Philanthropy Associate, Operations, Full-time, Days - Northwestern Memorial Healthcare

At Northwestern Medicine, every patient interaction makes a difference in cultivating a positive workplace. This patient-first approach is what sets us apart as a leader in the healthcare industry. As an integral part of our team, you'll have the opportunity to join our quest for better healthcare, no matter where you work within the Northwestern Medicine system. At Northwestern Medicine, we pride ourselves on providing competitive benefits: from tuition reimbursement and loan forgiveness to 401(k) matching and lifecycle benefits, we take care of our employees. Ready to join our quest for better?

The Philanthropy Associate reflects the mission, vision, and values of NM, adheres to the organization’s Code of Ethics and Corporate Compliance Program, and complies with all relevant policies, procedures, guidelines and all other regulatory and accreditation standards.

The Philanthropy Associate performs a critical role on Northwestern Memorial Foundation’s (NMF) fundraising team. They are responsible for working with NMF managers, directors, vice presidents and other NMF team members to administer and coordinate activities and initiatives, completing projects as assigned.

NMF raises funds to support the health system’s strategic goals to deliver exceptional care and experience, advance and extend medical science and knowledge and enhance people, culture and resources through: (1) raising planned, principal and major gifts, (2) cultivating and stewarding donors, and (3) fostering a culture of philanthropy at NMHC.

Responsibilities:

• Administer and coordinate philanthropy projects supporting fundraising programs. Those projects may include, but are not limited to: work plan development/implementation, requirements analysis, budgets, resource identification and allocation, solution development, information distribution, meeting facilitation, rollout strategies and overall performance reporting; 
• Develop and maintain productive and professional relationships with donors, prospects, volunteers, vendors and team members, serving as a link between multiple parties and entities.
• Effectively handle or escalate problems that arise within the project team or issues with donors, and implement mitigation strategies as needed to achieve the desired results;
• Prepare and/or execute effective and efficient communication mechanisms which enable continuous exchange of project status, ideas and information, project developments among team members, NMHC Executives (project sponsors); donors, volunteers, vendor partners and others as appropriate;
• Create and execute project work plans, revising as appropriate to meet changing needs and requirements;
• In partnership with a manager, program director, director or vice president, utilize project management tools to ensure accuracy for philanthropy project planning, procurement and budgeting;
• Research and develop internal and external communications including presentations, speaking points, correspondence and other written materials;
• Participate in professional development opportunities to continuously strengthen leadership capabilities;
• Represent and provide support for NMF at appropriate events related to donor cultivation, stewardship and fundraising activities. This includes interactions with various levels of donors and constituents, both internally and externally;
• Respond to unanticipated complex issues as well as manage critical and confidential information;
• Utilize meaningful metrics to assess outcomes and achieve goals;
• Exemplify the NMHC values of patients first, integrity, excellence and teamwork;
• Perform other duties as assigned.

ADDENDUM

The Philanthropy Associate - Operations serves as an authority on 1) the various processes used by NMF to collect, prepare, deposit and enter donations into the Dynamics 365 CRM, and 2) donor restricted funds, including donor restrictions on gifts, opening funds and setting fund managers up for success. Types of gifts include, but are not limited to, cash, checks, credit cards, wires, stocks, planned gifts and pledges.

This position reports to the Manager, Gift Administration.

Responsibilities:

• Track expected gifts in Smartsheet
• Track and process wire transfers
• Communicate with the Foundation staff to gather necessary information to accurately enter gifts
• Work with Gift Administration and Fund Accounting to stay up to date on various donor restricted funds including money being held for others, anonymous donations and donations received with no fund designation
• Open new donor restricted funds
• Manage donor restricted funds in the CRM
• Provide information on restrictions placed on gifts by donors
• Create and maintain documentation of processes and procedures
• Create and attach backup documentation for gifts received
• Work with our online donation platform ‘DonorDrive’ to create online tribute pages
• Create and submit payment requests in PeopleSoft in order to transfer funds
• Process refunds for online donations
• Reply to questions and requests in a timely manner

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree or  4 years equivalent work experience
• 3+ years of experience in a fundraising, community outreach, healthcare or development position with a proven track record, preferably in a non-profit organization
• Ability to organize and think independently with orientation to deadline and detail
• Demonstrated project management, organizational, analysis and problem-solving skills
• Demonstrated ability to effectively establish and maintain working relationships with peers and constituents at all levels of the organization
• Excellent oral, communication and interpersonal skills
• High degree of professionalism, sensitivity and integrity
• Strong intellectual curiosity, initiative and highly effective listening/communication skills
• Proven ability to meet deadlines, communicate effectively and track details
• Demonstrate a high level of flexibility in a team environment
• Comfort handling multiple projects, accurately setting priorities on a regular basis, thinking creatively and working as a collaborative team member
• Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)

Preferred:

• Healthcare fundraising experience
• Public speaking and presentation skills
• Excellent knowledge of Raiser’s Edge database

Northwestern Medicine is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of age, sex, race, color, religion, national origin, gender identity, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation or any other protected status.