Associate Director, Individual Giving & Donor Relations
Full-time FAS staff
Washington, DC or San Francisco, CA
Why FAS?
Does FAS sound like an organization that you would be energized to join? Is it aligned to your values?
The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) takes quite seriously our role as a beacon and voice for the science community.
FAS has a rich history: after the devastating bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, a group of atomic researchers – deeply concerned about the use of science for malice – created an organization committed to using science and technology to benefit humanity.
The group they created – the Federation of Atomic Scientists – soon became the Federation of American Scientists in recognition of the hundreds of scientists across diverse disciplines who joined together to speak with one voice for the betterment of the world.
Today, we are a group of entrepreneurial, intrepid changemakers, forging a better future for all through the nexus of science, technology and talent. We value equity, inclusion, and transparency. As a collective, we are building an organization focused on being impact-driven, customer-focused, and growth-oriented as a force for good in the world.
Skills and Expertise: Must Haves
Skills
A track record of building: you've designed fundraising strategies where none existed, or led significant expansion of an individual giving program, and translated those strategies into measurable revenue growth.
Fluency with high-net-worth donors: you know how to earn trust with people who have many options for where their philanthropy goes, and how to make the case for unrestricted giving.
Executive-level relationship skills: demonstrated experience partnering with a CEO and Board and representing an organization's credibility in the room.
Strategic range: equally comfortable designing a multi-year giving strategy and personally closing a six-figure gift.
Expertise
10+ years of major gift fundraising experience, with the relationships, reputation, and substantive fluency in relevant issue areas to be credible with sophisticated donors.
Demonstrated success in planning, designing, implementing, and executing fundraising strategies, with a particular focus on cultivating high-net-worth individuals.
Deep experience managing an active major gifts portfolio through all stages of the donor lifecycle.
Proven ability to steward relationships and work effectively with donors, board members, and constituents from a variety of backgrounds.
Understanding of and commitment to professional fundraising ethical standards, donor confidentiality, and sound stewardship practices.
Database fluency (Salesforce, WealthX, RelSci or equivalent) to bring rigor and pipeline discipline to a function being built from scratch.
Excellent written communication skills, including experience developing proposals, correspondence, and briefings.
Demonstrated ability to identify and engage new prospective donors when an established pipeline does not yet exist.
What this role will do
A strong candidate who will qualify prospects, manage a portfolio, and develop the right cultivation and solicitation strategy for each donor. You’ll build multi-year giving plans and engage FAS’s executive leadership and Board strategically to advance donor relationships and giving opportunities. As the sole operator of individual giving, you’ll need to be a self-directed builder who can develop and manage the program end to end.
To Sum It Up…
This is an inaugural role; you will build a system from the ground up.
FAS has never had a dedicated major gifts function. The opportunity in front of you is to design and stand up the individual giving strategy that will fund FAS's next chapter. You'll have the mandate, the executive access, and the runway to build a donor pipeline, a stewardship philosophy, and a fundraising culture at a storied organization.
Reporting to the Director of Partnerships and working closely with the CEO and Board of…