Director of Planned Giving, Temporary

ProPublica is an independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest. 

Since its founding in 2007, ProPublica has grown into the largest and most trusted nonpartisan, nonprofit investigative newsroom in the country. Our reporters pursue stories for as long as it takes, guided by the hope that facts will compel people to demand change for the public good. But the issues that need our attention outpace our capacity. Guided by a strategic growth plan, we are making bold investments to expand our coverage to new beats and geographic perspectives and to broaden our reach to meet more people where they are. The vision is to create a truly national newsroom, with journalists across the country working tirelessly to shed light on injustice in communities big and small. 

We are seeking a dynamic, seasoned fundraising professional to join us as director of planned giving. This role — based in our New York City office, with two days in-office collaboration expected per week — will spearhead the design, launch and operation of a robust planned giving program. This is a temporary, two-year role with the possibility of extension.

As the manager of our planned giving department, you will serve as a member of the development team’s senior staff (alongside the senior director of development, senior director of leadership gifts, director of development services and senior director of membership) and participate in strategic decision-making on the direction and growth of the fundraising program. You will also develop and implement a planned giving match initiative aligned with our broader campaign goals.

Planned giving currently raises $500,000 to $2 million annually for ProPublica — it’s your chance to build the program that will amplify and sustain this revenue stream for years to come.

Responsibilities

Design and launch a planned giving program:

• Evaluate existing planned giving activity, materials and donor pipelines.
• Develop and implement a phased strategy for a sustainable, long-term program.

Lead a planned giving match initiative:

• Create eligibility guidelines, match structure and success metrics.
• Produce messaging and donor-facing assets across all channels.

Operate and implement:

• Act as the key executor for stewardship and outreach efforts.
• This position will have no direct reports initially but will serve in a senior leadership position to work cross-functionally with the membership, development services and leadership gifts teams to integrate planned giving into broader fundraising strategies.
• Develop materials such as brochures, landing pages and email content to drive legacy giving.

Build Infrastructure and Tools

• Design systems for tracking donor pipeline activity and program performance in our CRM (Salesforce), in collaboration with the development services team.
• Train development team and leadership on planned giving best practices and serve as a key member of the development team’s senior staff.
• Deliver a toolkit — including strategic plan, operational framework and dashboards — for long-term sustainability post-appointment.

Qualifications

• At least seven years of nonprofit fundraising experience, with demonstrated expertise in planned giving or legacy fundraising programs.
• Demonstrated success in launching and managing planned giving campaigns — including challenge or match programs.
• Experience with a fundraising CRM, like Salesforce.
• Clear and compelling communicator, with experience in donor-facing materials and stewardship content.
• Entrepreneurial, self-motivated and skilled in cross-functional collaboration.
• Committed to ProPublica’s mission of accountability, accuracy and justice.
• Ability to travel, as needed, for donor visits, team meetings, events and trainings.

This job is full time and includes benefits. ProPublica is based in New York, and this position will be a hybrid model with two days of in-office work required. Applicants must be eligible to work in the U.S.

The expected salary range for this position is $150,000 to $170,000.

This is a good-faith estimate of what we expect to pay for this position. The final salary figure will take into account a person’s experience, accomplishment and location. ProPublica is committed to paying its staff equitably, and these ranges should not be considered career salary limits or caps.

We will begin reviewing applications as we receive them, but we will continue to consider candidates as long as the posting remains live on our site.

Questions? Send an email to talent@propublica.org.

No phone calls, please.

We know there are great candidates who may not fit into what we’ve described above or who have important skills we haven’t thought of. If that’s you, don’t hesitate to apply and tell us about yourself.

We are dedicated to improving our newsroom, in part by better reflecting the people we cover. (Here is a breakdown of our staff.) We are committed to diversity and building an inclusive environment for people of all backgrounds and ages. And we are taking steps to meet that commitment. We especially encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including women, people of color, LGBTQ+ people and people with disabilities. We are an equal opportunity employer and prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind. All employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age or any other status protected under applicable law.