Employment Opportunity

Director of Individual and Planned Giving

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Cambridge, MA
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Reporting to the Chief Advancement Officer, the Director of Individual and Planned Giving plays a significant role in increasing revenue to the Academy through major and planned gifts.  The Director will bear primary responsibility for managing a recently-created planned giving program within an established development department. This includes defining and actively working toward meeting program goals and objectives, with a focus on building the Academy’s planned giving society, the Minerva Society. The Director will identify and cultivate a portfolio of major and planned gift prospects, and will help to develop strategies for presidential advancement work.

The Director of Individual and Planned Giving upholds and advances the mission and values of the American Academy. The Academy is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion and looks to all its staff members to foster and promote its values. 

 

This position is a hybrid role and will be based at the Academy’s headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts. At the Academy, we approach hybrid work with a focus on “purpose over presence,” with a blend of remote and in-person work, depending on the needs of the role and current projects.  Occasional travel, nights and weekends are required.

Position
Full time

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Compensation
$125K- $140K, plus a full benefits package including time off, medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 403(b) plan, parental leave, and more.

Reporting to the Chief Advancement Officer, the Director of Individual and Planned Giving plays a significant role in increasing revenue to the Academy through major and planned gifts.  The Director will bear primary responsibility for managing a recently-created planned giving program within an established development department. This includes defining and actively working toward meeting program goals and objectives, with a focus on building the Academy’s planned giving society, the Minerva Society. The Director will identify and cultivate a portfolio of major and planned gift prospects, and will help to develop strategies for presidential advancement work.

The Director of Individual and Planned Giving upholds and advances the mission and values of the American Academy. The Academy is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion and looks to all its staff members to foster and promote its values. 

 

This position is a hybrid role and will be based at the Academy’s headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts. At the Academy, we approach hybrid work with a focus on “purpose over presence,” with a blend of remote and in-person work, depending on the needs of the role and current projects.  Occasional travel, nights and weekends are required.

Responsibilities:

  • Work with CAO to set annual goals, objectives, operating plan, and budget for major and planned giving.
  • Identify, cultivate and solicit major and planned giving prospects.
  • Prepare Academy president and other volunteers for success in development-focused relationships.
  • Serve as a trusted resource to donors regarding multiple planned giving vehicles.
  • Working with back-end partners, manage planned giving products and estate settlement issues; act as a resource and liaison with the Academy’s COO and legal counsel where rights are in question.
  • Manage highly confidential financial disclosures and ensure discretion for all prospects and donors.
  • Working with the Communications team, design effective marketing materials and web content for the Minerva Society.
  • Working with Membership Engagement team, leverage Academy events for effective cultivation and stewardship of prospects and donors.
  • Serve as a strategic resource for Academy colleagues, the CAO and the President. Provide technical expertise, trainings on planned giving vehicles, talking points and proposals to generate more legacy giving;
  • Strategically use Academy databases including Salesforce and Donor Search.
  • This position will benefit from the assistance of the department’s development associate; assist with education and mentorship of that role.

 

Qualifications:

  • Bachelor’s degree, 8 years of experience in philanthropy.
  • Planned Giving experience a must, legal and/or financial experience preferred.
  • Proven ability to generate gifts up to $1,000,000+, and deep knowledge of planned giving vehicles, IRS regulations, estate planning and investment strategies.
  • Demonstrated success in donor relations;
  • Strong organizational skills and detail management;
  • Excellent oral presentation and written communication skills;
  • Ability to work with a variety of constituencies and Academy staff.
  • Ability to handle sensitive and confidential information.
  • Ability to work closely with legal professionals and with complicated instruments.

 

 

Commitment to Diversity

The American Academy is committed to the diversity of its staff and membership. As a scholarly organization and research center, the Academy recognizes that diversity of thought, class, experience, sex, gender, race, physical or mental ability, age, religion, national origin, and sexual orientation is a value to uphold and is central to the mission and work of the organization. A more pluralistic staff embracing diversity of thought, approach and life experience fosters a more nuanced understanding of contemporary issues facing the nation and the world. Working together in a climate of respect and openness models the civil discourse that is fundamental to the work of the Academy.

Reasonable Accommodations

If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please direct your inquiries to Susan Chudd, Director of HR & Organizational Development, 617-576-5092, schudd@amacad.org

About the Academy:

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious scholarly organizations, founded during the American Revolution by John Adams, James Bowdoin, John Hancock and other leaders who contributed prominently to the establishment of the new nation.

The Academy membership encompasses over 5,600 members and reflects the full range of disciplines and professions: math and physical sciences, biological sciences, the social sciences, humanities and the arts, journalism, business and philanthropic leaders, educational, scientific, and cultural administrators as well as public affairs and public policy.

In its third century, the Academy continues to mobilize the intellectual resources needed to anticipate, examine, and confront the critical challenges facing our society. Recent projects have focused on such challenges to America as the changing nature and needs of higher education, accelerating action regarding climate change, the global nuclear future, strengthening US democracy, and economic inequality.

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