JOB TITLE:

Chief Philanthropy Officer

REPORTS TO:

Chief Executive Officer

TREEPEOPLE

TreePeople is a well-established, beloved and fast growing environmental nonprofit organization headquartered in Los Angeles, one of the largest and most diverse philanthropic communities in the world. TreePeople is rapidly growing because of the tremendous global demand for our innovative solutions around fire resilience, urban forestry, water-security, environmental literacy, equity and climate change.

We need an executive-level, experienced, creative, hard-working and energetic Chief Philanthropy Officer who knows philanthropy in California, is passionate and wants to be part of a leadership team determined to increase TreePeople’s social and environmental impact, improve the organization’s long-term financial stability and expand TreePeople’s philanthropic strategies and outreach in support of our mission, fund development and growing impact.

A LITTLE ABOUT US

TreePeople believes it can make the world a better place. Our mission is to inspire, engage, and support people to take personal responsibility for the urban environment, making it safe, healthy, fun, sustainable and resilient, and to share the process as a model for the world. TreePeople is a high-impact independent environmental organization in California with the potential for increased global impact on water, forestry, community organizing, environmental education, equity and climate resilience. Sustained by a talented team of thought-leaders, philanthropists, educators, foresters, community organizers, researchers and policy makers as well as thousands of trained community leaders, TreePeople has played, and will continue to play, a legacy role in mobilizing people, businesses and public agencies to create greener and more resilient communities capable of withstanding the mounting challenges of climate change and water insecurity.

JOB SUMMARY:

The Chief Philanthropy Officer is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of TreePeople’s Development Team in addition to overseeing short term and long-term planning, implementing, and assessing TreePeople’s development strategies and fundraising goals needed to achieve and expand its mission-driven strategic vision and social impact. Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer as a key member of the leadership team, the Chief Philanthropy Officer will effectively represent the organization’s fund development interests to constituencies, both internal and external, and will work in close collaboration with the CEO, Founder and the Board of Directors to achieve philanthropic goals and build a case for increased investments to propel TreePople’s social impact.

In addition to cultivating, establishing and maintaining a personal portfolio of current and prospective donors, the Chief Philanthropy Officer will oversee the development and communications teams in the general areas of: Major Donors; Grants (Foundation, Public Agencies and Corporate); Direct Mail; Tree Dedications; Special Events and the Legacy/Planned Giving Program; Marketing & Communications, as well as oversee technical support within the department, including prospect research and use of Salesforce. The Chief Philanthropy Officer will succeed and lead by example in a mission-driven work environment that balances the need and relevance of programs with the efficiency of best business practices, fiscal accountability, and institutional impact.

ESSENTIAL JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:

Include, but are not limited to:

1. Participate with the CEO, the Founder and the Board to develop, lead, and implement TreePeople’s annual and long-term development strategies, continuing to chart the organization’s course in fund development while ensuring that efforts are carried out in keeping with the organization’s values, mission, vision, and plans.
2. Develop and grow a balanced funding mix of donor sources and solicitation programs tailored to the needs of TreePeople that will enable it to attract, retain and motivate donors and fundraising volunteers.
3. Independently identify current and new individual, foundation and corporate donors, while cultivating and soliciting a personal portfolio of current and prospective major donors.
4. Provide strong fundraising leadership and support to the CEO, Founder and Board members, including helping to identify their resource cultivation goals and support needs, prospecting donors, and leading or participating in asks, as appropriate.
5. Support the CEO in the identification, cultivation and recruitment of prospective Board members.
6. Recruit, develop, coach, inspire, and motivate a strong development team.
7. Provide general oversight to all of TreePeople’s development activities, overseeing operations of the development and functions, and coordinating with the marketing and communications team, the CEO, staff and appropriate board committees.
8. Establish goals and metrics to evaluate implementation of strategy and tactics, and evaluate the overall effectiveness of the development program; assess the development team to ensure that the department/function is effectively structured and staffed; develop and oversee performance measures and monitor results.
9. Collaborate with the Leadership and Marketing and Communications teams to ensure consistent messaging and outreach strategies to raise awareness and understanding of TreePeople’s vision and social impact through events at TreePeople and in the community.
10. Team with the Board, the CEO and the Chief Financial Officer to assure sound multi-year fiscal operation of the development function including timely, accurate and comprehensive development of philanthropic contributions income and expense budgets and projections, reporting, monitoring and implementation.
11. Maintain a working knowledge of significant developments and trends and best practices in philanthropy relevant to TreePeople, the Southern California region, equity and global climate change and adapt fundraising strategies as necessary.

DESIRED TRAITS AND CHARACTERISTICS

A successful Chief Philanthropy Officer at TreePeople will be an innovative, hard-working, forward-thinking development professional with exceptional interpersonal skills, a genuine and infectious enthusiasm for TreePeople and its mission, a generous and collaborative spirit, and a high degree of professionalism and integrity. We seek a compelling, supportive leader who will work in mutually-respectful partnership with members of the Development department, with colleagues across the organization, and with the Board of Directors. Overseeing a self-motivated team, the successful CPO will be a team builder who will contribute to departmental and organizational-wide cohesiveness and strength and who has the ability to move a team forward with creativity, energy, respect and a sense of humor. As such, the Chief Philanthropy Officer should not only possess strong communication skills, but should also be able to create an environment that is conducive to open and direct communication with individuals of varying degrees of involvement with TreePeople and its work. Should be a resourceful, results-oriented leader with the ability to think strategically, generate new ideas, prioritize, plan, and set goals and objectives, as well as implement, follow-through, and track progress. A high degree of accountability, transparency and integrity is required. The successful candidate will have a demonstrated personal passion and commitment to the mission of TreePeople and will be able to speak credibly and persuasively about its vision for the future.

EXPERIENCE: CAREER PATH LEADING TO THIS POSITION

The ideal candidate will have exceptional financial, organizational and administrative skills and a minimum of ten years of progressively responsible development experience, including a minimum of five years as a team manager. Experience must include: 1) a proven record of success in senior development leadership positions with major gift and campaign fundraising from individuals, corporations, and foundations; 2) broad-based knowledge of all functions of development, including the use of databases, knowledge of membership and volunteer-driven organizations, and of major giving techniques; 3) experience planning and executing department budgets and evaluating the Return on Investment of specific fundraising programs; 4) demonstrated ability to plan and operate strategically, to build public support, to strengthen infrastructure, to inspire staff and the Board of Directors, and to develop effective programs that garner major investment opportunities such as a capital campaign, endowment or other revenue-generating initiatives.

Although it is preferable that candidates come with a background working in and within the larger environmental community, it is possible that the successful candidate may come from another sector, but demonstrate a strong personal passion and commitment to environmental causes and equity.

WAGES AND BENEFITS:

This is a full time, exempt position, with benefits and an exciting work environment.

JOIN THE TREEPEOPLE TEAM, APPLY AT:

https://treepeople.bamboohr.com/jobs/

Chief Philanthropy Officer Position will be filled promptly upon identification of candidate.

* TreePeople is an Equal Opportunity Employer.