Senior Development Officer
About Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada
Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada is a national fundraising organization committed to improving the lives of vulnerable children in Canada. Our initiatives meet the immediate and urgent needs of at risk children and youth, and afford them a brighter future that, ultimately, strengthens our communities. With more than 300,000 children at risk of abuse and neglect in Canada, our support is critical in giving them hope, confidence and opportunity.
The Foundation has an ambitious agenda for growth and is currently executing a $75M Stand Up For Kids – Futures Transformed Campaign, which will bring long term growth and funding stability to important child welfare programs across the country. Our staff members are a dynamic and highly committed team of professionals who are dedicated to delivering excellence and maximizing the social value of donations and volunteer contributions to child welfare in Canada.
The Opportunity
The Senior Development Officer, Donor Stewardship and Engagement is responsible for creating and executing exceptional donor relations through a high standard of engagement and stewardship, helping to achieve the Foundation’s goals. To be successful in this position, the candidate must be a creative, organized and energetic team player with a proven track record of donor relationship management and communications. This person is an active member of the Development Team working collaboratively with the other departments at the Foundation, and passionate for creating better outcomes for underserved children and youth. The ideal candidate possesses exceptional relationship management skills, and is a proactive, dynamic and innovative thinker who enjoys an entrepreneurial environment. This is a fast paced, supportive team environment with multiple priorities and competing deadlines.
Key Responsibilities
Working collaboratively with the Development and Marketing/Communications teams, the Senior Development Officer, Donor Stewardship and Engagement is responsible for developing and growing the Foundation’s donor engagement and stewardship across all types of donors, and for implementation with Major Gift donors. Key responsibilities of this position are:
Donor Stewardship (65% of time):
- Lead the planning and execution of stewardship and recognition plans for corporate, foundations, individuals and in-kind Major Gift donors ($5,000+) and senior volunteers (Board and Campaign Cabinet)
- Ensure stewardship and recognition offerings are compelling and meaningful to donors and sr. volunteers, and equitable across programs
- Identify new opportunities to strengthen the Foundations’ stewardship and recognition program by staying abreast of best practices and new opportunities
- Create and execute stewardship and recognition plans for new programs and campaigns
- Lead the tracking and creation of customized Major Gift donor impact reports and fundraising program reports; working closely with the Grants and Programs team to provide program outcome summaries
- Project manage stewardship deliverables for all Major Gift donors, including endowment reports, social media, videos, thank you plaques and articles, working closely with the Marketing and Communications team
- Oversee donor stewardship touch points, such as holiday cards and personal milestone
- Monitor Major Gift team stewardship activity and highlight gaps
- Oversee award nominations (i.e. AFP Awards), working closely with external freelance writer if required
- Coordinate and chair bi-weekly Development team stewardship meetings
- Working closely with the Coordinator, Finance and Administration, create annual and campaign donor listings for Foundation publications (i.e. annual reports, campaign newsletters, website)
- Work with the Marketing/Communication team to develop the Foundation’s stewardship and recognition plans for donors below the $5,000 giving level
- Ensure stewardship and recognition offerings are compelling and meaningful to donors, while
- Leverage existing Major Gift stewardship assets
- Stay abreast of best practices and new opportunities
- Working with the Director, Campaign and Major Gifts, take a leadership role in developing and executing stewardship and recognition plans for campaign donors and the Campaign Cabinet
- Working with the Youth Engagement Officer, recruit, prepare and support Youth Ambassadors for donor stewardship and engagement
Donor Communication and Engagement (20% of time):
- Working with the Director, Campaign and Major Gifts and others across the Foundation, take a leadership role in developing and executing the annual Donor Gratitude Report, campaign newsletters, e-blasts and other donor communications, including managing the distribution lists
- Working with others on the Development team, develop and execute compelling cultivation activities and collateral (i.e. Teddy Bear Fund presentations)
- Take the lead on identifying and overseeing additional tools required for donor engagement (i.e. program summaries, videos), engaging the Marketing/Communications team and the Foundation’s writer to execute
Event Management & Execution (5% of time):
- Lead the strategy, guest list and post-event stewardship for Major Gift donor events, working closely with the Sr. Events Officer who will lead and manage execution (logistics, invitations, RSVP lists, marketing deliverables, etc.)
Special Projects (10% of time):
- Manage the Foundations’ Scholarship slate and reports
- Lead the development and accurate updating of the scholarship slate, working closely with the Grants Officer
- Oversee the creation of scholarship recipient biographies to be send to donors, and support Donor Managers to distribute
- Prepare customized donor scholarship reports, and support Donor Managers to distribute
Competencies and Skills
- Proven track record of excellent donor relationship management and donor communication
- Excellent interpersonal and relationship management skills
- Excellent written and verbal communications skills
- Ability to work in a fast paced and results-oriented environment
- Excellent organization, planning and administrative skills
- Creativity, positivity and a solutions-oriented mindset
- A strong team player who values collaboration
- Evidence of leadership, initiative, tact, diplomacy and attention to detail
- Good skills in Raiser’s Edge (data entry, data maintenance, and database administration skills) is an asset
- Good skills in MS-Word, MS-Excel and MS-PowerPoint, email, calendar, and web browsers
Hours of work
- Regular office hours: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
- Occasional evenings and weekends during busy periods
- Vacation restrictions during busy periods
CAFC provides equal employment opportunities to employees regardless of their gender, race, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation or marital status. We offer a family-friendly environment that allows for flexible work arrangements in order to support staff diversity and ensure a healthy work-life balance.
CAFC provides a comprehensive benefits package including extended health, four weeks’ vacation and membership in a defined benefit pension plan.
Note that currently as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, CAFC staff are working remotely. Ultimately, when it is safe to do so, our goal is to work out of the CAFC offices, located in downtown Toronto.
To Apply Please forward a current resume, with covering letter in one single document, detailing how your qualifications match this opportunity, to enza@cafdn.org and include “SDO-Stewardship Jan 2022” in the subject line of your email by February 21, 2022.
We thank all candidates for their interest in the work of Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada; but only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. No telephone inquiries please.