CharityVillage

THE ORGANIZATION:

Take a Hike empowers youth who experience vulnerability to change the trajectory of their lives with a full-time mental health and emotional well-being program embedded in an alternate education classroom. Take a Hike engages youth with intentional, continuous clinical counselling, experiential land-based learning, and community. Our public school district partners provide high quality education, and together, we empower youth with the skills and resilience they need to graduate high school, build healthy relationships, and achieve success – however they define it.

For more information on the program, please visit www.takeahikefoundation.org.

THE OPPORTUNITY:

As a key member of the Development team, and reporting to the Senior Manager of Philanthropy, this position plays an integral role in achieving Take a Hike’s fundraising goals. The position will be responsible for a portfolio of donors in both the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island and be involved in a variety of activities to grow fundraising revenue, including current and prospective donor research and grant management.

Through personalized communication and relationship building, the Manager of Philanthropy will be responsible for the cultivation, solicitation, recognition, and stewardship of current and prospective individual, foundation, and corporate mid-major level donors ($1,000-$25,000) in the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island.

The ideal candidate is an experienced relationship builder who is resourceful and entrepreneurial and thrives in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment. Three key priorities will be to develop a strategy to grow the mid to major donor pipeline, increase renewals and leverage increased giving, and support the team with identifying leads and prospecting for individual, institutional and corporate donors.

This a hybrid role for candidates living in the Lower Mainland. The successful candidate will be expected to travel to Vancouver Island for one or more days once every six to eight weeks.

PHILANTHROPY AT TAKE A HIKE:

To support Take a Hike’s ambitious scaling aspiration, the Development Team has created a plan to guide growth in philanthropic and other revenue from a diversified range of sources. Since the beginning of the strategic plan (2021/2022), Take a Hike has seen its annual revenue grow from $2.6 million to $6.4 million with a target to achieve $8.5 million annually by 2025/2026. This growth is due in large part to a deeply committed and growing community of private donors who believe in the youth Take a Hike serves and their success. Given this performance, coupled with internal plans (which focus on raising awareness of Take a Hike’s brand) and external trends around youth mental health, there is potential for significant, additional growth in mid- and major gifts revenue over the next years.

Capacity building is a strong priority for Take a Hike in order to achieve our strategic goals, and we will be adding four additional Development Team members roles in the next 18 months.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Fundraising Strategy + Donor Relations

• Develop individualized cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies for an active portfolio of current and prospective individual, foundation, and corporate donors totalling approximately $500,000
• Responsible for qualifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding mid-major level donors
• Develop and implement mid-range upgrade strategy
• Ensure that that all donors receive personalized correspondence, reports, and updates in a timely and professional manner
• Work with Foundation team to produce customized funding proposals, grant applications, and stewardship reports for donors

Donor Database Management

• Ensure compliance with all relevant fundraising regulations and donor privacy laws
• Record account activity in relationship management system to facilitate open communication and team-based fundraising
• Keep meticulous donor records to improve donor engagement and prospect identification process

Networking + Prospecting

• Identify potential prospects through salesforce, online resources, other aligned non-profits, CSR reports, and connections from other supporters and community volunteers
• Maintain a robust pipeline of leads in Salesforce and ensure they are actively moved in the pipeline
• Qualify individual and institutional prospects to share with Development team for cultivation
• Identify and attend networking events to establish relationships with prospective mid to major level donors
• Act as a key ambassador of the organization at events, meetings, third party events, etc.
• Present to various organizations on behalf of Take a Hike across the Island

QUALIFICATIONS + REQUIREMENTS:

Experience

• Proven track record in fund or revenue development and securing gifts or sales
• 3+ years experience in mid-major level fundraising
• Post-secondary education or related business discipline, and/or equivalent professional experience, CFRE designation is considered an asset

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Proven track record of securing mid-major level gifts and achieving fundraising targets
• Strong entrepreneurial spirit, a self-starter who thrives working both independently as well as within a high functioning team
• Demonstrated ability to conduct face-to-face meetings with current and prospective donors in a professional manner
• Possesses the presence, sensitivity, maturity, listening skills, and passion to inspire confidence from donors, volunteers, staff, and other relevant community partners
• Ability to work with confidential information, data, and materials
• Excellent organization and time management skills, as well as the ability to successfully manage changing priorities
• Collaborative team player, able to establish and maintain positive working relationships
• Excellent communication skills, both internally and externally with the ability to effectively speak and write on behalf of Take a Hike
• Strong attention to detailed timelines and database management
• Experience using donor CRMs (Salesforce is an asset)
• Commitment to Association of Fundraising Professionals code of ethics and standards
• Possess a current driver's license and have access to a working vehicle

TERMS AND COMPENSATION:

This a full-time and permanent hybrid position based out of our head office in Vancouver, BC. Successful candidates must possess a current driver’s license and have access to a working vehicle, with an expectation to travel and to be available for some evenings and weekends dependent on the needs of the department.

We offer a salary of $68,000-$80,000, commensurate with experience, based on a 37.5-hour work week with generous benefits that include:

• Employer-paid benefits including extended health and dental
• Disability and Life Insurance
• Employee Assistance Plan
• Health Spending Account
• Retirement Savings Plan with employer matching
• Generous vacation time
• Professional development budget and training opportunities

Applications will be evaluated, and interviews conducted, on a rolling basis and you are encouraged to apply early.

Take a Hike values the diversity of the people it hires and serves. Diversity at Take a Hike means fostering a workplace in which individual differences are recognized, appreciated, respected, and responded to in ways that fully develop and utilize each person’s talents and strengths. Individuals who identify as LGBTQIA+, Black, Indigenous, racialized Canadians, or candidates with lived experience in mental health are encouraged to consider this opportunity.

Our commitment to reconciliation can be found on our website here.