Appalachian Trail Conservancy · 14 hours ago
Associate Vice President of Development
Harpers Ferry, WV
Full-time
Hybrid
Director/Executive
8+ years expThe Appalachian Trail Conservancy is dedicated to protecting, managing, and advocating for the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. The Associate Vice President of Development will lead fundraising efforts, manage major donor relationships, and oversee a team to support the organization's mission and financial goals.
Non ProfitSustainabilityPetEnvironmental ConsultingService IndustryWildlife Conservation
Responsibilities
Lead and inspire a high‑performing team: Mentor, hire, and support development staff to enable their success on ambitious, goal‑driven outcomes with clear metrics
Shape the future of fundraising: Drive long‑range and annual development strategies, leading fundraising campaigns and initiatives; educate and inspire staff across ATC to understand the crucial role they play in contributing to ATC’s organizational success in fundraising
Fuel growth and sustainability: Set ambitious yet feasible revenue and donor goals, rally the team to maximize opportunities, and build lasting impact
Steward high-impact donors: Manage a small but strategically significant portfolio of high-value prospects, donors, and board members who require sophisticated cultivation and solicitation. Co-manage select relationships alongside development team members to build capacity and sustain momentum toward transformational giving opportunities
Inspire donor engagement: Introduce and maintain best practices in donor stewardship, recognition, and communication, ensuring funders feel engaged and appreciated
Forward-thinking: Track philanthropic trends, advise leadership on fund development issues, and recommend forward‑thinking policy positions
Drive fundraising success: Personally engage in cultivation and solicitation while guiding executives and Campaign Advisory Committee to maximize Campaign impact
Expand and energize the donor base: Lead and coordinate strategy development with directors overseeing membership, mid-level, major, and institutional giving to develop and align program-specific growth strategies. Ensure fundraising plans are integrated, mutually reinforcing, and pipeline-driven, while serving as the connective leader who empowers subject-matter experts to grow their programs and advance donors seamlessly toward deeper engagement and investment
Drive organizational collaboration and impact: Partner with the leadership team, program teams, and across the engagement team to align fundraising, marketing, communications, and donor strategies with ATC’s growth vision
Elevate communications and strategy: Collaborate with the AVP of Marketing and Communications and their team to craft compelling proposals, briefing materials, messaging, and collateral that inspires giving
Strengthen development budgeting: Responsible for managing and tracking accurate spending and ROI of the annual development budget and partnering with the CGO and development team to create annual budgets and three-year expense and revenue forecasts; partner with finance and administrative leaders to safeguard the ATC’s financial health and ensure accurate reconciliation of fundraising and financial reports
Operational Excellence: Oversee the Operations team responsible for processes and systems to ensure data integrity, compliance and accurate gift processing; have a vision and input on KPI selection as well as the tracking, preferred dashboards, and reporting that is needed for the Development, Engagement, and Leadership Teams and the Board of Directors to ensure transparency and accountability; identify and prioritize the creation of necessary dashboards and reports to maximize the ATC's available data for revenue growth and stewardship
ATC mission advocate: Learn and understand the programmatic, mission-driven work, strategic plan, organizational priorities and Trail community, so you can effectively advocate for support
Qualification
Required
A bachelor's degree is required, and an advanced degree and/or specialized certification is preferred. Experience in lieu of education will be considered
People and team management experience is required, including effective leadership and management of a high-performing team, leading in a decentralized environment, collaborating with executive staff, and working well with people at all levels of an organization
Minimum of eight years of fundraising experience in a professional position and demonstrated success in cultivating, soliciting and closing gifts of $100,000 and above
Knowledge and experience in the following areas are required: ethics in philanthropy, motivations for giving, standard fundraising techniques and best practices including face-to-face solicitation, research and cultivation practices, proposal writing, solicitation, and development office functions including gift processing, donor databases, prospect and donor histories, cultivating and soliciting principal and major gifts, and fundraising tracking, forecasting and reporting
Comprehensive management skills and experience should include, but are not limited to, short and long-term planning, evaluation, directing and motivating staff and volunteers, oral and written communication skills, communicating with board members, demonstrated success in strategic planning and project management, marketing and financial management, and governance
The highest degree of professionalism, a results-oriented nature, demonstrating leadership and gravitas to reflect the ATC brand positively
Strong technical and analytical skills, including skills in donor database management systems like Salesforce and Wealth Engine, and proficiency in Microsoft Office, are essential
Visionary fundraiser with a demonstrated record of success in major gift cultivation and campaign leadership; a collaborative relationship builder, strategic thinker, and inspiring team leader who thrives in mission-driven environments
Preferred
Experience leading a capital campaign
Experience in a recreation or conservation organization is strongly preferred
Company
Appalachian Trail Conservancy
Our mission is to protect, manage, and advocate for the Appalachian National Scenic Trail.
51-200 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Growth StageLeadership Team
Sandi Marra
President and CEO
Jeri Ward
Chief Growth Officer
Recent News
Fast Company
2025-05-17
Company data provided by crunchbase