Position Profile - CaringBridge - Vice President, Major Gifts

Ballinger|Leafblad is proud to present the following information on behalf of our client,
CaringBridge and a retained search for Vice President, Major Gifts.
Presents.
Vice President, Major Gifts
http://www.caringbridge.org
http://www.ballingerleafblad.com
CaringBridge
VP, Major Gifts
PRESENTING OUR CLIENTCARINGBRIDGE

HISTORY
CaringBridge was founded in 1997 when Sona Mehring helped out two friends whose baby was born
prematurely. Sona created a website that facilitated communication about the babys health with
friends and family. That simple act of care and compassion has since become CaringBridge.org, a
nonprofit that impacts the lives of families around the world, offering hope and spreading love. Over
the past 18 years, CaringBridge has blossomed and benefited hundreds of thousands of individuals
and loved ones bravely battling severe health problems.
CaringBridge survives and thrives on a broader community of caring: support that enabled
CaringBridge to serve 35 million people in the past year, across all ages, for a wide range of
conditions and from 233 countries and territories. The organization's journey includes the following
milestones:
1997: Sona Mehring creates the first site
1998: More than 50 sites are established and unsolicited donor support begins
2002: Board established and nonprofit status is granted
2005: Donations top $1 million
2006: More than 5,000 sites established
2007: First national media coverage
2009: Spanish-language access is created
2010: CaringBridge.org visits top 1 billion
2013: Visits to CaringBridge.org total 46 million over the year
2014: 2.2 million new people joined CaringBridge communities
2014 HIGHLIGHTS
Every single day in 2014 more than 300,000 individuals and families connected through
CaringBridge.
More than 72,000 families created a CaringBridge website in 2014.
Over 78,000 donors made a contribution to CaringBridge in 2014, totaling $6.4M in individual
philanthropic support.
Read the entire 2014 annual report here: http://annualreport.caringbridge.org/
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CaringBridge
VP, Major Gifts
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
The mission of CaringBridge is "To amplify the love, hope and compassion in the world, making
each health journey easier."
CaringBridge takes a team approach to further its mission to amplify the love, hope and compassion
in the world. It is only by working together--with staff, board members, and other volunteers--that
the organization can serve the millions of people that need a loving connection to family and friends
during a health event.
The diverse staff includes professionals in technology, fundraising, finance and administration,
customer care, and marketing and outreach. The common themes that unite the dynamic team are a
desire to help others, the commitment to doing extraordinary work and the imagination to envision
what's possible when compassion and technology unite.
PRESENTING THE POSITION OF VICE PRESIDENT, MAJOR GIFTS
OVERVIEW OF THE POSITION
Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, the Vice President, Major Gifts, in partnership with the CEO
and COO, is responsible for building and growing the major gifts program of CaringBridge. Within the
organization this position has primary relationships with the CEO (Sona Mehring), COO (Liwanag
Ojala), CTO (Chee Wong), VP, Marketing and Customer Experience (Brigid Bonner) and ePhilanthropy
director (Amanda Mark). Outside of the organization this position coordinates with the
development committee of the CaringBridge board of directors, fundraising volunteers and major
gift prospects and donors. The VP, Major Gifts is a key catalyst for ensuring the organizations
culture, systems and procedures support individual philanthropy for CaringBridge.
THE PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE VICE PRESIDENT, MAJOR GIFTS
The Vice President, Major Gifts will have primary responsibility for growing a major gifts program of
gifts of $10,000 and over. From a major gift portfolio of $275,000 in FY2015, the organization would
like to grow to $900,000 in FY2018. There are over 600,000 individual donors in the CaringBridge
donor database via ResultsPlus. To support this work CaringBridge developed a major donor
predictive model with the assistance of Bentz Whaley Flessner in December 2014, and recently
completed a Wealth Engine screening across a significant segment of its donor
database. CaringBridge is evaluating what models, partners and process it needs to be successful
over the next 3 years, and the VP, Major Gifts will be a key driver in identifying needs in the major
donor development area.
The VP, Major Gifts will expand CaringBridges major donor base/pipeline and work closely with the
CEO and COO to secure major gift and other funding for new initiatives. In addition, the VP, Major
Gifts will interact with the development committee of the CaringBridge board of directors and
support board members in their fundraising role.
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CaringBridge
VP, Major Gifts
The VP, Major Gifts is responsible for the following:
Develop and implement a major gift program aimed at cultivating deeper ties with donors;
assure appropriate prospect research along with meaningful cultivation, acknowledgement
and recognition programs
Provide inspirational leadership; set breakthrough goals and encourage and assist others in
the achievement of their own goals;
Actively coach and support the CEO and COO in their major gift development work
Build a manage a portfolio of individual major gifts prospects
Coach the CEO, COO and development committee to determine accountabilities; assist these
individuals in the identification, cultivation and solicitation of charitable gifts; evaluate
performance and outcomes
Positively represent the organization and the Board to external stakeholders
Provide oversight of the organizations major gift development activities;
Oversee development and execution of all major gift proposals; write and archive all
proposals with a long-term relationship-management approach
Understand research funding sources and trends, with foresight, to help position
CaringBridge ahead of major funding changes or trends
Monitor all major gift donor information; provide and present statistical analysis to board
and senior leader
THE DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS
Ten-plus years of professional experience with demonstrated success and track record in
major gift cultivation and solicitation, or equivalent strategic selling
Ability to construct, articulate, and implement an annual strategic development plan and
breakthrough goals
Excellent communication skills, both written and oral; ability to influence and engage a wide
range of donors and build long-term relationships
Strong organizational and planning skills; time management skills
Flexible and adaptive style; a leader who can positively impact both strategic and tactical
fundraising initiatives
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CaringBridge
VP, Major Gifts
Ability to work both independently without close oversight, but also a team player who will
productively engage with others inside and outside of CaringBridge
Bachelor's degree required, with CFRE or MA preferred
High energy and passion for CaringBridges mission is essential
Service orientation and focus; ethical, trustworthy and credible
A professional and resourceful style; the ability to work independently and as a team player,
to take initiative, and to coach and develop other leaders
COMPENSATION PACKAGE:
The compensation package is competitive and attractive, including participation in CaringBridges
comprehensive benefits plan.
BALLINGER|LEAFBLAD WELCOMES YOU CONTACT US FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Lars Leafblad, MBA

Co-Founder and Principal
612-598-7547
[email protected]
Marcia Ballinger, PhD

Co-Founder and Principal
651-341-4840
[email protected]
Civic Search. Reimagined.

www.ballingerleafblad.com
ballinger|leafblad
Page 5

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Ballinger|Leafblad is proud to present the following information on behalf of our client,

CaringBridge and a retained search for Vice President, Major Gifts.

PRESENTING OUR CLIENTCARINGBRIDGE

More than 72,000 families created a CaringBridge website in 2014.

Read the entire 2014 annual report here: http://annualreport.caringbridge.org/

The VP, Major Gifts is responsible for the following:

Build a manage a portfolio of individual major gifts prospects

Positively represent the organization and the Board to external stakeholders

Provide oversight of the organizations major gift development activities;

THE DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Strong organizational and planning skills; time management skills

Bachelor's degree required, with CFRE or MA preferred

High energy and passion for CaringBridges mission is essential

Service orientation and focus; ethical, trustworthy and credible

Lars Leafblad, MBA

Marcia Ballinger, PhD

Civic Search. Reimagined.

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