Director of Individual Giving

Organization Overview:

The mission of Big Brothers Big Sisters is to create and support mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth. Mentorship meets kids where they are, helping them grow into confident, successful individuals. It boosts school performance, opens new paths, and creates lasting opportunities. Since 1995, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Arkansas has created and supported thousands of high-quality, meaningful one-to-one mentoring relationships between youth (Littles) and volunteer mentors (Bigs) in Benton and Washington Counties.

Job Summary:

The Director of Individual Giving leads giving efforts with all individual donors on behalf of the agency. This position is responsible for developing and executing strategies to acquire, steward, and grow individual donor contributions. The role focuses on identifying and cultivating new donors while managing a portfolio of mid-level donors ($1,000–$5,000) through personalized outreach, meetings, and stewardship plans. The Director of Individual Giving will ensure donors remain engaged and informed about the impact of their contributions, with a goal of increasing retention and upgrading mid-level supporters to major gift status.

Additionally, this position will conduct prospect research to identify high-potential donors, collaborate with senior leadership to cultivate major gifts ($5,000 ), and partner with the CEO on key solicitations. Supporting fundraising events and campaigns, the Director of Individual Giving will also create donor engagement opportunities, recognition programs, and exclusive experiences that align with donor interests. This role requires a self-motivated individual who thrives on building meaningful, long-term relationships and is passionate about increasing individual philanthropic contributions to further advance our mission.

Qualifications and Skills:

• A bachelor's degree is required, ideally in nonprofit management, business administration, or a related field
• 2 years of fundraising experience, preferably in individual giving, major gifts, and donor stewardship.
• Proven ability to cultivate, solicit, and steward individual donors at various giving levels.
• Strong relationship-building skills with the ability to engage and inspire donors.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including experience crafting donor outreach materials.
• Proficiency in Google Suite and Microsoft Office
• Proven experience in donor research, prospecting, and using donor management software (DonorDock or similar CRM preferred).

Preferred Skills and Knowledge:

Knowledge of the various communities within Northwest Arkansas, experience working with teenagers and young adults, and experience working with volunteers are preferred. Candidates should be able to provide exceptional customer service while still being focused on child safety and the inclusivity of all individuals who apply. Candidates must demonstrate great written and verbal communication, as well as self-motivation to take initiative and work without direct supervision. Candidates must be organized and proficient with technology and record keeping.

Travel Requirements:

Regular local travel within Benton and Washington County. Local mileage is reimbursed at the federal rate.

Core Competencies & High Performance Indicators:

• Resilience & Flexibility - able to interpret situations and information objectively when stressed; remain calm and professional in potentially difficult or emotionally charged interpersonal interactions; maintain high productivity in stressful situations; maintain high performance in the face of setbacks or changing circumstances; view failures objectively and rebound quickly; work to clarify situations where information or objectives are ambiguous.
• Communication - Able to practice active and attentive listening skills to verify understanding; adapt communication content and delivery to individual needs; proactively inform others about developments relevant to the team; openly and diplomatically express opinion, even when different from that of others; translate what is heard, observed or assessed into documentation that is accurate, concise, and clearly communicates key information to others with a need to know.
• Decisiveness & Judgment - Able to demonstrate good and ethical judgment in routine, day-to-day decisions; independently make decisions and take action, even in non-routine situations; consider impact of various options when making decisions; use good judgment in deciding whether to make a decision or escalate it to a supervisor for additional consultation; use an awareness of formal and informal decision-making channels to achieve desired results.
• Results-Driven - Able to demonstrate high personal work standards, balancing quality and quantity with a sense of urgency about results; do everything possible to meet goals and deadlines; persist in the face of repeated challenges; accept responsibility for improving the quality, efficiency and outcomes of own work.
• Customer Focus - Able to build strong working relationships with internal and external customers; identify unexpressed customer needs and potential services to meet those needs; independently anticipate and personalize communication/approach to fit different perspectives, backgrounds or styles of individuals; prioritize work in alignment with the needs of the customer; use customer knowledge and feedback to improve own work results.
• Problem Solving & Analysis - Able to gather appropriate data and diagnose a situation before taking action; separate causes from symptoms; apply lessons learned from others who encountered similar problems or challenges; anticipate problems and develop contingency plans to deal with them; develop and evaluate alternative courses of action.
• Strategic Alignment - Able to align own work objectives with the organization's strategic plan or objectives; take organizational priorities into consideration when making choices and trade-offs in own work; act with an understanding of how the community affects the business and how own actions and decisions affect other jobs or outcomes; maintain perspective between the overall picture and tactical details.
• Valuing Diversity - Able to seek out and work effectively with others who have diverse perspectives, talents, backgrounds, and/or styles; contribute to a team climate in which differences are valued and supported; challenge any stereotyping or offensive comments; seek and respond to feedback from others about his/her own behavior that might be perceived as biased.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Arkansas provides equal employment opportunities to all qualified individuals without regard to race, creed, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, marital status, veteran status, or non-disqualifying physical or mental handicap or disability.

Americans with Disabilities Act

Applicants as well as employees who are or become disabled must be able to perform the essential duties & responsibilities either unaided or with reasonable accommodation. The organization shall determine reasonable accommodation on a case-by-case basis in accordance with applicable law.

Job Responsibilities

The above statements reflect the general duties, responsibilities and competencies considered necessary to perform the essential duties & responsibilities of the job and should not be considered as a detailed description of all the work requirements of the position. Specific job duties may change with or without prior notice based on the needs of the organization.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: From $45,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Professional development assistance
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Evenings as needed
• Monday to Friday
• Weekends as needed

Education:

• Bachelor's (Required)

Experience:

• Fundraising: 2 years (Required)

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Fayetteville, AR 72703

Salary : $45,000