Position Summary:

As the inaugural Vice President of Ministry Engagement at Our Daily Bread Ministries (ODBM), the successful candidate will assist in developing and implementing our major gifts program. The VP of Ministry Engagement, working closely with the President/CEO, will be responsible for cultivating and managing relationships with current major donors and identifying new prospects. The ability to communicate our organization’s mission and strategy is key. Building relationships and empathizing with donors is an essential element of this position.

Essential Functions:

1. Serve as the primary relationship manager for a portfolio of 125 donors, developing a written donor strategy and relationship record of all interactions.
2. Work with the President/CEO on developing a strategy for major donor engagement and coordination of visits.
3. Schedule and complete 12-15 in-person visits per month with current identified and prospective donors.
4. Select approximately 30-40 prospects annually for the solicitation of a major gift, working with executive management to develop the plan to secure each gift.
5. Be able to work collaboratively with Global Executive Team (GET) members to package and promote existing and new major gift-level funding opportunities.
6. Coordinate with marketing and digital marketing in the creation of supporting materials for major donor activities.
7. Create a plan for appropriate donor cultivation events.
8. Build and implement annual and quarterly plans to cultivate existing and new donors, meeting agreed-upon targets.
9. Produce monthly and quarterly accountability metrics in support of annual goals.
10. May be called on to represent ODBM to appropriate groups, clubs, and churches working with ODBM Church Engagement and other team members.
11. Stay attuned to new partnerships with interested organizations. 
12. Must effectively cross-collaborate with other ODBM team members and functions (Technology, Digital Marketing, Research, Foundations/Grants, Finance, etc.) to share resources and information to maximize opportunities and impact.
13. Help our donors accomplish their philanthropic goals and ambitions through a relationship with our organization.
14. Provide insight into systems and software to track and cultivate donors and prospects, including our donor database and wealth screening tools.
15. Participate in donor screening to help identify new major donor prospects.
16. Ensure timely and proper major donor acknowledgment takes place.
17. Provide timely periodic reporting to the CFO and the CEO as agreed upon.

Study or Knowledge or Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree preferred.
• Minimum of 10 years of successful track record in a similar position with demonstrated ability to ask for and close gifts of $50,000 and greater.
• Strong organizational and interpersonal skills.
• Possess a strong knowledge of fundraising methods and understanding of planned giving tools and strategies.
• Experience with raising non-cash, complex asset-based gifts when required.
• Ability to clearly communicate verbally and in writing.
• Experience using major gifts CRM and Microsoft Office products (Word, Excel, etc.).
• Exemplify qualities of honesty, trustworthiness, initiative, creativity, tenacity, diligence, and dependability.
• Strive to live a life consistent with biblical principles, engage with the Bible on a consistent basis, and demonstrate continued growth and spiritual development. 

Internal Work Environment:

The position will report to the Chief Financial Officer at ODBM. The successful candidate will also work closely with the President/CEO, establishing and executing a major Donor cultivation strategy. The individual will coordinate efforts with other ODBM teams working on other segments of the donor database ensuring clear communication in donor efforts and no duplication of efforts. This position will entail a high level of confidentiality and discretion.

External Communication:

This position will interact often outside of the organization with donors of ODBM. The successful candidate will possess a high level of relational skills and the ability to communicate extremely well in verbal and written form. The individual must be able to maintain a high level of confidentiality. 

Leadership Responsibility:

The position is responsible for the Major Donor program of ODBM. The position has no direct reports currently; however, it heavily interacts with peers within the organization.

Stewardship of Resources:

This role will assist in establishing short- and long-term strategic plans and related tactical goals, including revenue targets and associated acquisition costs. 

Miscellaneous:

Our Daily Bread Ministries is a nondenominational nonprofit with staff and volunteers across the globe and resources distributed in 150 countries and in more than 50 languages. As a global ministry faithful to biblical principles, our commitment to diversity is reflected in our ministry's mission, vision, values, and ethos. 

• Frequent travel is required, approximately 30% annually, with timing impacted by seasonality associated with the role and major donor visits.
• While not required to be in the Grand Rapids, MI area, this individual’s performance and success in this role will be largely dependent on consistent interaction with Grand Rapids based leadership and staff. This will require periodic trips (frequency TBD) to the Grand Rapids office.