Director, Institutional Giving

Our Mission in Action

Trees play a vital role in solving some of the most pressing issues facing our communities, our society, and our world today. For 150 years, American Forests has stood boldly at the forefront of the conservation movement, working collaboratively and innovatively to ensure that all people have access to the benefits of trees. As we look ahead to the next 150, continued collective action will be essential to securing a healthy, climate-resilient future for all. To support this work, we are looking for a Director, Institutional Giving to join our Philanthropy team.

What You’ll Do

As a part of the team, you will maximize American Forests’ institutional giving relationships to ensure their success and longevity by developing and executing strategies to grow this important revenue stream while ensuring that funding aligns with the overall mission and supports strategic program initiatives. Major responsibilities include:

Relationship Management (70%)

* Secure major and principal gift commitments, primarily for American Forests’ Urban Forestry and Tree Equity programs, from private grant-making foundations per the following metric expectations:

• Manage and grow a portfolio of 60 to 85 donors and donor prospects with the capacity to make philanthropic gifts of $50,000 to $1M+.
• Conduct donor visits regularly and often with a goal of 45-60+ meaningful visits per year, including qualifying at least 24 prospects a year through discovery outreach and cultivation.
• Solicit at least 1 gift commitment proposal of $1M+, 3 gift commitment proposals of $500,000+, and 25 solicitations of $50,000+ each year.
• Visit with institutional prospects to establish contacts, gather information, qualify prospects, present ideas, develop networks, promote understanding of American Forests’ initiatives, request invitations for proposals, and conduct stewardship. Strategically partner with American Forests’ Leadership, volunteers, and staff on such visits and prepare with pre-meeting planning and post-meeting debriefing and follow up.
• Develop, write and carry out prospect engagement strategies by identifying, qualifying, and cultivating prospects; determining amount and timing of requests; write and oversee the creation of proposals; solicit prospects via proposals and in face-to-face meetings; provide verbal and written communication necessary to secure gifts, and deliver appropriate stewardship and report on gifts made to the organization.
• Execute thorough, creative, impactful, and ambitious funding proposals through purposeful meetings, volunteer leads, presentations, grant letters, and applications, as determined by the funder.

• Management of Institutional Giving Program (25%)

• Oversee, direct, manage, and execute American Forests’ institutional giving program, working closely with Program and Finance teams and tools like ClickUp to develop, improve, and streamline the templates, systems, and processes of complex grant applications to diverse funders and management of internal review/approval process.
• Determine an effective sequence of work, including planning and monitoring activity timelines for each donor or prospect including proposal due dates, reporting dates, cultivation, and stewardship activities, and managing simultaneous proposals and strategies while meeting required deadlines.
• Identify new prospective institutional funders through research and peer-to-peer networks, serving as the strategic lead to align American Forests’ organizational priorities with the defined priorities and interests of institutional partners.
• Coordinate with Programs, Finance, Marketing & Communications, and Philanthropy colleagues to develop proposal budgets, deliver engagement opportunities, and monitor deliverables for grant contracts.
• Track all institutional prospects and submitted proposals in fundraising database; produce regular reports on institutional giving pipeline

Other Duties (5%)

• Contributes to the Philanthropy team’s overall success and supports Philanthropy with other duties as assigned.

What We’re Looking For

We don’t expect you to check every single box. If this role excites you, we want to hear from you! We’re interested in your ability to learn, collaborate, and bring fresh perspectives.

• At least 7 years of relevant philanthropic experience in the nonprofit sector, including securing funding from and stewarding 6- and 7-figure+ institutional partners
• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field; equivalent experience considered in lieu of
• Proven ability to meet or exceed fundraising goals and develop and sustain productive relationships with foundation staff
• Skilled relationship builder, both internally with program staff and externally with funders
• Expert communicator with a demonstrated ability to translate technical program details into compelling and cogent cases for funding
• Strategic mindset with the ability to work with a degree of flexibility in a highly collaborative, fast-paced, goal-oriented environment
• Ensures ethical compliance with fundraising best practices, as defined by the Association for Fundraising Professionals
• Computer proficiency with various Microsoft Office applications (Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint), project management software (ClickUp, AirTable, Planner) and with CRM systems (Raiser’s Edge)
• Passion and commitment to the mission, vision, and culture of American Forests
• A genuine and proven commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility and to the principles of community-centric fundraising
• Willingness to work flexible hours and available for donor related travel locally, regionally, and nationally

• Reporting and Supervision

The Director, Institutional Giving reports to Interim Chief Philanthropy Officer. This position will work closely with Program and Operations teams. This position may include supervision of future members of the Institutional Giving team.

Working Conditions

This is a remote position based in the United States, with preference given to candidates based in Washington, DC or New York. Up to 20% of travel throughout the U.S. and/or to American Forests’ headquarters in Washington D.C. may be required.

This position requires the ability to remain in a stationary position (sitting or standing) for extended periods and to operate a computer and other office equipment. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to support individuals across the full range of abilities and experiences in performing the essential functions of the job

Compensation & Benefits:

This is a full-time, salaried exempt position. The budgeted salary range is between $90,000 and $110,000.  Our benefits package includes:

Health and Wellness

Work-Life Balance

Financial and Retirement

Medical, Dental, & Vision

Vacation & Sick Leave

401(k) with Match

Employee Assistance Program

Paid Holidays

Flexible Spending Accounts

Disability Insurance

Parental Bonding Leave

Technology Stipend

Life and AD&D Insurance

Bereavement Leave

Pet Benefits

Military Leave

Our Core Competencies

Attitude • Communication • Organization • Problem-Solving & Creativity • Representing the Organization

About Us:

American Forests is a national non-profit organization committed to creating healthy and resilient forests from cities to large forest landscapes, that deliver essential benefits for climate, people, water, and wildlife. We advance our mission through forestry innovation, place-based partnerships to plant and restore forests, and movement building. We envision a world in which the significant environmental, societal, and economic benefits of forests are fully realized and equitably available to all people. Established in 1875, American Forests is the oldest national non-profit conservation organization in the U.S. working to restoring urban forests and forested landscapes for over 150 years.

American Forests is proud to be a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible workplace. These are our shared values. We welcome individuals who bring a variety of backgrounds and experiences to be a part of our team to help make a difference individually and collectively as we work toward achieving our mission. We are committed to fostering an environment that is welcoming and respectful and provides opportunities for advancement and professional growth for every team member.

American Forests is an equal opportunity employer.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or other characteristics protected by law. Reasonable accommodation may be made to provide access to all individuals along the continuum of human ability and experience.

Minority/Female/Disabled/Veteran/LGBTQ+ Encouraged to Apply

In accordance with federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, and reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible State or local Agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information is also available in languages other than English.