Philanthropic Advisor

Mercy Home’s coworker's provide healing, guidance, and opportunity to young men and women in need every day. You can be an integral part of their success.

And Mercy Home isn’t just a workplace; it’s a community dedicated to the growth and well-being of its employees. We offer a comprehensive benefits package, including health coverage options, a retirement savings plan, tuition reimbursement, paid vacation, and more.

Check out our job description for this position and contact us – we’re looking forward to meeting you!

How You’ll Make an Impact:

Mercy Home for Boys & Girls seeks a Philanthropic Advisor to cultivate, solicit, and steward qualified planned and major gift donors. Some donor prospecting will be involved as well, in order to qualify donors who are willing and able to support the mission of Mercy Home with a planned or major gift in the future. Some marketing responsibilities will be involved as well, as a tool for cultivation and stewardship of our donor audience.

The Philanthropic Advisor will act as a conduit between the donor and the organization, helping the donor to fulfill their passions, while generating revenue for the mission. The ideal candidate will be donor-centered, an adaptive thinker, an agile problem-solver, and well-versed in giving strategies, philanthropic practices, and fundraising practices in a nonprofit organization.

What we need from you:

• Successful record (5 years) in nonprofit fundraising (preferably major/planned gifts) or sales
• Personality that is authentic, trustworthy, approachable, and personable
• Derives energy from establishing and growing relationships
• Ability to adapt to changing personalities and environments
• Professional, collaborative style – works as part of a team to achieve agency goals
• Uses data to set benchmarks, plan tactics, and achieve goals
• Possess high-level executive functioning and emotional maturity
• Adaptable and agile to meet needs of donors, team, and Agency 
• Strong organizational skills to ensure multiple projects move forward simultaneously 
• Confident, competent, and convincing communicator able to build relationships in person, over the phone, and in writing
• Maturity and sensitivity to cultural and individual differences
• Willingness to ask questions, learn and be coached
• Comfortable sharing thoughts, ideas, knowledge and opinions
• Commitment to the mission, values, and goals of the Agency
• Flexibility to travel (2-4 consecutive days at a time, possibly including weekends)
• Flexibility to join Mercy Home Fundraising Events (occasionally on nights and weekends)
• A positive attitude, generosity of spirit and sense of humor 

In this Role, you will:

• Communicate effectively with donors to tell the story of Mercy Home and show how their gifts help build a brighter future for young people in need
• Act as a trusted advisor to donors in the field of philanthropy, using a working knowledge of gift vehicles (A background in planned giving is not essential: training will be provided)
• Help donors to increase charitable giving, decrease tax exposure, and achieve their greater philanthropic goals
• Manage a portfolio of major and planned gift donors to increase revenue and meet the financial goals of the Agency
• Implement a Moves Management plan, working toward relationship and revenue goals for each managed donor
• Confidently ask donors for gifts, authentically thank them for their support, and adeptly report back about what their gift has achieved
• Personally visit donors, both locally and nationally, maintaining approximately a 20% travel schedule (including local travel) May include occasional weekends
• Meet or exceed annual revenue goals, as well as other metrics determined along with your supervisor
• Attend professional industry meetings and conferences, and develop a network of fundraising professionals (including attorneys, accountants, financial planners, and other fundraisers)
• Assist in the development of marketing materials for the Philanthropy Team

 Basic Information / Schedule Details:

This job is a full-time position, Monday through Friday 9:00AM to 5:00PM

Pay Range: $80,000 to $90,000 Annually

Location: West Loop Campus- 1140 W. Jackson blvd Chicago, IL 60607

For information on benefits please follow this link- https://www.mercyhome.org/working-mercy-home

Why You Will Love Working Here:

At Mercy Home, our commitment to providing the best care for the Youth we serve extends to ensuring our team receives top-of-the-line training and professional development. 

We are a Top Workplace as awarded by the Chicago Tribune.

Mercy Home for Boys & Girls is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to Inclusion and Diversity

Visit us at www.mercyhome.org/jobs