Director of Development and Strategic Partnerships

Camp Starfish
Waltham, Massachusetts

OVERVIEW

When most people think of summer camp, the images that come to mind are of canoeing and soccer, arts and crafts, nature hikes, and letters home. They also remember making friends, trying new experiences, and succeeding at activities they never thought possible. Come to Camp Starfish, and you’ll see the same things: the ubiquitous smiles, the contagious laughter, and the camaraderie that only summertime can bring. But look a little closer, and you’ll start noticing that there is something a little different about Starfish.

Camp Starfish, founded in 1998, serves at-risk children with emotional, behavioral, and learning problems. With its unique and remarkable one-to-one staff to camper ratio, Camp Starfish enables children not only to succeed, but to learn that success is, in fact, an option available to them. When children begin making friends at Camp Starfish, often they are doing so for the first times in their lives. The emotions being expressed come through in healthy and productive ways. And for many troubled campers, learning to manage their behaviors and gain independence is a truly empowering experience.

After renting a camp facility for their first eight summers, Starfish has recently completed the purchase of a permanent summer home in Rindge, NH. The property, consisting of a fully developed camp facility rich with infrastructure for a substantially larger program, will ensure the future of the organization as a permanent fixture in the lives of troubled children. Based on the shores of Lake Monomonac only a few minutes from the border of Massachusetts, the property currently includes outdoor activity areas, rustic cabins, a large dining hall, washhouses, and other small buildings, along with extensive opportunities for expansion. Camp Starfish is currently in the quiet phase of a $2.5M capital campaign towards which over $800,000 have been raised, indicating an excitement on the part of donors and a strong overall fundraising position. This role represents an exceptional opportunity to lead fundraising efforts as part of an experienced senior management team, including an Executive Director, an Associate Director and an energetic board of twelve as Starfish enters into one of the most exciting chapters of its history.
 

CAMP STARFISH

Camp Starfish currently operates an overnight camp in New Hampshire that provides approximately 110 children – primarily from the greater Boston area – with individualized attention and myriad opportunities to experience success. For these children, many of whom have been in and out of different foster home situations, endured hospitalizations, and/or have been removed from traditional homes and placed into residential programs or group homes, Camp Starfish has become the primary source of stability and consistency in their lives. For their caregivers, Starfish offers essential respite, support, and hope. Despite all the instability children might suffer through, despite whatever neglect, abuse, or setbacks they have to endure, the campers who return, summer after summer, can always count on Starfish as a place where they will experience success, support, and security.

Parent and guardian feedback, from all nine of Starfish’s summers, indicates that Starfish is providing a powerful intervention that profoundly benefits many children and families who are in desperate need of emotional repair. In Massachusetts alone there are currently more than 8,000 children who receive special education services. The new facility will enable increasing numbers of children to be served by Starfish in both the current summer program and newly developed winter programs. Additionally, Camp Starfish has been able to continuously operate on a need-blind admissions policy, assisting families who otherwise would not be able to send their children to camp because of financial constraints. To accommodate such a large demand market, Camp Starfish is growing to serve more children, and creating programs that broaden and deepen its impact.

CHALLENGES FACING THE DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT AND STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

Camp Starfish is hiring its Director of Development and Strategic Partnerships at a crucial time. With a healthy cash flow and a growing roster of financial supporters, Starfish is looking to expand and diversify its funding base, deepen the impact of its services for current campers, and build both revenue generating and non-revenue generating strategic partnerships for the future. The new Director of Development and Strategic Partnerships, reporting to the Executive Director, will be expected to guide and grow the fundraising agenda of Starfish so that it may continue to hold its healthy financial footing during this economically challenging time. This person will develop and implement an overarching, strategic, proactive fundraising plan, complete with external corporate partnerships. The ideal candidate will be an experienced, strategic thinker, who is young at heart, but has the gravitas to steward major donors, and the knowledge of when to leverage the time and energy of the Executive Director and board members. S/he will complement the skill set of the Executive Director and the excellent team currently in place, while also providing guidance and leadership around organizational fundraising efforts. The candidate must have the skill and confidence to create and close substantial partnership deals with donors.

Specifically, the Director of Development and Strategic Partnerships will be expected to achieve the following goals during the first 12-18 months:

Ensure long-term financial sustainability

• Direct a multi-faceted and comprehensive development program. Design and implement a strategic fundraising plan to broaden the base of sustainable financial support needed for Camp Starfish, Inc. (“Starfish”) to operate, grow and evolve. Develop annual workplans and benchmark strategies for revenue sustainability; align fundraising efforts with Starfish’s overall strategic plan and financial requirements.

• Drive the resource generation required to expand current fundraising capacity in the areas of individual giving, corporate sponsorships, and planned giving programs. Successfully meet the annual funding goals with skillful fundraising; secure, as of financial year-end, specific revenue targets as determined in accordance with the organizational budget.

• Partner with the Executive Director to manage resource allocation for Starfish, including creating and compiling comprehensive reports for revenue and expenditures, income projections, and budgets.

• Expand and diversify fundraising activities and increase revenue and non-revenue generating partnerships with foundation, corporate, individual and public sources at the local, state, and national level. Develop strategic partnerships which support the core mission of Starfish.

• Forecast and evaluate the potential of current and developing fundraising campaigns and activities. Provide regular and informed projections surrounding revenue streams for the organization. Stay on top of advancements and changes that are pertinent to raising money within the Greater Boston and New England areas, to the Starfish mission and programs, and to the development profession.

Maintain an accurate calendar of outstanding proposals, expected revenue, current pipeline opportunities, and other key tracking data; provide this information on a regular basis to the Executive Director and Development Committee Chair.

Build lasting strategic partnerships

• Take primary responsibility for key funder relationships. Ensure effective communication, involvement, and appreciation with all funders. Generate new leads through the use of outstanding verbal, written and in-person communications. Develop strategies and relationship-building activities required to engage investors. Plan, manage, and attend special events.

• Steward existing foundation and individual funder relationships. Demonstrate exceptional customer service and skilled judgment in nurturing these relationships. Oversee foundation outreach; research and write grant proposals.

• Strategize and implement a targeted development plan to enhance camper/family and staff alumni participation in fundraising. Make full use of the web, social networking, viral marketing, and other cutting edge technologies to reach the widest possible audience.

• Actively connect with donors and potential supporters in person, including bringing individuals to view operations during the camp season on a regular basis and coordinating meetings/presentations during the off-season.

Strategically expand Starfish’s connections, campaigns and committees

• Develop and implement an external public relations plan which highlights the Starfish story in key local media channels through press releases, media kits and events. Build and maintain productive relationships with key media outlets. Be a spokesperson and key voice for Starfish, committed to further enhancing the presence of Starfish in the community, and outwardly expressing excitement for our mission, vision and goals.

• Drive the content, creation and distribution of both paper and online newsletters and update mailings. Collaborate with key staff to ensure that organizational publications, website, and documents include donor-focused content.

• Building on the successes to date, devise a strategy and a timeline for completing the capital campaign and an expected future endowment campaign.

• Collaborate with the Chair of the Development Committee to organize regular committee meetings, set agendas, and cultivate an active committee membership. Work with the Executive Director and the President of the Board to identify and cultivate new Board members.

• In conjunction with the Executive Director, supervise aspects of the work performed by the Administrative/ Development Assistant, including but not limited to: overseeing research activity, delineating tasks & projects, reviewing written communications, and evaluating progress.

QUALIFICATIONS

This is a unique opportunity for a seasoned development professional to combine enthusiasm for programs serving special needs children and desire to create a senior, strategic partnership with the executive director and board of a dynamic and impressive organization on the precipice of tremendous growth. The successful candidate will be creative, enterprising, innovative and energetic, with excellent communication skills and a passion for talking about superb programming for children with special needs.

While no one person will embody all of the qualities enumerated below, the ideal candidate will possess many of the following professional and personal abilities, attributes, and experiences:

• A proven track record and passion for nonprofit fundraising that manifests a commitment to maintaining current funders and a zest for cultivating new contributors and new revenue streams.

• Experience spearheading a capital campaign of at least $2M, including leveraging board members and volunteers and identifying new donors and sources of support.

• At least five years of experience cultivating and soliciting major donors, and corporate and foundation funds. Demonstrated success formulating and executing overarching development plans. A strong track record of identifying, asking, and closing individual gifts of $25,000 and above.

• Experience providing strategic leadership to a small but growing enterprise within the realities of limited resources is a plus. Equal parts humor, compassion, and sensibility necessary to address the practicalities and desires of a small, entrepreneurial nonprofit.

• Superb writing, editing and oral presentation skills.

• Demonstrated ability to write and manage an annual development plan seeking support from a broad range of sources.

• Desire and demonstrated ability to work respectfully with board, staff, families, and partners from diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. The uncompromising belief that children born into circumstances of poverty, abuse and neglect can be successful is expected.

• The proven ability to meet multiple deadlines, balance numerous projects, and work independently.

• Flexibility and ability to work collaboratively and productively in a dynamic, change-driven, and informal office environment.

• A bachelor’s degree

TO APPLY

Applications are due by March 1, 2009, but will be reviewed as received. Applications, which will not be reviewed without a cover letter describing your interest and qualifications, your resume (in Word format), and salary history, should be sent to: cs-dev@gononprofit.com; in order to expedite the internal sorting and reviewing process, please write your name (Last, First) as the only contents in the subject line of your e-mail.

More information about Camp Starfish may be found at: http://www.CampStarfish.org.

Camp Starfish is an equal opportunity employer.