PHILANTHROPY MANAGER
Job Title:
Philanthropy Manager
Reporting to:
Head of Philanthropy & Corporate Partnerships
Responsible for:
The Major Gifts team (currently one Officer and one Assistant)
Location:
Dogs Trust London (Head Office)
New post:
April 2015
Summary
Dogs Trust is the largest dog-welfare organisation in the UK. We rescue, rehabilitate and rehome nearly
17,000 stray and abandoned dogs a year at our 21 rehoming centres across the UK and Ireland. We are
absolutely determined to STOP healthy dogs being put to sleep in the UK and beyond. We never destroy a
healthy dog in our care.
We are reliant on voluntary donations in order to continue our work. Dogs Trust is fortunate to receive
some large donations from charitable trusts/foundations, corporate partners and wealthy individuals
(major donors) and we believe there is potential to increase funds from these sources significantly in
order to expand our work even further.
As a result, we are investing in our newly formed Philanthropy & Corporate Partnerships Team and are
seeking an experienced Philanthropy (Major Donor) Manager. This is a new post and the successful
candidate will lead on the implementation of the charity's major donor strategy.
The post holder will be responsible for delivering significant growth in fundraising income from major
donors. You will have responsibility for developing a new pipeline of major donor prospects, including
cultivation and solicitation of new gifts; whilst also managing stewardship of our existing major donors.
Duties

Support the Head of Philanthropy & Corporate Partnerships by developing, delivering and
monitoring the major gift elements of the fundraising strategy for Dogs Trust.

Devise and deliver annual plans, together with associated budgets, in line with strategic
objectives
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
Responsible for the day to day management of all major donor activity and development.

Manage the performance and professional development of direct reports (currently two) in the
Major Donor Team.

Manage a portfolio of existing major donors and prospects, and ensure a first class cultivation
and stewardship journey with Dogs Trust which sets us apart from other charities in our sector.

Attend meetings with existing and new donors and ensure letters of inquiry, cases for support,
proposals and budgets produced by the team are to the highest standard.

Develop the major donor pipeline to generate new income generating partnerships, cultivating
new major donor prospects.

Build networks with key decision makers and influencers, supporting the Head of Philanthropy to
establish a Philanthropy Committee/Board.

Manage an annual programme of events/ cultivation for major donors (including one-to one
meetings, dinners and events at our rehoming centres).

Plan and design a targeted contact strategy and an innovative and personalised suite of
communications for major donors, utilising and building on materials used across Dogs Trust.

Work with the Ambassador Relations Manager to ensure Ambassadors and celebrity supporters
of Dogs Trust are utilised fully to support major donor fundraising.

Manage an internal major donor working group with relevant staff across Dogs Trust to ensure
regular and meaningful contact with major donor prospects.

Work with various staff across Dogs Trust to ensure agreed promotional opportunities and
monitoring and evaluation commitments are adhered to for any funding secured from major
donors.

Fully utilising the annual calendar of events for prospect cultivation and the travel schedules of
key staff such as the Head of Philanthropy, Operations Director and CEO.

Forecast and manage major gift income and expenditure budgets, ensuring records are
maintained and updated (accurately and consistently) to enable income reporting and analysis of
activity.

Ensure major donor data is recorded accurately on our internal CRM system is both configured
appropriately and has the functionality to enable an effective major donor relationship
management programme.

Develop and implement a consistent monitoring, evaluation and reviewing process for major
donor relationships.

To contribute to and provide regular updates across the organisation to ensure major gift
fundraising activity is embedded across the organisation and is aligned with the wider plans and
objectives of Dogs Trust.

Any other reasonable duties.
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Person Specification
Essential:

Proven track record of soliciting 6 figure major gifts from individuals in a charity environment to
meet agreed targets.

Proven experience of 'making the ask' and supporting senior staff, volunteers and trustees to do
so.

A significant track record in a major donor role.

Experience of line managing direct reports to deliver excellent work and supporting their
professional development.

Experience of events strategy and delivery, including responsibility for event logistics.

Demonstrable experience of writing successful, inspiring, emotive and technically accurate
proposals and cases for support tailored to a major donor audience.

Appreciation of different types of philanthropic partnerships with individual donors, and the risks
and opportunities these can bring for Dogs Trust.

Articulate, persuasive and has gravitas with all audiences, including those at the highest level
both within the organisation and outside of it.

Tenacious, with strong negotiation skills and full appreciation of the commercial value of Dogs
Trust brand and assets.

A clear understanding of why outcomes are important to major donors and ability to present
proposals with a focus on outcomes.

Highly numerate with demonstrable experience of preparing and managing budgets.

Good organisation skills, and competent in the use of Word, Excel and databases. Previous
experience of Salesforce or Raiser’s Edge is desirable but not essential.

An inspiring leader, who has previous experience of developing the skills and confidence of their
team.

A dedicated team worker, but also able to work on own initiative.

Willingness to travel and work irregular office hours from time to time, such as for an evening
events or breakfast meeting.

A commitment to the aims and values of Dogs Trust.
Desirable:

Knowledge of high net worth individuals working in or interested in animal welfare issues.
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
Experience of relationship management with VIPs/ celebrities.

Experience of securing gifts from major donors outside of the UK.
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