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Director of Philanthropic Investments

Company: The Commit Partnership
Location: Dallas
Posted on: March 19, 2023

Job Description:

("Commit" or the "Partnership") seeks a passionate systems change leader, strongly committed to the Partnership's mission to increase the regional living wage attainment rate for young adults in Dallas County to 50% by 2040 irrespective of race, to serve as the organization's Director of Philanthropic Investments. This person will report directly to the Partnership's Managing Director leading its Philanthropy efforts. The Partnership's - Philanthropic Investments team plays a critical role in ensuring adequate funding resources are available for the organization to execute initiatives and make progress towards our North Star goal. Since the Partnership's founding in 2011, the Philanthropy team has secured over $136 million represented by a 50/50 split in local versus national funder investments. Efforts made possible by philanthropic investment in Commit have helped yield transformative outcomes, including informing four state legislative sessions across the years 2017-2023 that collectively created over $7.0 billion of new and potential annual funding for a state that educates 10% of the nation's PK-12 students. The work has also accelerated the adoption of numerous impactful practices enabled by (i) the Partnership's leading of two statewide learning communities involving -20 districts educating 1 in 4 Texas children as well as (ii) its formation with Educate Texas of the , which supports numerous "educational backbone" entities similar to Commit across the state. - Best practices implemented have included: full-day PreK; extending the elementary school year to reduce summer learning loss; creating pathways to a B.A. in Early Childhood Education for less than $10,000 in total tuition over four years; and compensating educators higher and sooner in their career based on their classroom effectiveness and where they teach (vs. solely based on their seniority).To accelerate progress towards our North Star goal, the Partnership recently launched Opportunity 2040, a new, innovative collaboration with the (CPAL), to significantly improve economic mobility in Dallas County. The full cost of Opportunity 2040 is $13.4 billion of which $347 million is projected to be raised - over the next 17-years, from private, philanthropic investments from local, statewide, and national investors. Anchored by an initial $50 million anchor investment from , a national philanthropic fund, Opportunity 2040 strives to aggregate the first $125 million of flexible philanthropic capital in the first five years, to be deployed against a set of data-backed initiatives focused on living wage attainment and reducing child poverty. This role will have a unique opportunity to work closely with CPAL, Blue Meridian Partners, and a growing pool of investors to build an innovative philanthropic model, leveraging private investments to help access, unlock, and influence significant and sustainable public funds.About the RoleCritical to the success of the Philanthropic Investments Team, the Director of Philanthropic Investments' primary responsibility is to manage a portfolio of individual investors contributing five-to-seven figure gifts through the entire donor cycle to reach a portfolio goal of at least $8-$9 million shepherded annually. As a key lever to meet this goal, the Director will translate the work and impact of Commit into compelling and customized fundraising narratives that secure meaningful investments from local and, in select cases, regional and national high net worth investors.Our team operates cohesively and at a fast pace which includes lots of deadlines and collaboration to get the job done. In addition to -reporting to the Managing Director of Philanthropic Investments this role will work in close collaboration with other Philanthropy team members and internal and external stakeholders to meet organization, team, and individual goals. Expectations of the role include: -

Develop and implement appropriate strategies for the cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, and upgrade of existing high-level individual donors.Work with the Partnership's Chair and Chief Executive Officer and its Managing Director of Strategic Philanthropy to develop and execute a strategy and build a pipeline for new five- to seven-figure prospects from outside of the organization's existing donor pool.Drive development of new stewardship strategies, often independently, and help to create a more unified stewardship experience for major investors.Achieve annual revenue goals and assist in helping direct reports and the team to meet individual and departmental goals.Ensure appropriate cultivation and solicitation strategies and timing for investor/prospect visits, debrief and manage follow up activity.Directly manage one or two Philanthropy team members and serve as a key leader on the team.Routinely engage , organization executives and current investors in peer-prospect identification, visits, and major gift closings.Implement investor cultivation and stewardship communications and events when appropriate. Identify and cultivate new possible event hosts. Collaborate with team members to ensure the timely and accurate completion of routine work such as gift acknowledgements, solicitation and cultivation mailings, event invitations, and investor communications. Serve as a leader internally to all staff members and through additional leadership roles on the Philanthropy team through a distributed leadership approach.Work with program staff routinely to acquire knowledge needed to solicit investments and build investor relationships effectively.Determine investment opportunities for investors who wish to restrict their gift to a specific program area. Create proposals for solicitation of restricted gifts as well as follow up reports for donors making restricted investments as needed.Ensure best-in-class record-keeping via the Salesforce database. -Relevant Background
5+ years of experience in fundraising involving direct personal major donor solicitation of individuals and/or corporations or foundations with a record of accomplishment of securing investments at the $25,000+ level.Superior interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills, including specific experience writing funding proposals.Understanding of the Dallas philanthropic landscape.Experience working with executive staff, board members, and major gift volunteers.Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of work experience, education, and training.Commitment to goal attainment, high degree of initiative, and ability to motivate and engage high- level volunteers and donors.Demonstrated ability to work with a high degree of autonomy and accountability and to be a team player.Ability to develop and follow through on creative and effective solicitation strategies and to motivate and generate enthusiasm for them among team members.Demonstrated experience in project management and implementation of cultivation events.Proficient with Microsoft Office and familiarity with using donor management software.Knowledge of basic finance and/or accounting principles. -Candidate RequirementsWho you are:
Thoughtful and Strategic:
You work relentlessly to identify and understand the underlying root causes behind our current outcomes;You think strategically about what data must be analyzed and activated, and what steps must be taken in what order, to cause resources to be reallocated and actions to be taken to systemically overcome the root causes hindering achievement of the organization's vision and mission;you are informed by a relentless "students first" focus on the organization's mission and vision, with the ability to discern which efforts should be pursued and which will hinder progress towards goals.Focused on Systemic Impact: You seek to achieve significant, sustainable results through your work (including the reallocation or improvement in public funding) and recognize the difference between activity vs. impact.Relationship-Builder/Influencer:
Able to influence others internally and externally to change behaviors, generate alignment, meet deadlines, and secure investments. You are able to contextualize Commit's work and help investors understand how they can improve our community systemically by innovatively addressing the root causes of our challenges through catalytic philanthropic investments. You are able to discover what compels each investor to invest substantially by asking the right questions and building trusted, sustained relationships.Strong communicator and influencer:
Your speech, writing and activation of data insights are concise, consistent, and compelling and you're able to persuade all stakeholders why change is critical to achieving results for students;You're able to find common ground with all stakeholders and can help the organization tailor its message to different audiences to influence change;You take complex topics and distill them to their essential parts through engaging writing and presentation style that compassionately articulates the importance of education. You can personally adapt as needed to meet the needs of investors, and you don't balk at making an ask - in fact it's your favorite part of stewardship because it's the moment you can help make a philanthropic motivation a reality.Innovation Mindset:
You're able to create or meaningfully contribute to the design and execution of a systemic and transformational game plan;You're capable of thinking creatively and working collaboratively with others to design practical solutions to complex problems, often at scale;You take smart risks (and support others doing so as well), are not afraid to "fail-forward", and take timely advantage of opportunities when they present themselves;Lead with Strengths; Grow with Intent:
You know your strengths and how to put them to work for yourself and others. You openly acknowledge areas where you have room to grow and seek intentional development and mentorship to grow, learn, and lead. Motivated by equity and welcoming of diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and approaches:
You apply an equity lens to all research, recommendations, and actions. You have a deep belief in the potential of all students and a commitment to do whatever it takes to expand opportunities for studentsInclusive:
You work well with people of different backgrounds, identities, values, and cultures.You consistently set the table for expansive conversations, valuing every voice at the tableLOCATION: Dallas, TX (hybrid office)This position offers a competitive compensation and benefits package. Please direct any questions to careers@commitpartnership.org. Please reference "Director of Philanthropic Investments" in the subject line. For more information, please visit: About The Commit Partnership:

Our Mission

We believe that through our actions, Dallas County - which educates 10% of Texas and 1% of the nation- can be an inclusive and prosperous region where economic opportunity is shared equitably. That's why our true north goal is that by 2040 at least half of all 25-34-year-old residents of Dallas County, irrespective of race, will be provided the opportunity to earn a living wage.

To increase living wage attainment, we must equitably increase educational success aligned with high-demand jobs, maximizing the cumulative impact from early education all the way to college, career, and/or military readiness and accessing and completing a strong postsecondary education. Our staff aligns community stakeholders around this shared future roadmap - analyzing data to lift up strategic initiatives that improve policies, practices, and funding that grow our community's capacity to serve every student more effectively.

Our Story

Founded in 2012, this partnership is the nation's largest educational collective impact organization, composed of backbone staff and over 200 partners across Dallas County and the state of Texas working collaboratively to solve systemic education challenges. Our staff aligns community stakeholders around a shared future roadmap - analyzing data to lift up strategic initiatives that improve policies, practices, and funding that grow our community's capacity to serve every student more effectively.

Together, we work to advocate for excellent and equitable public education that ensures all students - regardless of race, place, or socio-economic status - have the power to determine their future and earn a living wage. We do this work through several ventures including Early Matters Dallas, North Texas Tutoring Corps, Dallas County Promise, Texas College Bridge, Dallas Thrives, Commit's Policy Team, the Texas Impact Network, and several coalitions.

Our Values

Our core values create a mission-driven environment and champion us to do our best work each day.

Integrity - To best serve students, families, and the community we will act honestly and ethically in how we make both internal and external decisions, present data, and communicate with partners.

Equity & Inclusion - We seek to help transform systems in ways that ensure every student has access to the resources they need. We do this by actively and explicitly working with others to create more equitable outcomes and processes.

Students First - Our decisions are guided by multiple stakeholders, but ultimately rest upon one question: What is in the best interest of students?

Systemic Impact - We are patient and persistent as we identify the most effective approaches to help create lasting systems change. Once identified, we prioritize and relentlessly attack systemic challenges with efficiency and excellence.

Humility - We embrace the fact that our community's success depends on our ability to work cohesively with each other and to constantly learn.

Joy - It is important we bring a constant sense of optimism and have fun while taking on this difficult work.



The Commit Partnership is an Equal Opportunity Employer that seeks to hire individuals with backgrounds similar to that of the stakeholders they serve. As an organization that embraces equity and inclusion, all employment decisions are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion or belief, national, social or ethnic origin, gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, marital, civil union or domestic partnership status, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local laws.

Commit does not sponsor visas of any kind.Powered by JazzHR

Keywords: The Commit Partnership, Dallas , Director of Philanthropic Investments, Executive , Dallas, Texas

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