Karen Smith, Development Manager

2012

2012 Goals Snapshot

Overall Fundraising Goal / $2.4 Million
Renewals / Achieve 90% renewal rate from 2011 donors.
Foundations / Renew Johnson and Sees. Secure new grants from Graham and Parsons. Increase foundation income to 40% of total revenue one year early: by December 2011.
Small Donors / Increase donor base by 150%. Hit 200 donors by end of Q2 and 500 donors by end of Q4.
Board of Directors / Ensure 100% renewal in Q1 & Q2.
WMC / Achieve 90% renewal rate from 2011 major donors.
Advisory Board / Increase 2012 donations by 20%.
Corporations / Increase 2012 donations by 10%.
Teamwork / Start Green Team. Continue to run leadership discussion group. Continue role on fun committee. Plan staff retreat. Compile annual report.
Core Responsibilities / Priority (100%) / Outcomes
Foundations / 20%
(I own this completely) / Manage all foundation/grant activity including, but not limited to, researching prospective foundations, building a diverse and robust database of relevant foundations, compiling grant proposals and generating on-time, excellent reports. Prospective 2013 foundations/grants should be identified by the end of 2012. Ensure that Johnson and Sees renew their previous grants. Secure new grants from the Graham and Parsons Foundations. Generate reports for ongoing multi-year grants including Terra and Sees (reallocated $100K). Increase foundation income to 40% of revenue a year early: by December 2012. Develop a 5-year strategy with regards to foundation giving.
Departmental Administration / 20%
(I own this completely) / Ensure smooth & timely communications and active collaboration with teams. Maintain database as related to development, and work with consultant to improve functionality. Send acknowledgement letters within 72 hours of donation, and automate the process in database. Work with Jose to reconcile donations quarterly. Maintain record of all communications and contributions. Assess prospects for targeted approaches. Track projections and receivables. Compile a compelling, innovative and straightforward annual report. Ensure that my department comes in under budget. Hire development intern, and manage his/her workload and schedule. Use this as an opportunity to develop my management skills, and to hand off administrative work, enabling me to focus on strategy and WMC cultivation.
Small Donors / 20%
(I own this completely) / Increase “small gifts” ($10-$200) and medium gifts ($200-$1,000) through engaging and diversified mailings, e-communications, events and fundraising campaigns. Plan schedule of stewardship mailings and emails to prospects & donors to keep them informed of legislative progress and inspire them to take advocacy actions and give financial support. Loop this strategy into the communication department’s civic engagement efforts. Plan one big event to inspire giving. Diversify donor types. Replicate and build on the 2011 end of year development campaign. Execute a video development drive during session. Secure 200 individual donors by the end of Q2, and 500 donors by the end of Q4 (thus increasing donor base by 150%). Achieve 90% renewal rate.
Board of Directors / 5%
(I own this with Melissa) / Support Melissa in stewarding and building relationships with BOD; and develop my own personal relationships with those that I do not know as well. Utilize/deploy the board in my WMC “strategy map.” Treat BOD meetings as development events, with a “monthly successes” update each meeting. Give development updates at BOD meetings. Work with Melissa to set agenda for BOD meetings. Ensure 100% renewal in Q1 & Q2. Plan and execute stewardship events. Plan a development event in partnership with Martha Jones. Fortify my relationships with as many directors as possible. Use these relationships to bring in/cultivate WMC.
High Capacity Individuals (WMC) / 20%
(I own this with Melissa) / This is a huge area of opportunity. These individuals should give $5,000- $250,000. Utilize strategic partners learn about their cultivation/renewal methods. Maintain previous donors, while encouraging them to increase annual giving. Cultivate new and engaged donors. Develop a “fantasy donor list” of about 25 major prospects. Use our existing WMC contacts and our board members to bring these people into the fold. Develop a “strategy map” for each of these prospects. Plan at least two great cultivation/stewardship events in 2012. Make excellent use of WealthEngine; use it as a tool for intel gathering and prospect ID’ing. Hand off the administrative side of this work to an intern, so that I can be out taking as many development meetings as possible. Emphasize personal, external cultivation. Achieve 90% renewal rate for 2011 donors.
Advisory Board / 5%
(I own this with Melissa) / Support Melissa in stewarding AB; develop personal relationships. Encourage AB engagement (financial support and active advocacy). Have Melissa call each member of the AB quarterly. Plan annual event/summit for advisory board members (Fall policy summit?). Encourage leadership team to reboot the advisory board, so that members are engaged in our work. Increase 2011 donations by 20%.
Cross-functional Teamwork / 2.5% / Work with communications team to incorporate development into key communications vehicles. Work with communications team to ensure that all development materials are on-message. Come up with development language for each department’s products & programs. Create a beautiful annual report (that includes great content from each department). Create more overlap between the development and research and policy departments.
Corporations / 2.5% / Look into corporate giving and strategic partnerships. Utilize my corporate contacts in both NY and WA. Research corporate foundations and then set up meetings for Melissa. Increase 2011 donations by 10%.
Teamwork / 5% / Found and chair the Green Team. Plan and facilitate monthly leadership discussion groups. Plan and “host” 2012 staff retreat.