Director, Individual Giving

City Year; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 80,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision

401(k) plan

Paid vacation and holidays

Job summary

City Year Chicago is seeking a Director of Individual Giving to lead the program that secures major gifts from individuals and to work with volunteers, board members, and senior leaders. The role aims to meet quarterly and annual fundraising goals by identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding donors.

The position reports to the Managing Director of Development and partners with the Marketing team to maximize donor engagement.

Qualifications

• Five or more years of fundraising experience, preferably in non-profit or education.
• Proven ability to secure gifts of $10,000+ and manage donor pipelines.
• Experience using donor management software to track donors, set goals, and generate reports.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Individual Giving portfolio to target approximately $900K in revenue within the overall $3.5M private revenue goal.
• Oversee Red Jacket Society portfolio with a $700K revenue target and 45 members.
• Collaborate with City Year Chicago leadership and Marketing to leverage events and campaigns.
• Maintain accurate Salesforce data and participate in pipeline reviews and moves management.

Skills

Donor relations

Strategic fundraising

Communication skills

Volunteer engagement

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

Salesforce

Job description

Position Overview

Reporting to the Managing Director of Development as part of the team responsible for raising $3.5M annually, the Director of Individual Giving will lead efforts to secure financial support from individuals. Working closely with other members of the development team, senior leaders, volunteers, and board members, the Director of Individual Giving is responsible for meeting quarterly and annual goals by identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding a diverse base of donors.

This position will play a critical role by assisting the Managing Director of Development in the creation and successful execution of a substantial and sustainable individual giving program while working in close partnership with other members of the Development team. The Director of Individual Giving will also work closely with City Year Chicago’s Marketing & Communications team to fully leverage the site’s outreach activities and events to meaningfully engage prospective and current donors and alumni.

Starting salary range for this role is $80,000 - $90,000. Anticipated start date for this role is fall 2026. This is a primarily in-person role with flexibility to periodically work remotely.

Job Description Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree preferred; five or more years of work experience including knowledge of fundraising for non-profit or educational organization preferred. Strong knowledge base of all aspects of fundraising with a strong emphasis on individual giving programs. Proven track record of funded gifts of $10,000+. Experience using donor/relationship management software to track donors, establish goals, and generate reports (experience with Salesforce preferred). Exceptional verbal and written communication skills with an ability to engage and inspire a wide range of audiences. Authorized documentation to work in the United States of America. Criminal background history clearance to work with school-age children, depending on the position.

Responsibilities

• Individual Giving Lead – Individual Giving portfolio to raise approximately $900K in revenue towards the overall private revenue goal of $3.5M+. Build revenue plan to retain and scale individual giving fundraising strategy. Develop and implement an individual giving strategy to increase the funding for City Year Chicago and position the organization as a premier education leader in the community. Partner with department leadership to set and monitor annual budget and individual and foundation fundraising goals. Support all individual giving efforts including Red Jacket Society, mid-level giving, the Associate Board of Young Professionals, and appeals/campaigns such as #GivingTuesday. Manage Alumni Board to meet memberships and fundraising goals. Collaborate with the Executive Director and Managing Director of Development to create strategies to identify and secure new supporters, fully leverage existing relationships, and increase multi-year commitments. Ensure that asset-based language is used in all communications and that stories center our students.
• Red Jacket Society – Oversee and lead strategy for Red Jacket Society portfolio to meet annual revenue goal of $700K for the program, with expectation to increase annually. Build and secure Red Jacket Society membership of 45 donors, with expectation to increase annually. Work closely with the Board, Development team, Headquarters prospect research, and site leadership, to identify, engage, and cultivate a pipeline of prospects that can make annual and multiyear investments at the $10,000+ level. Develop strategies to identify, cultivate, and solicit leadership-level support and multi-year commitments from new donors. Strengthen engagement and provide an experience for all members of the Red Jacket Society. Manage all logistics of the RJS locally including planning for and running pipeline meetings, building out and executing on a stewardship plan, and working in partnership with HQ to move major gift work forward. Plan and execute Red Jacket Society membership events; including at minimum 2 school visits per year.
• Development Operations – Work with the Senior Manager of Development Operations to ensure accurate tracking and reporting of institutional gifts and engagement using City Year’s Salesforce CRM. Partner with the Senior Manager of Development Operations and other team members to hold regular prospecting, pipeline, revenue forecasting, and moves management meetings. Work closely with fellow Development team members to understand priorities and business goals and develop strategies to meet the organization’s needs. Work with the development team to leverage events to increase giving, such as City Year’s Ripples of Hope fundraiser, service days (school beautification projects), and school visits for potential donors. Represent City Year at external and partner functions to establish and deepen potential and current donor relationships.

Preferred Qualifications

Demonstrated active listening skills and ability to uncover key priorities with stakeholders. Strong presentation, negotiation and liaison skills are required. Demonstrated tact and diplomacy in difficult or sensitive situations. Ability to adapt and excel in diverse, high energy, entrepreneurial, and rapidly changing environments. Growth mindset, passion for City Year’s mission of education equity, resilience, persistence, committed to teamwork, enthusiastic with sense of humor. Passion, understanding and appreciation for national service and City Year’s mission, values, and culture. Strong understanding of the corporate philanthropic landscape and education policy in Chicago. Experience and working knowledge of Salesforce, a plus.

Competencies

• Collaboration: Connects with stakeholders to identify shared interests; partners with others to incorporate different perspectives toward a common goal.
• Understanding & Building Connection: Considers perspectives of others and cultivates relationships to strengthen interpersonal bonds with colleagues and external stakeholders.
• Managing Change: Leads and/or demonstrates support for innovation; helps others successfully manage organizational change; holds others accountable for adjusting to change (if people manager).
• Problem-Solving: Identifies opportunities to make improvements; gathers information; connects related and unrelated concepts; integrates findings into actionable solutions.
• Strategic Thinking: Identifies multiple pathways to address complex and nebulous problems; anticipates barriers and opportunities; develops plans to address them.

Working Conditions

Local travel required, including to local partner schools and events, and to other City Year sites and national conferences. Must have access to reliable transportation or the ability to navigate public transit. Occasional lifting or carrying of materials (e.g., event supplies, training materials) up to ~20 lbs. Works a hybrid schedule, including typical 3-4 days in-person, with occasional periods of longer in-person commitments. Must have reliable internet access when participating in any required virtual meetings or trainings.

Benefits

• Full-time employees will be eligible for all benefits including vacation, sick days and organization holidays.
• You may participate in all benefit programs that City Year establishes and makes available to eligible employees, under (and subject to all provisions of) the plan documents that govern those programs.
• Currently, City Year offers medical, dental, vision, life, accidental death and dismemberment and disability coverage, Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA), and other benefits including 401(k) plan(s) pursuant to the terms and conditions of company policy and the 401(k) plan document.

Employment at City Year is at-will. City Year does not sponsor work authorization visas. City Year’s dual mission is to expand educational opportunity for all students and develop the next generation of leaders through national service.

Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

At City Year, we sometimes say we work not only “at” City Year, but also “on” City Year, recognizing that the organization, like our world, is constantly evolving and changing. Two things that have never changed: our steadfast belief in the power of young people to change our world for the better; and our aspiration to create positive school and work environments where everyone feels a sense of connection, is supported to do their best work, and is able to learn, contribute, lead and create to their fullest potential.

As an equal opportunity employer, City Year is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified individuals and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, marital status, veteran status, pregnancy, parental status, genetic information or characteristics, or any other basis prohibited by applicable law.

Fair Labor Standards Act Family and Medical Leave Act Learn more at www.cityyear.org, City Year’s Facebook page, on X (formerly Twitter), and LinkedIn.

City Year Overview

City Year’s 900 staff and 2,000+ AmeriCorps members work and serve in 29 communities across the U.S., including Boston (where City Year was founded in 1988 and is headquartered), Baton Rouge, Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbia, Columbus, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Little Rock, Los Angeles, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, New Hampshire, New Orleans, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Providence, Sacramento, San Antonio, San José/Silicon Valley, Seattle/King County, Tulsa and Washington, D.C. City Year also has international affiliates in the U.K. and South Africa. A proud member of the AmeriCorps national service network, City Year is supported by AmeriCorps, local school districts and private philanthropy. City Year has been designated a 4-star charity by Charity Navigator since 2003, putting City Year in the top 1% of non-profits nationwide for accountability, transparency and responsible fiscal management, and among the most trustworthy nonprofits in America.