New York, NY

Director, Leadership Gifts, American Civil Liberties Union

The Organization

The ACLU dares to create a more perfect union – beyond one person, party, or side. Our mission is to realize this promise of the United States Constitution for all and expand the reach of its guarantees.

For over 100 years, the ACLU has worked to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States. Whether it’s ending mass incarceration, achieving full equality for the LGBTQ+ community, establishing new privacy protections for our digital age, or preserving the right to vote or the right to have an abortion, the ACLU takes up the toughest civil liberties cases and issues to defend all people from government abuse and overreach.

Equity, diversity, and inclusion are core values of the ACLU and central to our work to advance liberty, equality, and justice for all. We are a community committed to learning and growth, humility and grace, transparency and accountability. We believe in a collective responsibility to create a culture of belonging for all people within our organization – one that respects and embraces difference; treats everyone equitably; and empowers our colleagues to do the best work possible. We are as committed to anti-oppression and anti-racism internally as we are externally. Because whether we’re in the courts or in the office, we believe ‘We the People’ means all of us.

The ACLU’s work would not be possible without the ACLU community of members, donors, activists, and community, foundation, and corporate partners who dedicate their time, expertise, and resources to the fight for civil liberties.

Position Overview

Having completed a six-year, $2.7 billion comprehensive campaign in 2020, the ACLU seeks a Director of Leadership Gifts who is excited to help lead the ACLU through its next campaign and beyond. Reporting to the Senior Director, Leadership and Planned Gifts, the Director of Leadership Gifts is a senior-level strategy role and an extraordinary opportunity for a skilled fundraiser and leader to work in close contact and collaboration with Executive Director Anthony Romero, Chief Development Officer Mark Wier, board members, and other leaders across the organization to identify, cultivate, and strengthen relationships with the principal donors who are helping ACLU defend and preserve civil liberties.

There are two main areas of focus for the role: Team Management, Principal Gifts Strategy and Leadership. You will lead a 9-person team that includes six portfolios of more than 600 prospects and donors, providing oversight, mentoring, coaching, and leadership for a team that is poised to raise $80 million in the current fiscal year that began April 2021, with ambition to grow to more than $100 million over the next few years. You will have a principal gifts portfolio of at least 20 donors and prospects. You will set priorities, manage complex relationships, navigate sometimes difficult donor conversations, and create healthy ultra-high net worth donor portfolios. You are a key driver of 7- and 8-figure relationships, strategies, and solicitations in the Executive Director’s principal gifts portfolio, your own portfolio, and the additional portfolios you oversee.

While no one candidate will bring every qualification desired, the details provided below are representative of the attributes, knowledge, and experience ACLU is seeking for this important hire.

You are an experienced major and principal gifts fundraiser with exceptional emotional intelligence and a passion for social justice. You excel and thrive when building new relationships, nurturing and deepening existing ones, making connections, and guiding donors through cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship. With your intuitive ability and experience, you instill confidence and trust in donors, understand their needs and motivations, and create opportunities to develop their partnership and investment in the ACLU’s mission and work.

Your nurturing and motivating approach to management provides your team with creative and substantive insights and strategies to strengthen donor relationships, identify and engage new prospects, and work with a donor’s extended family and philanthropic advisors.

As a strong candidate, you will offer a background that includes:

– Extensive experience and expertise developing successful major and principal gift portfolios, including cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.

– Experience developing and leading ambitious campaigns.

– Experience working in or leading a diverse staff. Ability to lead, recruit, evaluate, and develop a diverse team of development professionals and contribute to the ongoing fostering of a high-functioning, results-oriented, diverse workforce.

– The desire to be part of a fast-paced organization with a strong culture of equity, collaboration, and respect.

– Ability to travel on a national scale, as needed, consistent with public health guidelines.

The ACLU is an equal opportunity employer. We value a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture. The ACLU encourages applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status and record of arrest or conviction, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Black people, Indigenous people, people of color; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex people; women; people with disabilities, protected veterans, and formerly incarcerated individuals are all strongly encouraged to apply.

How To Apply

The ACLU makes every effort to assure that its recruitment and employment provide all qualified persons, including persons with disabilities, with full opportunities for employment in all positions.

Diversified Search Group has been exclusively retained for this engagement. Inquiries, nominations, and applications (current resumes and cover letters) should be directed via email to:

Gerard F. Cattie, Jr.
Managing Director and DSG Fundraising & Advancement Practice Leader
Diversified Search Group
The Chrysler Building, 405 Lexington Avenue, 49th Floor, New York, New York 10174

gerard.cattie@divsearch.com | 212.542.2587

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