Director, Philanthropy

Description

Primary Purpose:

The Director of Philanthropy advances CHEST’s mission—crushing lung disease—by leading efforts to raise and steward funds that improve care across pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine.

This role serves as the organization’s principal fundraiser, driving a sustainable and measurable giving program in partnership with internal teams and the Board of Advisors. The Director represents CHEST philanthropy externally and helps foster a strong culture of philanthropy across the organization, grounded in equitable practices.

The Director leads the execution of a comprehensive fundraising strategy, including donor identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship, as well as the growth of planned giving initiatives aligned with CHEST’s philanthropic priorities. The role ensures compliance with all gift-related policies and ethical standards.

Reporting to the Senior Director of Equity and Community Impact, the Director supervises the Leadership Annual Giving Manager and works closely with the Board of Advisors to advance CHEST’s philanthropic impact.

Essential Functions/Responsibilities

• Demonstrate a passion for crushing lung disease and embody CHEST values: honor the team, act with integrity, leverage strengths, cultivate innovation, and have serious fun.
• Ensure strategic execution and evaluation of CHEST’s philanthropy strategy to maintain, measure, and report on CHEST’s giving and fundraising strategies. Execute and contribute to the ongoing evolution of an operations plan to ensure the continued integration of philanthropy into organizational goal setting, budgeting, and communications, and position the philanthropy program to extend the organization’s goals.
• Strategize, guide, and sustain major fundraising campaigns, including the identification, research, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of prospects and donors. Work collaboratively with leaders and staff to identify high-potential donors and prospects, make assignments, and develop and implement customized strategies for individual engagement and stewardship. Develop, execute, and analyze annual giving strategies including direct mail solicitations, pipeline development, and donor stewardship. Collaborate effectively with Marketing & Communications to integrate annual giving into non-philanthropy communications to enable overall member awareness of the impact of giving and drive donor acquisition at AG levels.
• Manage a comprehensive operations plan to execute on giving and fundraising strategies and communicate progress with stakeholders on an ongoing basis. Prioritize and execute strategies/tactics to meet fundraising goals.
• Oversee the accurate and complete records of all contributions and ensure effective donor/sponsor stewardship practices. Partner with IT and Finance teams to ensure accurate and timely management and updates within donor management system. Partner with Communications to ensure the cohesive development and availability of materials and communications to support stewardship activities.
• Partner with Communications, Marketing, and Membership to support a shared understanding of fundraising goals and priorities. Join in developing campaigns, share insights about audience motivations, and collaborate on campaign development, evaluation, and iteration. Emphasize a collaborative, cross-functional approach to messaging and donor engagement.
• Own the development and drafting of philanthropy content, including donor communications, solicitation campaigns, and stewardship reports ensuring alignment with CHEST’s voice, values, and philanthropic vision.
• Collaborate with Director, Volunteer Operations to steward grant recipients and track the outcomes of funded projects. Collaboratively construct a shared strategy with internal partners to encourage future donors and champion engagement among former recipients, while supporting ongoing relationship management across the organization.
• Partner with Education to engage CHEST faculty around philanthropy and encourage deeper giving in support of CHEST’s mission.
• Ensure compliance with all internal/external rules and regulations, as well as contracting, budgetary, and fiscal expectations related to fundraising.
• Monitor revenue and manage expenses within the philanthropy budget. Contribute to the preparation of the annual operating budgets, periodic financial reports, routine pipeline updates, board materials, and other reports, in collaboration with the Senior Director, Equity and Community Impact.
• Manage and supervise the daily responsibilities of the Leadership Annual Giving Manager.
  
  

Other Functions/Responsibilities

• Participate in development and maintenance of fundraising policies and SOPs, ensuring compliance with established code for interactions with industry.
• Complete other tasks and projects as assigned.
  
  

Requirements

Required Qualifications and Competencies:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience required; Master’s degree, advanced certification/Certificate in Professional Fundraising, or advanced practical experience preferred.
• 5 years of progressive experience in corporate and individual fundraising with a medical association or healthcare non-profit; 2 years leading cross-functional teams
• Comfortable in a wide range of philanthropic work, including solicitation and stewardship of individual, foundation, and corporate donors; donor and prospect cultivation and research; grant writing; and special events. Ability to speak comfortably and dynamically before groups of all sizes, relaying the mission and vision of CHEST through cohesive and compelling narratives.
• Expert knowledge of current and evolving trends in major gifts giving, solicitation, and fundraising campaigns. Proven success in asking for and closing major gifts.
• A successful track record in executing on strategy, setting priorities, managing multiple projects, and working effectively under pressure to achieve individual and organizational goals.
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, reliable, and flexible; thrives in a fast-paced environment; a driving force who manages toward clarity, finds solutions, and is able to think strategically about the organization.
• A consummate team player with a flexible, collaborative, and creative approach who can lead and empower teammates to contribute their best and coordinate activities across departments such as Finance, IT, Marketing, Membership, Communications, and Events.
• Strong analytic and strategic thinking skills with a demonstrated ability to create, implement, and monitor complex plans and translate those plans into concrete strategies and tactics.
• Competency in proposal development, financial management, and Salesforce.
• Experience working with board members (physicians), industry, and non-endemic funders.
• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills.
• Competent in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, social media, and fundraising software.
• Understanding of the complex healthcare environment.
• Ability to adhere to CHEST's hybrid work schedule, which includes 2 days per week work-from-home, and 3 days per week onsite at CHEST headquarters in Glenview. Tuesday and Wednesday are CHEST's anchor days, and a 3rd onsite will be decided between employee and supervisor.
• Ability to accommodate 10%–25% travel.
  
  

Benefits

While we offer benefits that you’d expect from any forward-thinking, progressive organization, we offer a lot of extras too, including the standardization of a hybrid working environment. From tuition reimbursement to parental leave, we offer the benefits that you want most.

• Health and Wellness: Medical, dental, and vision insurance*; flexible spending account*; long- term and short-term disability insurance; life/AD&D insurance
• Work/life Balance: 37.5-hour work week with flexible start times; Paid Time Off; Paid parental leave; Hybrid work environment; Paid holidays
• Giving and sharing: 401(k) with matching contribution from CHEST*; Health club and fitness reimbursement; Employee counseling program; Reimbursement for professional memberships; Tuition Reimbursement
• Office perks: Lunch & Learns; Annual Health Fair; Professional development courses; Volunteering opportunities; Annual Holiday Party; In-office “Busy Breaks”
  
  

Additional Information

The annual base salary range for this position is USD $145,000 to USD $155,000. This pay range represents base pay only and excludes any additional items such as incentives, bonuses, or other items. CHEST considers factors such as, but not limited to, the scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidate's work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, and market and organizational considerations when extending an offer. CHEST is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability, parental status, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable laws.

At CHEST, our employees come from different backgrounds with various lived experiences and dynamic strengths. We strive to continuously improve our way of working to reflect our commitment to inclusion and equity and build a workforce that reflects the communities that we serve. And that means we need you! Your experiences may only perfectly align with some qualifications listed in the job description. But if you are excited by this position, we highly encourage you to consider still applying. You may be just the right candidate to help us with our mission to improve patient care.