Director of Mission Champions Program

Independence Mission Schools; Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Independence Mission Schools (IMS) is seeking a strategic development leader to design and scale the Mission Champions program in Philadelphia. You will grow donor engagement, drive fundraising results, and collaborate with 14 school leaders and the communications team to tell impactful stories of student outcomes.

You will report to the Senior Director of Leadership & Annual Giving and help IMS expand its annual giving initiatives in a flexible hybrid work environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.
• 5-7 years of progressive fundraising or donor relations experience.
• Proven ability to build and grow fundraising programs and donor pipelines.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead development and execution of a network-wide strategy to grow the Mission Champions program with targets for visits, solicitations, dollars raised, and engagement.
• Manage a portfolio of Mission Champion donors and provide high-touch stewardship and impact reporting.
• Create a comprehensive stewardship plan with tailored communications and exclusive events.
• Collaborate with school leadership and Advancement, plus communications to share donor impact stories.
• Develop sponsorship proposals and materials to secure commitments and renewals.
• Partner with marketing to raise visibility of the program through digital and print channels.

Skills

Fundraising

Donor Relations

Strategic Planning

Stakeholder Engagement

Event Planning

CRM Software

Communication Skills

Project Management

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

DonorPerfect

Raiser's Edge

Job description

Independence Mission Schools (IMS) is seeking a strategic, results-driven, and experienced development professional to serve as the Director of Mission Champions Program. This individual will be responsible for building, leading, and scaling IMS's new Mission Champions initiative - a vital and growing pillar of the organization's annual giving strategy. Reporting to the Senior Director of Leadership & Annual Giving, the Director will design and execute a comprehensive program to deepen donor engagement, grow philanthropic support, and advance IMS's mission of providing students from underserved communities access to a high-quality Catholic school education. This is a full-time role based in Philadelphia, with a flexible hybrid schedule.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Lead the development and execution of a network-wide strategy to grow the Mission Champions program, including donor acquisition, retention, upgrades, and stewardship, ensuring program sustainability and year-over-year growth.
• Establish and achieve ambitious, measurable targets related to personal donor visits, solicitation activity, dollars raised, and donor engagement.
• Serve as the primary relationship manager for all Mission Champion donors, delivering a high-touch experience through personalized outreach, stewardship touchpoints, and regular impact reporting.
• Create and implement a comprehensive stewardship plan that includes tailored communications, individualized acknowledgments, exclusive events, and student success stories.
• Manage a dynamic portfolio of current and prospective Mission Champion donors, including direct solicitation of gifts and cultivation of long-term philanthropic relationships.
• Collaborate closely with school leaders at all 14 schools, Advancement colleagues, and the communications team to identify and share compelling narratives that illustrate the impact of donor support.
• Work with school based program coordinators (14) that will help execute at the local level.
• Develop customized sponsorship proposals, presentations, and other materials to secure new and renewed sponsorship commitments.
• Partner with marketing and communications to increase visibility and promotion of the Mission Champions program through digital marketing, print collateral, and donor-focused storytelling.
• Maintain records of donor activity and interactions in Donor Perfect ensuring data integrity and supporting effective moves management.
• Assist with broader annual giving initiatives and special campaigns as needed to support the overall success of IMS's fundraising goals.
• Actively manage four assigned School Advisory Councils: St. Raymonds of Penafort, St. Helena-Incarnation, Depaul Catholic School and St. Thomas Aquinas.
• Build strong relationships with Advisory Council members and school leadership and connect their engagement to school-specific fundraising priorities

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree required.
• Minimum of 5-7 years of progressive experience in fundraising, annual giving, or donor relations, preferably within an educational or nonprofit environment.
• Proven ability to build, manage, and grow fundraising programs and donor pipelines, with a strong record of personally securing and stewarding gifts.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to inspire and engage diverse audiences.
• Strong organizational and project management skills, including the ability to manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and maintain attention to detail.
• Experience with donor CRM platforms such as DonorPerfect Raiser's Edge, or similar systems.
• Self-starter with the ability to work independently and collaboratively in fast-paced, mission-driven environment.
• High degree of professionalism, integrity, and emotional intelligence.
• A passion for the mission of Catholic education and a strong commitment to advancing educational opportunities for students and families in underserved communities.
• Availability for occasional evening or weekend events, as needed.

Professional Skills:

• The ability to build, develop and maintain strong relationships with internal and external constituents including school leaders, teachers, board members, donors, and other community stakeholders.
• Experience with event planning preferred, from logistics to solicitation of event sponsors. ? Strategic thinker with experience in direct response annual campaign strategy, implementation and analysis.
• An orientation towards outcomes and the flexibility and willingness to do whatever it takes to achieve them, including patience, creativity, a sense of humor, and perseverance.
• Self-directed with the ability to prioritize among competing responsibilities and use of good judgment in an entrepreneurial environment.
• Superb written and oral communications skills, both one-on-one and with groups.
• Excellent time management, project management, and organizational skills.
• Experience working in an organization with satellite campuses or programs is a plus. ? High level of proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel and a CRM software such as DonorPerfect or Raiser’s Edge.
• Ability to conduct local travel and work some nights and weekends as needed.

Physical Requirements:

Ability to physically perform the duties and to work in the environmental conditions required such as:

• Local Travel to external meetings– valid driver’s license and/or access to transportation when necessary.
• Functioning in office space - reaching file cabinets, filing, faxing, scanning, copying, typing, mailing, making phone calls.
• Must be able to sit for up to two hours looking at a computer monitor, using a keyboard/mouse and typing.

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an individual to successfully perform the essential duties of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential duties.

• This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets, and fax machines.
• This is largely a sedentary role; however, some filing is required. This would require the ability to lift files, open cabinets, unload supplies and bend or stand as necessary.

EOE:

IMS is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and celebrates staff diversity. We strive to be and build a diverse team that is representative of our students and the communities in which we serve.