Planned Giving Director

WTTW | WFMT; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 90,000 - 135,000; Full time

Job summary

WTTW (Chicago PBS) and WFMT (classical music radio) seek a Planned Giving Director to lead a mature program, steward a loyal donor base, and collaborate with the Development team on major, planned, and blended gifts. The role reports to the VP of Development and oversees the Newt Minow Legacy Circle.

Ideal candidates bring 7–10+ years in development, strong relationship-building, and expertise in planned giving, gift vehicles, and donor communication.

Qualifications

• Excellent interpersonal and relationship-building skills with mature donor audience.
• Strong commitment to donor stewardship and relationship management.
• Excellent organizational skills with ability to manage multiple projects and meet deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the overall planned giving strategy and multi-year growth plan.
• Manage annual goals for gifts, bequests, and donor engagement.
• Lead marketing, stewardship, and events for planned giving and ensure proper data tracking.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Donor stewardship

Organizational skills

Integrity and judgment

Active listening

Communicate complex info

MS Office proficiency

Education

Bachelor's Degree

Tools

Tessitura

Job description

WTTW (Chicago PBS) and WFMT (classical music radio station) are looking for a Planned Giving Director. The Planned Giving Director provides strategic direction for the WTTW and WFMT planned giving program, including marketing, stewardship, and estate administration. The Director manages a portfolio of donors, and works across the Development team to maximize planned, major, and blended giving opportunities. The position will include ongoing cultivation with various stakeholders including a mature and loyal donor segment, executors, trust officers, and attorneys, so strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills are essential. The Director will lead an established planned giving program which includes managing and growing the Newt Minow Legacy Circle. The Planned Giving Director will report to the Vice President of Development to lead a collaborative planned giving program on behalf of WTTW and WFMT.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Strategic Leadership

• -Develop and execute the overall planned giving strategy and multi-year growth plan.
• -Establish annual and long-term goals for planned gift expectancies, documented gifts, realized estate gifts, and donor engagement.
• -Monitor industry trends and emerging gift vehicles and recommend program enhancements.
• -Develop and manage the planned giving program budget, including marketing, stewardship, and events.

Marketing, Stewardship, and Donor Engagement

• -Responsible for achieving annual planned giving performance goals, including documented bequest commitments, donor pipeline growth, gift expectancy value, and estate gift realization objectives.
• -Develop annual revenue projections and planned giving forecasts for inclusion in organizational fundraising goals.
• -Manage donor prospect screening and perform initial donor qualification of planned giving leads to create pipeline.
• -Manage inquiries generated from planned giving promotional materials.
• -Manage planned giving marketing efforts including segmenting mailing lists, coordinating updates to website, on-air spots, e-blasts, and member magazine ads.
• -Cultivate and steward new and existing Newt Minow Legacy Circle members.
• -Create and implement stewardship communications for advisors.
• -Plan and execute events, including annual advisor seminar, estate planning seminars and webinars, annual Newt Minow Legacy Circle appreciation event.

Estate Administration/Data Tracking

• -Accurately oversee estate and trust administration process of planned gifts and track data entry to ensure proper recording in the database while, working with legal counsel, executors, trustees, and finance staff to ensure timely and accurate realization of planned gifts.
• -Track, analyze, and record engagement with members of the Newt Minow Legacy Circle.
• -Measure and evaluate all planned giving marketing results.
• -Administer gift annuities in partnership with the National Gift Annuity Foundation.

Portfolio/Blended Giving

• -Manage a portfolio of individual planned giving/major giving prospects. Recommend appropriate outright, planned, and blended gift options for prospects based on their financial and charitable goals.
• -Plays a leadership role in the organization's comprehensive campaign, partnering with the Development team to help maximize opportunities for major, planned, and blended gifts while growing the Legacy Circle. Solicit planned and major gifts including bequests, directed contributions through IRAs and retirement accounts, and other vehicles.
• -Collaborate with major gift, membership, and leadership giving staff to move donors through the pipeline and maximize philanthropic potential.
• -Conduct donor visits and lead gift discussions involving estate plans, charitable trusts, gift annuities, beneficiary designations, and other deferred giving vehicles.

Professional Advisor Relations

• -Cultivate and manage relationships with professional advisors including attorneys, financial planners, CPAs, trust officers, and estate administrators to strengthen referral opportunities and increase planned gift commitments.
• -Represent WTTW and WFMT within planned giving professional networks and associations.
• -Work directly with the WTTW and WFMT Planned Giving Advisory Committee.

Other

• -Regularly participate in Development and other WTTW and WFMT events.
• -Provide leadership across the Development team regarding charitable gift planning strategies and donor opportunities.
• -Develop internal training documents and tools to support all fundraisers in the area of planned giving, including IRA gifts and donor advised funds.
• -Seek training necessary to remain current in knowledge of deferred giving issues and vehicles.
• -Performs other duties as required.

SKILLS/QUALIFICATIONS:

• -Excellent interpersonal and relationship-building skills; must possess strong verbal and written communication skills with experience communicating with a mature donor audience/segment.
• -Strong commitment to donor stewardship.
• -Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail; proven ability to effectively manage multiple projects, exceed goals, and meet deadlines.
• -High level of integrity, excellent judgment, and flexibility.
• -Ability to listen well and conduct conversations surrounding sensitive/confidential topics.
• -Capacity to synthesize complex technical legal and financial information and summarize simply for colleagues.
• -Intermediate computer literacy and proficiency in Microsoft Office, including Excel, Word, PowerPoint.
• -Commitment and enthusiasm for the WTTW and WFMT mission.

EXPERIENCE:

• 7-10+ years of development experience, preferably in planned giving or paralegal experience.
• Experience managing a comprehensive planned giving program and familiarity with planned giving vehicles and trends.
• Experience working cooperatively as a member of a team as well as independently with self-direction and ability to meet timelines.
• Familiarity with using a donor database, Tessitura experience a plus.

EDUCATION:

Bachelor's Degree