Director for Planned Giving

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health premiums for employees

HSA with employer contribution

Life insurance

403b retirement plan

17 paid holidays

Generous paid time-off

Job summary

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is seeking a Senior Planned Giving Lead to develop and manage a comprehensive planned giving program for the churchwide organization. You will oversee a portfolio of significant donors, collaborate with the ELCA Foundation, and serve on the Development leadership team to shape strategy.

Responsibilities include elevating gift planning, coordinating with Annual and Institutional giving, and building robust metrics to demonstrate growth.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of professional fundraising experience developing gifts, incl. planned gifts.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent; advanced gift planning/CFRE-type certification preferred.
• Proven ability to build relationships across diverse constituencies and departments.
• Strong written and oral communication skills; able to engage donors and advisors.
• Experience with CRM and donor management systems.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement a comprehensive planned giving program for ELCA churchwide priorities.
• Manage a portfolio of 50–100 active prospects for cultivation and stewardship.
• Support mid and major gift officers in planning and documenting new gifts.
• Coordinate with ELCA Foundation to promote and steward planned gifts.
• Lead the Development leadership team in fundraising strategy.
• Develop metrics to track progress using actuarial projections.
• Other duties as assigned.

Skills

Fundraising

Planned gifts

Donor relations

Project management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in related field

Fundraising certification (CAP, CSPG, CFRE, CFP, or AEP)

Tools

CRM/donor management system

Job description

This posting will close December 5, 2026, at 11:00 pm central time.

About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 3 million members in more than 8,600 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of “God’s work. Our hands.,” the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA’s roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.

The Lutheran Center (national office) is located in Chicago, Illinois. A staff of approximately 400, under the leadership of the Presiding Bishop, serve as administrators, advisors, conveners, partners, and resource people for the ELCA and its ministries. Staff lead the work of national, domestic, and global ministries and programs including Lutheran Disaster Response, ELCA World Hunger, Service & Justice, Christian Community and Leadership, and Innovation. We are also home to five of our separately incorporated ministries: The Mission Investment Fund of the ELCA, Women of the ELCA, Lutheran Men in Mission, the ELCA Foundation and the ELCA Federal Credit Union.

About the position

The Development team within the Office of the Presiding Bishop of the ELCA Churchwide Organization is responsible for engaging donor members from across the ELCA ecology. Through Mission Support and Stewardship, Annual Giving, Institutional Giving, Transformational Giving, and the Development Services team, the Development team seeks to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward donors of all kinds as they support the variety of ministries the ELCA does as church together.

This position is responsible for developing, managing, and executing upon a robust planned giving fundraising plan to identify, cultivate, solicit and steward planned gifts to the churchwide organization fundraising priorities.

In addition to setting strategy for the planned giving program of the churchwide organization to be implemented across the Development team, this position will carry a portfolio of significant planned giving donors and oversee the legacy society program of the ELCA. This position will serve on the leadership team of the Development team and work closely with the ELCA Foundation.

This is a full-time, regular, exempt, Chicago-based/hybrid position. This position has responsibilities that will require being in the office a minimum of 2 days/week and more as needed.

The eligibility of a candidate for remote or hybrid positions may depend on the residency of the candidate, and the budget for the role, including salary or pay, insurance coverage, and/or tax burden. Candidates for this position must reside within the fifty United States or the District of Columbia and be authorized to work lawfully in the United States. In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification document form upon hire.

1. Develop and implement a comprehensive planned giving program designed to increase the overall number and size of planned gifts in support of ELCA churchwide organization fundraising priorities. Develop opportunities to invite ELCA members to include the ministries of the ELCA in their estate plans and ensure appropriate recognition and stewardship of planned gifts.

2. Manage a portfolio of approximately 50-100 active prospects to cultivate, solicit, and steward while also carrying primary responsibility for stewarding long‑term planned gifts supporting the fundraising priorities of the churchwide organization.

3. Support mid and major gift officers during the identification, development and/or documentation of new planned gifts for donors under their management. This could include training, coordinating referrals, and sharing industry trends and best practices across the Development team.

4. Working collaboratively with colleagues in Development and the ELCA Foundation, develop and coordinate a shared strategy for promotion, identification, solicitation, and stewardship of planned gifts (with particular attention on building strong collaborative relationships with the Senior Director of Annual Giving and Senior Director of Development Services).

5. Serve as a key leader of the Development leadership team in setting overall fundraising strategy for the churchwide organization.

6. Develop metrics and evaluation tools to illustrate progress related to growth in planned giving, utilizing actuarial projections as needed.

7. Other duties as assigned.

Supervision

N/A

Requirements

1. 7+ years of professional fundraising experience developing gifts – and in particular planned gifts - and setting strategies. Bachelor’s degree in a related field; or an equivalent combination of education, training and experience that demonstrates the ability to perform the duties of the position. Advanced gift planning, financial planning, estate planning, or fundraising certification (e.g., CAP, CSPG, CFRE, CFP, or AEP) preferred.

2. Demonstrated experience in planning, leading and managing projects, including coordinating with peers to achieve desired outcomes, and tracking progress to senior staff and partnership members.

3. Proven relationship-building skills and the ability to interact effectively with diverse constituencies. Ability to develop collaborative relationships across various departments, units, and expressions of the church.

4. Exceptional written and oral communication skills.

5. Demonstrated ability to inspire the confidence of donors, their families and their legal and financial advisors, as well as internal colleagues, partners and staff.

6. Understanding of and commitment to the vision, values, and purpose of the ELCA. Familiarity with the structure, theology, and polity of the ELCA.

7. Membership in an ELCA congregation or worshipping community.

8. Commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and anti‑racism.

9. Demonstrated understanding of and commitment to Christian stewardship.

10. Minimum Technical Competency: Computer knowledge that enables you to operate a Windows Computer and follow basic troubleshooting instructions. Software skills to efficiently use computer programs and applications. Ability to leverage computer knowledge and software skills to understand new software, follow process, and identify opportunities for improvement. Experience using Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Teams, Outlook, etc.) preferred. Demonstrated competency with a CRM or other donor management systems.

Physical

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear, be visible on camera, use hands and fingers to operate a computer and telephone. This position requires sitting for long periods of time. Reasonable accommodation can be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Travel

Considerable travel. Position requires considerable overnight, domestic travel by plane, car. Valid driver’s license preferred. This position requires travel to off‑site locations for a variety of meetings and donor visits.

Benefits

The ELCA offers a competitive benefits package for eligible employees, including employer paid health premiums for employees, health and dependent care FSA’s, a health savings account (HSA) with an employer contribution, life insurance, and a substantial employer contribution to 403b retirement plan (no match required). We also offer a generous paid time‑off policy including 17 paid holidays. All benefits commence on your start date.

Salary

Commensurate with qualifications and relevant experience.

We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees and prohibit discrimination based on race, color, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. As a religious organization, we reserve the right, where permitted by applicable federal and state law, to employ individuals who share and support our religious beliefs, mission, and values.