Director of Development

The Deschutes Resources Conservancy (DRC), based in Bend, Oregon, is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization founded in 1996 and supported in part through Congressional legislation.
The mission of the DRC is to restore stream flows and improve water quality in the Deschutes Basin. The DRC brings together State, Federal, Tribal, and local government representatives, irrigation districts and individual irrigators and private stakeholders to work toward these goals.

The DRC achieves its mission through financing and implementation of on-the-ground projects and transactions using a market-driven approach to ecosystem restoration.

The DRC facilitates the efforts of landowners, local governments, watershed councils, irrigation districts, soil and water conservation districts, and other interested citizens by:

* providing technical assistance and funding for projects,
* developing markets for environmental services and
* developing institutional capacity to finance long-term restoration.

Collaboration and cooperation are essential components of all DRC enterprises and projects. The organization is governed by a 21 person board of directors and is managed by a full-time Executive Director with current staff that includes 14 full-time and 1 part-time employee.

The Director of Development will be responsible for expanding the DRC's unrestricted fundraising program to support the DRC mission. The Director of Development reports to the Executive Director.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the position is to generate unrestricted funding commensurate with the size and requirements of the growing organization, and work with the Management Team to increase the DRC's visibility in the donor community.

Key Responsibilities

1. Donor Cultivation. Develop and maintain an extensive network of contacts and potential donors in the following target markets. Extensive networking within Central Oregon and West Coast cities to identify leads, make contacts and expand the DRC's prospect list. Conduct meetings, events, and field trips as needed to cultivate these potential contributors. a. Major individual donors b. Foundations c. Corporations

2. Donor Solicitation.

a. Major donors. The Development Director will be responsible for major donor solicitation. The Director of Development will create, implement and monitor a major donor solicitation plan.
b. Foundations and corporations. The Director of Development will take the lead in following through on the cultivation of foundations and corporations and work with the grant writer to develop carefully crafted proposals that support the DRC program work plan.

3. Donor Stewardship and Migration. The Director of Development will be responsible for designing and implementing a donor stewardship program. The purposes of the program are to minimize donor attrition and to increase the amount of revenue from the existing donor base. The stewardship program is likely to include a number of the following efforts.

a. One-on-one meetings to more clearly understand the donors' interests
b. Events that educate contributors and reward and recognize them.
c. Field trips that connect the contributors to DRC values - healthy rivers and communities.

Qualifications

Successful candidates will have demonstrated experience, talent and accomplishments in the following areas:

1. At least five years of experience in Fundraising and Development, including designing and implementing fundraising programs with demonstrable positive results
2. Demonstrated experience soliciting and securing major gifts from individual donors
3. Experience planning and producing donor cultivation events
4. Networking talent, including the ability to identify leads, make contacts and directly solicit contributions
5. Excellent public speaking skills
6. Ability to work with diverse groups of stakeholders
7. Ability to multitask, prioritize and problem solve
8. Direct experience with Raiser's Edge software
9. Education: Bachelor's Degree
10. Passion for, commitment to and understanding of the DRC's mission

Experience and skills in the following areas will be to the candidate's advantage:

1. Familiarity with agricultural and natural resource restoration issues.
2. Communications and Outreach
3. Contacts and connections in the Central Oregon Community
4. Experience planning and producing fundraising events, including auctions

Salary/Benefits:Salary commensurate with experience. Benefits package includes cafeteria-style health and retirement contributions.

Application Process:Please submit a cover letter, resume, and references via regular mail to:

Search Committee
Deschutes Resources Conservancy
700 NW Hill Street Bend, OR 97701

The DRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer.