Description
Position at IDEA Public Schools

At IDEA Public Schools, we believe in college for ALL and we are committed to ensuring that all of our students graduate from college. IDEA Public Schools has grown from a small school to the fastest-growing network of tuition-free Pre-K-12 public charter schools in the United States sending 100% of our students to college. 50% our students graduate from college in 6 years - that's 8 times the national rate for students in our communities.

IDEA was founded in 2000 as a single school with 150 students in the Rio Grande Valley. When interest exceeded building capacity, to meet the demands, IDEA's co-founders committed to serving more students in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and beyond. We now serve nearly 45,000 students across Texas and Louisiana. By 2022, IDEA will serve 100,000 students. Be on the lookout for IDEA schools opening near you-with continued growth in our current regions and new launches in Tarrant County (Fort Worth/Arlington), New Orleans, Houston (2020), Permian Basin (2021), and Tampa Bay (2021).

When you choose to work at IDEA, you are part of our IDEA Team and Family. You will work alongside team members who set and reach ambitious goals every day, are excited to continue to grow with IDEA, and work relentlessly to make college for all a reality.

To learn more about IDEA, check out this video .

Role Mission:

The Director of Corporate Relations and Major Gifts will work closely with the Chief Advancement Officer, VP of National Development (manager), VP of Growth, Director of Foundation Relations and Advancement team Project Manager to ensure that IDEA develops strategic relationships with two key stakeholder groups; Fortune 500 companies that yield corporate investments and individual major gifts to drive organizational improvement and growth as determined by the annual organizational goals and 2022 strategic expansion plan.

The Dir of Corporate Relations and Major Gift (1) designs, plans and implements IDEA's corporate and major giving strategy and volunteer program to include companies with a giving capacity of $100,000+ annually and donors with lifetime gift capacity of $50,000+, (2) architects compelling corporate partnership opportunities and negotiates sponsorship packages with nationally recognized organizations, including professional sports teams and corporations programmatically aligned to schools' programmatic visions in IDEA's existing and expansion regions, (3) develops and executes corporate and major gift donor identification, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship strategies to secure and steward gifts, and (4) researches and identifies qualified prospects for the portfolio and presents recommendations on these leads to the VP of National Development for prioritization and strategic planning to cultivate the most promising opportunities based on the completed investigation.

We are open to the Director of Corporate Relations and Major Gifts residing in any region where we operate schools, but we are hiring for one role at this time.

1. Contribute to the team goal to raise $75 million towards $365 million 2022 philanthropic gap to include; growth and/or college matriculation and/or programming. (Advancement Team goal)

• Develop a corporate giving strategy to include at least 25 Fortune 500 companies supporting IDEA's growth and expansion, with an emphasis on developing long-term relationships that can yield $5M+ annually by 2022
• Develop a major gift strategy to include at least 25 donor and prospects with lifetime gifts of $50,000 or greater, building to planned gifts
• Lead all corporate giving efforts, including Team Sponsors, Program Sponsors, event and civic engagement sponsorships, corporate foundation giving, cause marketing, and general corporate support that impacts and spans multiple IDEA regions
• Plan and lead a corporate volunteer program to better position IDEA to receive significant corporate investments
• Manage corporate and major gifts prospects through the donor pipeline to cultivate meaningful relationships for long-term support of IDEA by aligning donor passion to IDEA's philanthropic need
• Collaborate with National Advancement team members and regional advancement team members to develop highest leverage donor action plans

2. Contribute to the national development team goal to raise $50 million towards 2022 growth campaign from corporate and major gift donors including support of programmatic needs to support districtwide and national growth in new and existing regions (National Team).

• Plan, develop and execute relationship development strategies for a portfolio of at least 50 prospective Fortune 500 companies and major gift prospects with a minimum giving capacity of $100,000 (corporate) and $50,000 (major gifts)
• Identify and secure partnerships with corporations that reflect their marketing and business needs as well as philanthropic and community engagement goals
• Engage in qualification, strategy, relationship building and closing of corporate gift(s) at $100,000+ and major gifts at $50,000+
• Leverage existing IDEA programs, i.e., Healthy Kids Here, Athletics; specialty schools, i.e. IDEA Health Professions, and regional events, i.e. IDEA 5K to attract new partners
• Collaborate with VP of National Development to find best match for prospective donors to support IDEA

3. Raise $5 million in cash/pledges or in-kind donations from at least 20 corporations and/or major gift donors toward 2022 campaign including growth, program or college matriculation needs to support the network. (Individual )

• Design and implement strategic and operational plans for corporate and major gifts, annual support, and sponsorships
• Direct the process of identification, evaluation, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of corporate and major gifts prospects and donors
• Develop briefings, presentations and customized collateral for prospective partners
• Execute and evaluate strategies to engage prospects through outreach, education, invitations to special events, and personal contacts
• Conduct and/or facilitate at least 70-100 face-to-face meetings with donors and prospects annually through one-on-one meetings, site visits, tours, lunches, etc.
• In partnership with school-based teams, manage corporate volunteers, and/or the implementation of programs and initiatives sponsored by corporate partners.
• Collaborate with IDEA's Marketing and Communications team to create and implement donor communications and acknowledgement related to cultivation and stewardship of corpo rate partners and brand sponsor reach and access
• Partner with regional advancement team portfolio managers for local engagement opportunities, growth team for expansion region opportunities, board members to access their networks, programmatic teams to strategize on prospect alignment with IDEA needs while jointly weighing the return on the cost to raise a dollar
• Track and assess portfolio fundraising metrics by maintaining and leveraging client relati onship management tool, Little Green Light
• Write, edit, and submit letters of intent and full proposals, as the primary author, or in a team environment
• Submit timely reports, letters, proposals or gift agreements as part of managing the prospect and donor pipeline

4. Secure 6 new ($500,000+) corporate and/or nationally recognized professional sports or industry-specific partnerships, as prioritized by the schools team, and 6 new major gifts ($50,000+) donors supporting IDEA's areas of greatest need (cash and/or in-kind)

• Develop an acquisition strategy to identify, cultivate and solicit new partners to build relationships and to move them along the donor pipeline
• Develop compelling sponsorship benefits, recognition, and activation packages; execute agreements, and ensure proper fulfillment
• Generate and develop new business through lead lists, name collection activities, cold calls, speaking engagements, etc.
• Leverage IDEA's national Board of Directors and/or support the development of a national Advisory Board to gain access to greater networks and influential individuals
• Work with National Development Project Manager to vet discovery constituents to determine if we pursue them and how.
• Conduct the preparation for meetings and attend or facilitate the prospect meeting
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders (marketing team, growth team, program team, regional directors os advancement, senior leaders, etc ) across IDEA to vet opportunities and cultivate best-matched philanthropic support for IDEA

5. 100% of payments from pledges received on-time (as can be controlled by IDEA)

• Stewardship of relationship and communication of updates as relevant and timely to the donor
• Complete grant and gift administration
• Reports are submitted on-time
• Acknowledgement letters sent
• Documentation of payments and proper accounting procedures in partnership with the Business Office and Advancement team Project Manager to properly record in CRM
• Work closely with the Advancement Project Manager to manage and utilize the CRM database effectively to track all donations, ensure thank you letters go out, and coordinate all outreach, engagement and follow-up with donors and prospects at all levels

6. Live values of IDEA

• Believes and is committed to our mission and being an agent of change: that all students are capable of getting to and through college
• Has demonstrated effective outcomes and results, and wants to be held accountable for them
• Has a propensity for action, willing to make mistakes by doing in order to learn and improve quickly
• Works with urgency and purpose to drive student outcomes
• Thrives in an entrepreneurial, high-growth environment; is comfortable with ambiguity and change
• Seeks and responds well to feedback, which is shared often and freely across all levels of the organization
• Works through silos and forges strong cross-departmental relationships in order to achieve outcomes
• We believe in education as a profession and hold ourselves to high level of conduct, professionalism and behaviors as models for our colleagues and students.

Competencies :

• Strategic Thinking
• Entreprenurial spirit
• Problem Solving/Analysis
• Communication Proficiency (written and verbal)
• Financial Management
• Ability to work extended workdays to support advancement and growth priorities
• Must be strong team player

Qualifications:

• Education: Bachelor's degree required

• Experience:
• 5+ years of experience in relationship management such as; sales, corporate/external relations, or fundraising for a non-profit or educational institution (preferred)

• Demonstrated success in soliciting and closing major corporate and individual gifts with a proven track record of writing and submitting successful proposals and personally achieving success
• Successful experience in relationship development; building personal trust, loyalty, & making successful grant proposal presentations
• Experience working with individuals at senior levels of business and industry, demonstrating comfort with collaboration and coordination of relationships with decision makers and influencers of organizations
• Demonstrated capacity to take initiative and manage multiple projects with limited supervision.
• Experience working in a fast paced, results oriented, highly entrepreneurial environment
• Experience in utilizing data and analyzing results to tell a story
• Teaching and/or school-based experience highly preferred

Knowledge and Skills:

• Knowledge of the Texas and national corporate philanthropic community.
• Knowledge of cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies and techniques, particularly in the area of corporate and major gifts fundraising
• Demonstrated knowledge of methods, practices and procedures for obtaining corporate and foundation giving program information
• Excellent organizational, interpersonal and networking skills with large groups as well as with individuals are essential
• Excellent interpersonal, oral, and written communication and presentation skills.
• Persuasiveness and perseverance in attaining goals.

• Ability to communicate IDEA's vision with an external audience
• Ability to work independently and to exercise good judgment in high-stakes circumstances.
• Familiarity with on-line search engines or other web-based knowledge tools and experience with prospecting techniques
• Flexibility and a willingness to take on new tasks as the responsibilities of the position evolve
• Experience in working with Little Green Light, Foundation Center, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, (or their equivalents) preferred.

Compensation:

• Salary for this role typically falls between $ 71,298 and $ 92,688 commensurate with relevant experience and qualifications. This role is also eligible for a performance bonus based on individual and organizational performance and goal attainment.

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IDEA Public Schools does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, sex or disability, in admission or access to, or treatment of employment in its programs and activities. Any person having inquiries concerning the organization's compliance with the regulations implementing Title VI of Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504), or Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), may contact IDEA Human Resources at (956) 377-8000.