Earthjustice is the premier nonprofit environmental law organization. We take on the biggest, most precedent-setting cases across the country. We wield the power of law and the strength of partnership to protect people’s health; to preserve magnificent places and wildlife; to advance clean energy; and to combat climate change. We partner with thousands of groups, supporters, individuals, and communities to engage the critical environmental issues of our time and bring about positive change. We are guided by a passionate, ambitious vision for the future for people and our planet: until justice stands for all, we will never rest. We are here because the earth needs a good lawyer.

Founded in 1971, Earthjustice has a distinguished track record of achieving significant, lasting environmental protections. We achieve this by hiring people who share a passion for justice and a healthy environment. Our headquarters are in San Francisco with offices in Anchorage, Juneau, Seattle, Los Angeles, Bozeman, Denver, Houston, Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, Washington, D.C., Tallahassee, Miami, and Honolulu.

Principal Gifts Officer II (PGO II) reports to the Director of Principal Gifts. The Principal Gifts team reports directly to the Senior Vice President of Development and works in close collaboration with organizational senior leadership and the Major Gifts team to develop and implement plans and strategies to achieve revenue goals. The PGO II builds and manages an individual portfolio of 25-30 (Ultra) High Net Worth donors and prospects who are capable of outright commitments of $5M+ or annual commitments of $1M+.

They conduct initial exploratory meetings with donors, prospects, and their advisors to determine capacity and interest for principal-level giving, build a portfolio of principal donors, prospects, and advisors, and manage their relationship with Earthjustice accordingly. PGO II has a minimum fundraising target of $3 million per year in year one and $5 million per year thereafter.

PGO II has broad latitude to make decisions about their work priorities and is expected to be entrepreneurial in their approach. They identify wealth events, and they understand and apply methods to secure complex gifts of noncash assets. They develop and execute comprehensive donor strategies and help gift officers in the Midwest and Gulf Regions hone their donor strategies. PGO II is responsible for direct asks for Earthjustice’s priorities to meet funding needs, builds constructive relationships with donors, prospects, advisors, and volunteer leadership, and engages and supports appropriate natural partners and primary players across the organization, keeping them apprised of interactions, issues and/or concerns, and addressing questions as needed.

They are capable of featuring organizational priorities and growth opportunities in detailed terms, understand project budgets, and capitalize on opportunities utilizing this knowledge. They are required to use Earthjustice’s donor database, systems, and other resources provided by the Major Gifts and Principal Gifts teams. This position will focus primarily on principal gift donors, prospects, and advisors across the U.S. with an emphasis on the Midwest and Gulf regions with up to 50% travel throughout.

This role can be based in Chicago, IL, Houston, TX, Denver, CO,  San Francisco, CA, or Seattle, WA, or New York, NY. Earthjustice staff will be working two days a week in the office.

Responsibilities

• Manages an active portfolio of 25-30 principal gift donors, prospects, and advisors; Builds relationships via personal visits, phone calls, ongoing written contact, events, immersion experiences, and engagement with Earthjustice’s leadership and program staff; Responsible for meeting revenue, solicitation, visit, and outreach goals set forth in annual work plan each year and regularly discussing progress with supervisor.
• Achieves minimum fundraising target of $3 million per year in year one and $5 million per year thereafter for Earthjustice and Earthjustice Action; Collaborates with Gift Planning team to negotiate and memorialize future commitments and secure gifts of noncash assests.
• Develops and implements strategies for principal gift donors and prospects and their advisors that lead to transformative gifts in support of Earthjustice’s mission; Assists gift officers in the Midwest and Gulf Regions with strategy development.
• Involves, guides, and supports Executive Leadership, Program Leadership, Volunteer Leadership, and program staff in principal gift strategy development, cultivation, stewardship, and solicitations.
• Develops expert familiarity with assigned regions and programmatic needs and maintains working knowledge of national and international programmatic priorities; Provides program information to donors and prospects and their advisors; Contributes to the creation of personalized funding collateral, budgets, and correspondence that demonstrate impact, appreciation, recognition, and engagement of donors.
• Collaborates with team members across different units within development, cross-departmentally, and regionally.
• Supports planning and execution of donor events and field trips.
• Uses donor databases to keep donor records up to date, track progress, and plan.
• Consistently demonstrates an understanding of racial equity, structural racism, environmental racism, and other forms of discrimination (homophobia, xenophobia, ageism, classism, sexism, ableism, etc.). Demonstrate an understanding of the centrality of this analysis as it applies to Earthjustice’s work.
• Integrates the above understanding into work projects and interactions by recognizing and addressing structural implications and disproportionate impacts of policies, activities, and decisions on groups and individuals within the context of job responsibilities; Evaluates processes and systems at Earthjustice to ensure equity.
• Pursues professional growth opportunities that are relevant to industry trends, cultural competency, regional priorities, and organizational values and mission.
• Travels up to 50% of time for donor visits, events, field trips, trainings, team meetings and regional events.
• Promotes a culture of philanthropy and fosters a respectful and productive working environment.
• Other duties, as assigned.