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The Foster Network - Executive Director
The Foster Network
Location: Sioux Falls, SD [on-site]
Reports to: Board of Directors
Salary: $65,000-$75,000
Status: Full-Time
Job Summary: The Executive Director (ED) is the chief executive of The Foster Network and is responsible for the overall strategic, operational, and financial management of the organization. The ED provides leadership to all aspects of the organization’s work, including fundraising, community outreach, staff management and overseeing program development. The Executive Director works closely with the Board of Directors, Program Director, and other key staff to ensure that the organization is achieving its mission and growing sustainably.
Key Responsibilities:
• Strategic Leadership: Lead the development of the organization’s vision and strategic goals. Work with the Board and senior leadership to set long-term goals and ensure the organization’s alignment with its mission.
• Fundraising and Resource Development: Oversee and implement fundraising strategies, including grant writing, individual donor cultivation, and corporate partnerships. Develop new funding sources to ensure financial stability.
• Financial Oversight: Manage the financial health of the organization, including budgeting, forecasting, financial reporting, and compliance with all regulatory requirements.
• Board Relations: Serve as the primary liaison between the Board of Directors and the staff, ensuring effective governance and organizational accountability. Provide regular reports and recommendations to the Board.
• External Relations and Advocacy: Represent the organization to stakeholders, including community partners, government agencies, and the media. Advocate for the organization’s mission and secure strategic partnerships.
• Staff and Organizational Leadership: Manage senior leadership staff, including the Program Director and other key personnel. Foster a positive and inclusive organizational culture, ensuring professional development opportunities for staff and promoting a work environment of collaboration and respect.
Qualifications:
• Proven leadership experience including program management and financial oversight.
• Exceptional communication, fundraising, and relationship-building skills.
• Strong financial acumen and experience managing organizational budgets.
• Demonstrated success in leading and motivating teams toward achieving organizational goals.
• Experience working with or reporting to Board of Directors.
• Degree in nonprofit management, business, or related field preferred.
• Passion for the mission of The Foster Network and the community it serves.
Please submit a resume, cover letter, and at least three professional references to lisa.edgette@thefosternet.org. In your cover letter, please indicate how your experience aligns with the requirements.
The Foster Network is an equal-opportunity employer and welcomes applicants from all backgrounds.
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Lutheran Planned Generosity of South Dakota - Executive Director
About Lutheran Planned Generosity of South Dakota
Lutheran Planned Generosity of South Dakota (LPGSD) is a ministry of the South Dakota Synod (SDS) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). We seek to inspire a culture of generosity and philanthropy throughout the South Dakota Synod. We do this by inviting, engaging, and assisting individuals, and churches, to make current and deferred gifts to the Synod, ELCA churches, and affiliated ELCA ministries.
Job Overview
We are looking for a strategic leader to join our team as Executive Director. The Executive Director role requires an individual who is passionate about philanthropy, and can articulate the LPGSD vision and mission to prospects and donors in a way that both educates and compels them to give.
The Executive Director is a full-time employee of LPGSD and reports to the Board. The Executive Director is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the organization, and is responsible for implementing strategies to increase philanthropy throughout the Synod by cultivating relationships with individuals, churches, and ministry partners. Current ministry partners are listed on the organization’s website (www.lpgsd.org).
The responsibilities of the Executive Director include, but are not limited to the following:
- Strategic Leadership: In collaboration with the Board, develop and execute a strategic fundraising plan to grow current and deferred gifts, setting goals and tracking performance to meet or exceed revenue objectives.
- Donor Cultivation and Solicitation: Personally manage a portfolio of major and planned gift prospects and donors, leading cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship activities through meetings, presentations (individual or public), and events. Make a minimum of 12 donor contacts, plus 2 public presentations per month, reporting to the membership at semi-annual board meetings.
- Expertise in Gift Vehicles: Communicate knowledge of planned giving vehicles (charitable remainder trusts, gift annuities, bequests, etc.) and advise donors on their benefits and tax implications.
- Professional Relations: Build and maintain strong relationships with Synod staff, LPGSD ministry partners, pastoral/lay-leaders, and churches to encourage productive relations and referrals. Engage with LPGSD partners at least once a year.
- Marketing and Communications: Develop and implement a marketing and communication plan to promote generosity, and to promote the current and deferred giving program through various channels (website, direct mail, events, collateral).
- Administration and Compliance: Oversee the administration of realized planned gifts, communication with executors, ensuring proper documentation, record-keeping, and compliance with all relevant tax laws and ethical standards.
- Spiritual Leadership: Provide spiritual leadership and pastoral care to partners and prospects, consistent with the organization's faith-based mission, when discussing legacy and end-of-life philanthropy.
- Ethical Leadership: The Executive Director will sign and abide by the Association of Christian Fundraising (ACF) “Code of Ethics: Principles and Practices.” See Last Page.
Qualifications
- Education: Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree in a related field (business, finance, nonprofit management, or law) or professional certifications (CFRE, CAP, etc.) preferred.
- Experience: A minimum of 7-10 years of successful, experience in fundraising, development, estate planning, or wealth management, public relations or related experience with a proven track record of securing significant gifts. A working knowledge of how charitable giving relates to taxes is also desirable.
- Faith Alignment: A commitment to the Christian life with an ability to integrate personal faith into professional duties. A commitment to the mission of the ELCA and a clear understanding and deep appreciation for the mission, values, and ethics of the Synod and LPGSD. An understanding of generosity and stewardship as responding to God’s grace.
- Personal Attributes: An individual of unquestionable integrity, a self-starter, detail-oriented, collaborative, and the ability to relate well with others, and driven by the organization's mission.
Skills
· Excellent communication (written and oral), interpersonal, and public speaking skills.
· Strong strategic thinking, planning, and organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines.
· Willingness to travel (drive) extensively, primarily in South Dakota. Automobile is provided.
· Record and maintain timely and accurate contact history and donor records to ensure appropriate follow-up and stewardship of relationships.
· Proven ability to supervise, mentor, and guide a team effectively.
· Proficiency in technology skills: donor management databases and gift recording (Little Green Light), creating of gift illustrations (Crescendo), production of print (Microsoft Office, Canva, Adobe), social media (Facebook, Instagram, Substack), and video (informal and in-house). Demonstrate curiosity and adaptability in implementing innovative practices to keep LPGSD in touch with its constituents.
The Executive Director position operates on a flexible hybrid model of core collaboration days in the office, and traveling externally to visit donors, churches, and partner ministries, with flexibility for remote work.
About the South Dakota Synod
The South Dakota Synod and LPGSD are located in Sioux Falls, SD on the campus of Augustana University. The Synod staff consists of approximately six team members, under the leadership of Bishop Hagmaier. Team members serve as administrators, advisers and resource facilitators for the Synod.
The South Dakota Synod is one of 65 Synods of the ELCA, a church so deeply and confidently rooted in the Gospel of God’s grace that its members are free to give their lives joyfully in witness and service. There are nearly 200 congregations in the South Dakota Synod and several affiliated ministries.
About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 3 million members in more than 8,600 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of “God’s work. Our hands.,” the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA’s roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
Application Process
Applications (resume and cover letter) and inquiries about the position may be directed, in confidence, to:
Bishop Constanze Hagmaier
South Dakota Synod, ELCA
2001 Summit Avenue
Sioux Falls, SD 57197
Or sent electronically to chagmaier@sdsynod.org
Please highlight your participation in an ELCA congregation and/or experience with an ELCA organization in your cover letter.