Director of Annual Giving Silverado, CA

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1 Director of Annual Giving Silverado, CA Ad omne bonum opus parati Prepared for Every Good Work

2 The Organization A Monastic Community St. Michael s Abbey is a special place: a sanctuary where Norbertine clerics of the Catholic Church live a devout monastic life that supplies the foundation for an equally active and engaged ministry. The Norbertine Fathers consecrate the entire day to God by contemplating his words and singing his praises rising early for pre-dawn prayer, closing the day in silent contemplation, and living a communal life as brothers in Christ. This enduring tradition allows the Fathers to become what St. Thomas Aquinas called conduits of grace those who take what they have received in contemplation and share it with others. The priests of St. Michael s give witness to God s grace in more than 30 local parishes and through their retreat ministry through the U.S., Canada, Europe, and the Philippines. Education and Community Service The Abbey s primary form of religious ministry is its operation of St. Michael s Preparatory School, the only boarding school to rank among the top 50 Catholic high schools in the U.S. The School boasts a teacher/student ratio of 1:4 and sends one hundred percent of its graduates on to institutions of higher learning. Each year, the School s junior class travels to Rome for two weeks, where students have a whirlwind experience of discovery, education, and spiritual understanding. In addition to serving as teachers, coaches, and counselors in the Preparatory School, St. Michael s priests provide on-call chaplains to area hospitals, staff two elementary schools and a Catholic high school in the South Bay, and offer mass and confession for imprisoned populations, with a special focus on juveniles.

3 The Opportunity St. Michael s Abbey s motto Prepared for Every Good Work flows from a tradition dating back more than 900 years. The Abbey is devoted not only to tradition, but to the capacity of tradition to transform the present; not only to a practice of sheltered sanctuary, but to the contemplative engagement of modern education and worldly curiosity. This delicate balance shapes every element of the Abbey s fundraising, which is thoroughly imbued with passion for the Abbey s mission even as it has begun to professionalize and grow. The Director of Annual Giving will maintain this balance while building on the Abbey s progress over the last 2 years and helping to accelerate its scale and pace. Closing a Campaign, Opening an Advancement Office St. Michael s Abbey has worked with fundraising consulting firm CCS for the last 2 years to design the most ambitious fundraising campaign in its history, a $120M campaign to create a new abbey that will support a larger seminary and Preparatory School and broader programs for the regional public. The campaign, still in its silent phase, has exceeded its goals and raised $56M to date. It will enter its public phase when it has reached a target of $96M. As The Abbey closes the campaign, it is also establishing a professional advancement office that will generate sustainable annual revenue of approximately $15M. The new program will lay the groundwork for a future capital campaign to support the St. Michael s Preparatory School and to build an Abbey endowment. The Director of Annual Giving, along with a new Chief Advancement Officer, will be one of the first professional fundraisers to join the Abbey and will establish an annual fund that can serve as a cornerstone of its fundraising expansion. Annual Giving at St. Michael s Abbey The Abbey s periodic annual appeals have historically raised approximately $4M each year for both the Abbey and the preparatory school. For 10 years, the Abbey has published a quarterly newsletter that further cultivates a network of congregants, families of preparatory school alumni, and lay volunteers. The Director of Annual Giving will create new structures and strategies to capitalize on and expand these resources to increase annual giving and create a reliable pipeline of major donors. In this work, s/he will collaborate closely with both professional fundraisers and the Abbey s priests, who serve as its Major Gift Directors both for and outside the capital campaign.

4 The Responsibilities Under the general direction of the Chief Advancement Officer, the Director of Annual Giving will be responsible for designing, implementing, and evaluating a comprehensive annual giving program that supports St. Michaels Abbey, the seminary, and the preparatory school. Using a wide variety of modern fundraising tools, including Web capabilities, face-to-face solicitations, and direct mail, the Director will establish strategies for identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding individuals for annual gifts. The Director will focus on institutionalizing a strong annual giving fund, increasing the fund s size, and building a major donor pipeline. S/he will have regular contact with St. Michael s Abbey Foundation Board of directors; leaders and priests of the Norbertine Order; alumni and parents of the preparatory school; and other external constituents. Specific responsibilities include: Understand and passionately embrace the mission, history, values, culture, and procedures of the Norbertine Order. Design and construct a comprehensive annual fund from the ground up, including revenue goals, gift tables, and market segmentation, with the aim of expanding the Abbey s donor base, increasing annual revenue, and laying the foundation for major, planned, and campaign giving. Establish specific cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies such as giving circles, affinity groups, and alumni giving that create a reliable pipeline of annual donors and build long-term relationships with high-level donors and volunteers. Assess, utilize, and continually evaluate a range of annual giving channels, including face-to-face, Web-based, social media, telephone, and direct mail appeals. In collaboration with the Chief Advancement Officer, personally plan, execute, and evaluate annual solicitations of individual donors at the $1,000 to $25,000 giving levels. Build and leverage relationships with Foundation Board members, families of preparatory school alumni, and major benefactors to create a cadre of annual giving volunteers. Employ clear and reliable record-keeping systems to facilitate the use of an integrated moves management process, moving annual donors to major gifts status. Work in collaboration with the Abbey s Information Technology staff to develop and design the technical infrastructure and deliverance mechanisms for e-giving solicitations. Develop, direct, and organize direct mail campaigns with specific marketing themes and timelines; manage vendor relationships and oversee tracking and analysis of all direct mail solicitation results. Prepare and monitor the annual fund s annual operating plans.

5 The Candidate The ideal Director of Annual Giving will combine a genuine respect and passion for the nobility of St. Michael s Abbey s mission with a record of knowledge and experience in annual giving programs. S/he will be able to work comfortably and effectively with the Abbey s priests and highly invested lay volunteers in order to deepen their understanding of and investment in the annual fund s establishment and growth. At the same time, s/he will have a strong understanding of the annual fund tools and donor relations practices needed to achieve that growth. The Director will be prepared to take responsibility for every element of building and expanding the fund, working with the Chief Advancement Officer, information technology staff, direct mail vendors, and others to establish a full slate of cultivation and solicitation strategies, employ effective marketing and database tools, and deeply engage Abbey volunteers. Specific Qualifications: Knowledge of and respect for the Catholic mission of the Norbertine Fathers; a personal Catholic background is useful but not required. A minimum of three years of progressively responsible experience in professional advancement. Demonstrated ability to design, implement, and evaluate a comprehensive annual giving program, with annual operating plans and appropriate volunteer engagement. Firm knowledge of the principles and best practices of donor relations and volunteer management. Experience participating effectively in direct solicitations of donors. Familiarity with relational databases and of how to create and maintain effective record-keeping and tracking systems. Ability to analyze data in order to identify giving patterns and make projections. Exceptional verbal and written communications skills; ability to oversee the development of communications pieces with a high level of attention to both marketing effectiveness and technical correctness. Excellent interpersonal skills; ability to work with a diverse range of personality types and to motivate and help them to participate in the fundraising process. Availability to work evenings and weekends according to event-related scheduling. Bachelor s degree required, graduate degree preferred.

6 To Apply Director of Annual Giving Silverado, CA Questions, résumés, and CVs should be sent to All first round interviews for this position will take place at at 1820 N. Fort Myer Drive, Suite 702, Arlington, VA 22209, (703) , or via telephone/video conference. St. Michael s Abbey welcomes applicants of any race, color, and national or ethnic origin.