• Donor Engagement and Events: Help drive Foundation events related to stewardship and fundraising. Define the philanthropic purpose, audience, and relationship goals for major-donor cultivation and stewardship experiences. Partner with Engagement Operations, Taliesin Circle, program, and site colleagues on execution, and ensure that invitations, briefing, attendance strategy, follow-up, and outcomes are integrated into donor plans. Track donor/member events in Salesforce.
• Proposals and Donor Communications: Develop and guide donor-centered proposals, cases for investment, briefings, stewardship reports, and personalized communications in collaboration with the Chief Advancement Officer, Manager of Storytelling, program leaders, and other subject-matter experts.
• CRM, Data, and Reporting: Ensure timely and accurate entry of donor contacts, plans, opportunities, proposals, commitments, and next steps in Salesforce. Use dashboards, portfolio reports, donor research, and performance data to evaluate progress, strengthen strategy, forecast results, and identify risks and opportunities.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with colleagues across Advancement, Preservation, Public Engagement, Taliesin Institute, Marketing, Finance, and Foundation sites to connect donor interests with mission-based and asset-based investment opportunities and to ensure accurate, coordinated donor engagement.
• Budget Management: Develop and manage approved budgets for major-donor cultivation, Taliesin Circle, stewardship, travel, and related activities; monitor spending and evaluate investments against philanthropic outcomes and institutional priorities.
• Additional Responsibilities: Support Advancement planning, board and committee engagement, revenue forecasting, and other duties consistent with the scope and level of the position.

Job/Position Skills:

• Fundraising Leadership: Ability to develop and execute major-gifts strategies that translate institutional priorities and donor interests into significant philanthropic investment.
• Frontline Fundraising: Advanced skill in identifying, qualifying, cultivating, soliciting, closing, and stewarding major individual gifts.
• People Management: Demonstrated ability to set expectations, coach fundraisers, review portfolios, manage performance, and build a collaborative, accountable team.
• Donor-Centered Relationship Building: Exceptional interpersonal judgment, curiosity, discretion, and ability to build authentic long-term relationships with donors, prospects, volunteers, and institutional leaders.
• Event Leadership: Ability to plan and execute successful fundraising events, mainly on our sites and occasionally in alternate venues.
• Strategic and Analytical Thinking: Ability to evaluate portfolios and pipelines, interpret donor and performance data, anticipate risks, and translate insights into focused action.
• Communication: Excellent written, verbal, presentation, and listening skills, including the ability to articulate compelling philanthropic opportunities to diverse audiences.
• Project and Event Leadership: Strong planning, coordination, budgeting, and follow-through across complex donor strategies, stewardship commitments, and engagement experiences.
• Collaboration and Influence: Ability to work effectively with executives, board members, colleagues, and subject-matter experts and to mobilize others around shared donor strategies.
• Judgment and Confidentiality: Sound discretion in handling sensitive donor, financial, personnel, and institutional information.
• Mission Commitment: Enthusiasm for and commitment to the mission of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.

Salary and Benefits: 

The target salary range for this position is $85,000-$110,000 annually, depending on experience. A comprehensive benefits package is also provided, for which a general overview can be found on the Foundation's website at www.franklloydwright.org/careers.

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications:

• Seven or more years of progressively responsible nonprofit fundraising experience, including significant frontline major-gifts responsibility.
• Demonstrated record of cultivating, soliciting, closing, and stewarding major individual gifts and of building sustained donor relationships.
• Demonstrated experience growing a major-gifts program or portfolio, including increasing donor engagement, gift size, pipeline strength, and fundraising results over time.
• At least three years of successful staff leadership, coaching, or management experience; experience supervising frontline fundraisers strongly preferred.
• Experience establishing or strengthening moves-management, portfolio-management, donor-society, or stewardship programs.
• Experience partnering with executive leaders, board members, and volunteers in major- and principal-gift fundraising.
• Demonstrated experience designing, planning, and managing donor and member events for a non-profit.
• Strong experience with CRM databases, portfolio reporting, and data-informed fundraising management; Salesforce experience strongly preferred.
• Excellent proficiency in Microsoft Office and comfort preparing donor-facing presentations, proposals, reports, and correspondence.
• Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience.

Physical Demands and Work Environment:

The physical demands and work environment described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this job.

Physical Demands: While performing the essential functions of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, walk, sit, use hands and arms, climb stairs, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, crawl, talk, and hear. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to twenty-five pounds. Specific vision abilities include close and distance vision, color and peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

Work Environment: While performing the duties of this job, the employee may be exposed to weather and environmental conditions prevalent at the time. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

This position requires periodic travel for donor meetings, events, professional activities, and visits to Foundation sites, including extended stays at Taliesin and Taliesin West. Occasional evening and weekend work is required.