Director of Philanthropy Services

The Director of Philanthropy Services is a strategic and operational leader responsible for building and managing the systems, processes, tools, and services that power the YMCA of Greater Houston's fundraising success. Serving as the operational backbone of the Philanthropy Department, this role oversees the teams and functions that enable effective and sustainable fundraising-grant writing and development, database and data optimization, stewardship, prospect research, donor communications, donor marketing strategy and development, project management, fundraising reporting, and association-wide fundraising events.

This leader will ensure the organization has a strong infrastructure to support major gifts, capital campaigns, endowment growth, board giving, United Way and staff campaigns, and center-based fundraising. The VP of Philanthropic Services combines technical expertise, operational excellence, and strategic insight to strengthen fundraising capacity organization-wide.

• Lead, supervise, and develop the Philanthropy Services team.
• Partner with the Chief Philanthropy Officer (CPO), Vice Presidents, and campaign leadership to develop, implement, and evaluate annual fundraising strategy.
• Strengthen systems, workflows, and collaboration across the department and organization to ensure efficient support for major gifts, capital, annual, and endowment efforts.
• Lead and implement philanthropic marketing strategy.
• Identify opportunities to improve fundraising performance through operational innovation, process improvement, and data-driven decision-making.
• Ensure compliance with legal, financial, and ethical standards, protecting donor intent, privacy, and organizational integrity.
• Serve as a thought partner and advisor to senior leadership on philanthropic operations.

Data and Systems Management

• Oversee the integrity, usability, and advancement of fundraising databases (Blackbaud) and digital tools.
• Establish systems and protocols to ensure data quality, security, and consistency of donor and prospect records.
• Lead ongoing evaluation, maintenance, and optimization of data systems and workflows to enhance fundraising effectiveness.
• Manage relationships with system vendors and technology partners.
• Serve as data liaison to Brand Experience, Business Systems, Finance and IT for integration and system alignment.

• * Provide oversight of all gift processing, pledge management, acknowledgment processes, and reconciliation.
• * Ensure accurate and timely entry of donor contributions and campaign commitments.
• * Partner with Finance to align revenue reporting and ensure proper handling of donor agreements.
• * Maintain policies for data protection, gift acceptance, donor compliance, and audit readiness.

• * Oversee prospect research strategy for individuals, corporations, and foundations.
• * Develop and manage prospecting and wealth screening protocols to increase qualified lead generation.
• * Support pipeline development and portfolio optimization for gift officers.
• * Utilize Blackbaud and other research tools to inform fundraising strategy.

• * Lead development of reports and dashboards to track fundraising progress and donor engagement.
• * Provide data analysis and predictive modeling to inform strategic planning and campaign projections.
• * Prepare campaign and board reporting to support leadership decision-making.
• * Analyze trends, donor behavior, and fundraising ROI to guide continuous improvement.

• * Oversee stewardship systems and donor recognition efforts to deepen relationships and retention.
• * Partner with Brand Experience and philanthropy leadership to create donor-facing communications.
• * Develop case statements, proposals, and collateral for fundraising initiatives.
• * Lead marketing and communications strategies that support cultivation and stewardship.

YMCA Culture & Cause Expectations
Our mission and core values are brought to life by our culture. It's who are, who we aspire to be and how we show up every day. We are cause-driven. We don't just show up, we show up with purpose. As a cause driven leader you are expected to be:

Welcoming-Accept neighbors eagerly, warmly, hospitably, and as equal participants.

Nurturing-To care for, support, and help develop through encouragement.

Hopeful-Take an optimistic or positive view of future outcomes.

Determined-To devote full strength and concentrated attention to the cause.

Genuine-To be honest and open in relationships with others.

* Bachelor's degree required.
* Experience in data management and systems, grant writing and cases for support and marketing preferably in a philanthropic setting.
* Ability to evaluate complex sets of information to reach conclusions and make recommendations
* Ability to conduct analysis of data effectively
* Posses demonstrated analytical and problem solving skills
* Ability to troubleshoot data
* Ability to set and meet deadlines
* Demonstrated excellent organizational skills, multi-tasking and effective use of time Able to handle and complete multiple tasks or projects with multiple deadlines
* Ability to deal professionally, courteously and efficiently with other team members as well as other internal and external stakeholders
* Must be proficient in Microsoft Office and NXT and Raisers Edge
* Possess effective verbal and written communication skills
* Demonstrated effective customer relations skills, working with diverse populations, often in fast paced environments

QUALIFICATIONS
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

LANGUAGE SKILLS
Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals. Ability to write routine reports and correspondence. Ability to speak effectively before groups of customers or employees of organization.

COMPUTER LITERACY
Skills are essential in all of the Microsoft Office applications including Word, Excel, and Access. Ability to use these programs to lighten work load, develop reports and to automate procedures is very necessary. Ability to diagnose basic PC problems and to communicate those problems is very important.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS
Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent and to draw and interpret bar graphs.

REASONING ABILITY
Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form. Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an
employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, walk, sit and talk or hear. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.

WORK ENVIRONMENT
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

TRAVEL
Travel is primarily local between assigned centers during the business day, although some out-of-area and overnight travel may be expected.

The YMCA of Greater Houston provides Equal Employment Opportunities for employment to all employees and applicants, including disability and protected veteran status.