POSITION SUMMARY
The Vice President of Philanthropy provides visionary leadership, strategic direction, and execution oversight for all philanthropic endeavors at the Coastal Community Foundation. This leader drives donor development, stewardship, and engagement to achieve ambitious goals aligned with the Foundation’s mission, long-term financial sustainability, and community impact. As a member of the Foundation’s Leadership Team, the Vice President serves as a key ambassador, building meaningful relationships with donors, advisors, community partners, and future philanthropists.
The Vice President will create a philanthropic plan that inspires donors to achieve their giving goals “through, to, or with” the Foundation and serve as an internal advocate for all donors and fundholders by acting as their voice in decisions made at the Foundation. The Vice President will deploy its relationship managers and collaborate with other staff members to deliver the highest quality service to the Foundation’s prospective and current donors, professional advisors, and the community-at-large. The ideal candidate enjoys leading in a fast-paced, results oriented organization that cares for its staff and the people and communities served.
Reports to: Chief Executive Officer
Located In: Charleston, SC
AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY
Strategic Philanthropic Leadership
- Develop, oversee, and implement a comprehensive strategy for asset development and stewardship from current and prospective donors to meet short- and long-term revenue goals.
- Provide leadership and coordinate with foundation partners for the successful completion of the $250M Community Catalyst Campaign.
- Lead initiatives to attract new contributions and sustain support for programs, such as the Community Partnership Program (CPP), field of interest funds, and county-specific funds.
- Advance the planned giving strategy, offering expert guidance to donors and nonprofits, for the purpose of establishing funds and/or creating future commitments through estate plans.
- Foster cross-departmental collaboration to ensure donor facing materials are brand consistent and also reflect the Foundation’s grantmaking impact and community outcomes.
- Monitor federal, state, and local policy decisions that may affect the Foundation’s endowed fund business model and advise the President/CEO and Board accordingly.
Fundraising & Donor Development
- Develop and implement a comprehensive fundraising strategy aligned with the foundation’s mission and goals, identifying new opportunities for philanthropic partnerships and initiatives.
- Build and manage systems to cultivate relationships with individuals, professional advisors, and corporations, driving referrals and broadening donor pipelines.
- Provide expertise on planned giving to donors and nonprofits to support fund establishment and future commitments via estate plans.
- Design and lead philanthropic learning opportunities to engage donors and donor advised fundholders in strategic, values-aligned giving. Support may include leading family philanthropy meetings.
- Oversee the creation of fundraising campaigns, events, and initiatives to attract contributions and evaluate and enhance fundraising methodologies to maximize impact.
- Collaborate with staff and board members to secure major gifts and planned giving commitments.
Donor Engagement and Stewardship
- Implement a donor relationship management program with long-term goals, regular touchpoints, outreach tracking, and legacy recognition strategies and that maximizes the impact of relationship managers.
- Develop service standards and monitor KPIs to ensure high-quality donor services and communication.
- Engage the community through events, site visits, and personalized experiences.
- Partner with Grantmaking and Community Leadership teams to identify opportunities that encourage donor investment in Foundation-supported initiatives.
Talent and Team Development
- Lead the Philanthropy Team, supervising at least three direct reports, and cultivating a collaborative and accountable team environment providing guidance, mentorship, and accountability.
- Foster a strong team culture focused on continuous learning, cross-functional collaboration, and high-performance, coaching team members on talking points with current and potential donors.
- Support team development by modeling and reinforcing best practices in donor engagement, stewardship, and relationship management.
- Staff the Foundation’s Civic Leadership Committee, ensuring strong communication, clear direction and active and ongoing interaction.
Strategic Operations and Compliance
- Lead efforts to improve departmental performance through enhanced systems, streamlined processes, and optimized donor tracking.
- Ensure policies and procedures are ethical, efficient, and aligned with mission and goals.
- Oversee the creation and Board approval of fund agreements to ensure donor intent, compliance, and organizational alignment.
- Develop internal standards and tools to support transparency, performance measurement, and continuous improvement.
- Foster a strong partnership with the board and ensure that the foundation’s philanthropic initiatives are well-supported, strategically aligned, and positioned for long-term success.
QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor’s degree in marketing, business, or related field required.
- Minimum 5 years’ experience in wealth planning or financial advising/management and/or at least 8 years in senior-level fundraising and management in a nonprofit setting; understanding of community foundation operations is preferred.
- Proven management experience with the ability to lead and mentor high-performing teams.
- Strong knowledge of donor engagement strategies, investment vehicles and returns, philanthropic trends, and customer relationship management.
- Skilled in CRM systems, donor databases, and reporting.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to influence and inspire diverse stakeholders.
- Strong project management and organizational skills; thorough understanding of financial statements, and ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
- Confident public speaker and presenter with strong facilitation skills.
- Strategic Thinking: Ability to design and implement comprehensive fundraising strategies aligned with organizational goals.
- Relationship Building: Exceptional interpersonal skills to cultivate and maintain relationships with donors, board members, and community partners.
