Chief Development Officer

Camp Corral

https://campcorral.org/

Position Description: Chief Development Officer

Applications will be accepted until December 31, 2019 or until position is filled.

Camp Corral, one of the nation’s leading nonprofits serving military families, seeks a dynamic and entrepreneurial Chief Development Officer (CDO) to lead the organization to achieve its ambitious goals for the future.  Founded in 2010, Camp Corral transforms the lives of children of wounded, injured, ill, and fallen military heroes by providing a unique and free week-long summer camp experience.  Children, ages 8 to 15, can be kids, far away from the day-to-day challenges they face as children of military service members and veterans.  Camp Corral has created a proven and successful model and has grown significantly in the past nine years.  The leadership is committed to serving more children, at more camps, in more states. Its Chief Development Officer will be a creative, fundraising leader with drive, determination and a team spirit who is just as talented at building an effective and diversified fundraising program as they are at raising significant dollars from individuals, corporations and foundations. 

About Camp Corral

Golden Corral, a corporate and franchisee-owned national restaurant chain, has a long history of support for the military.  James Maynard, Chairman and Co-Founder, and his daughter, Easter Maynard, Director of Community Investment for Investors Management Corporation (IMC), the parent company of Golden Corral, wanted to take that support farther.  After extensive research, they landed on the idea of providing a unique summer camp experience for children of “wounded, ill, injured, and fallen military heroes” as a way to thank veterans and their families for their service and to help ease the burden of their sacrifices.  

The mission of Camp Corral resonated and what began as a one-camp pilot program for 400 children in 2011 has grown exponentially. As a result, in 2019 Camp Corral funded 22 camps hosting over 3,000 campers in 19 states across the country. In just nine years, it has served 24,000 campers.  Camp Corral partners with camps across the country to host the week-long programs. Camp Corral carefully selects each host camp based on its accreditation by the American Camping Association (ACA), its proximity to military connected families, and the staff’s commitment to providing an environment in which every camper is valued.  Based on surveys conducted by the organization, more than half of the campers feel that no one understands what it is like to be a military child. This is especially true when a parent has left the service due to serious injury or illness. Ninety-nine percent (99%) of the parents report that the camp experience is important to their children and to their families. Most importantly, our research has shown that our camps have a lasting impact on a child’s self-confidence and resilience.

A 14-member Board of Directors governs the organization.  In 2016, the National Advisory Board was created to assist in building a national presence.  The CEO works in partnership with a staff of six including the CDO, Director of Annual Giving, Chief Program Officer, Program Manager, Controller and Accountant Clerk.  IMC provides beautiful office space and other amenities as an in-kind contribution.  The 2019 budget projects total revenues of $3,202,514 with the top three sources of income coming from the Golden Corral Restaurant Campaign (37%), contributions from DAV (Disabled American Veterans) (24%) and foundation grants (18%).  The organization has an endowment currently valued at approximately $494,723 and a very healthy $1.4 million Board-designated reserve.  In 2018, 86% of revenues supported programs.  Each year, the Golden Corral Restaurant Campaign brings in its 38 company-operated stores and 452 individually-owned franchises that engage in a variety of fundraising strategies including point-of-sale collections, personal solicitations of individuals and third-party businesses, and a variety of grassroots events. The results of the campaign are recognized annually at Golden Corral’s national convention, and top fundraising stores are honored and rewarded for their contributions.  The organization is guided by its 2019-2021 strategic plan.

Position Highlights

Reports to:  Leigh Longino, Chief Executive Officer

Camp Corral is entering its tenth year of service, and this next decade demands a new and creative approach to expanding a national base of support and attracting new sources of revenue.  The CDO will lead and manage all fundraising activities including creating a yearly and multi-year fundraising strategy for growing revenue, supporting and collaborating with Golden Corral and other key strategic partners, implementing annual and major gifts programs, and creating effective development marketing and communications.  The Board believes Camp Corral could be serving 4,080 campers by 2024 if the fundraising program could increase its revenues by an average of approximately $270,000/year beginning in 2020. 

Meeting these ambitious goals will require a CDO with the experience and vision to build a development capability.  Camp Corral and its board understand the resources necessary to build this capability and will support the CDO in every way possible to achieve success.

The organization needs to grow beyond its reliance on the Golden Corral community and Disabled American Veterans (DAV). In order to achieve this goal, it is expected that the CDO will build a more vibrant and effective annual fund and major gifts program supported by a well-organized prospect/donor pipeline and research functions.  The new fundraising leader will need to evaluate the existing operations, policies and procedures and lead the effort to make the changes necessary to achieve our fundraising goals. Camp Corral currently uses Network for Good as its donor-database.  The CDO will benefit from a 2018 Development Assessment and Fundraising Plan created in collaboration with moss+ross as well as a benchmarking study being conducted by moss+ross this year.  Camp Corral has barely scratched the surface in expanding its base of support with minimal outreach to military-sensitive industries and companies, foundations with a history of support for veterans and children, or other major donors across the country. In 2020, Camp Corral will celebrate its 10^th anniversary. This offers an immediate opportunity to celebrate the successes and plan for the future.

The Golden Corral restaurant community is Camp Corral’s lead donor with annual giving of more than $1 million. They are closely followed by support from the DAV with annual giving of more than $600,000.  The Golden Corral Campaign is successful because Golden Corral corporate has made it priority and because hundreds of franchise owners participate in a range of fundraising activities, each bringing in a few thousand dollars to more than $100,000.  To move them to greater levels of support and connection to the program, the CDO will need to collaborate with Golden Corral corporate leadership to develop a plan of action providing the highest-level of stewardship and recognition possible.  DAV support is derived primarily through a campaign it runs through the Golden Corral restaurants in conjunction with its local chapters, with additional funds being contributed by DAV’s national headquarters.    

Camp Corral’s next fundraising leader should be a relationship-builder with a track record for routinely identifying, cultivating and closing five-, six- and possibly seven-figure gifts.  They should be authentic and engaging; just as comfortable talking with a camper as they are asking for a gift from a corporate CEO.  Being empathetic to the needs of military/veteran families is paramount.  This is a wonderful opportunity to take a fundraising program to new levels of success while giving back to the military and veteran families who have given so much to our country.

Duties and Responsibilities

Leadership

• Provide a vision, strategy and overall leadership for the organization’s diversified development activities including the annual fund, major gifts, corporate engagement, the Golden Corral Restaurant Campaign, special events and planned giving. These activities should be national in scope and move the organization towards reaching its strategic goals.
• Be an effective partner with members of the Board of Directors in collaboration with the CEO regarding successes and challenges in meeting development goals, and arm them with tangible ways they can be engaged. Provide them with data analyses, projections and stories of donor impact.
• Serve as the CEO’s proxy when the CEO is not available.
• Be a passionate, visible and informed advocate for Camp Corral and serve as one of its key spokespersons, actively seeking opportunities to engage the military/veteran community, camper families, the Golden Corral and DAV communities, major donor and corporate interests.
• Participate in events that position Camp Corral for improved fundraising and visibility.
• Support and supervise the Director of Annual Giving and other staff who play a role in the fundraising program.
• Stay current on fundraising trends and innovations especially those related to other nonprofits in the military/veteran space; provide or secure fundraising training as needed for volunteer leadership; and ensure that development staff members receive the professional training and resources needed (within budget) to stay current in their fields and productive at work.
• Ensure that engagement initiatives, social media and fundraising collateral are effective and used to accomplish identified goals and objectives.
• Collaborate with the CEO in the identification and recruitment of Board and National Advisory Board members.
• Assist the CEO in Board and committee management, playing a key role in managing the Fundraising Committee.

Fundraising, Stewardship and Marketing

• Identify, cultivate and successfully solicit major gifts from a diverse group of individuals, corporations and foundations. Ensure high-quality and appropriate stewardship of donors at all gift levels.
• Manage a portfolio of top donors and prospects as well as assist and support the CEO with her portfolio. Assign, monitor and evaluate the portfolios of other team members and volunteers, and provide support and guidance when needed.
• Train, mentor and support Board members in their donor and prospect engagement activities. Seek ways to maximize their personal giving and participation in fundraising programs.
• Create an effective prospect/donor pipeline, discovery and research functions, and moves management system.
• Strengthen the brand for the annual fund; develop a plan for increasing participation and moving donors to greater levels of commitment.
• Visit camp programs across the country to experience the impact the camps are having on campers and their families; arrange for donors, prospects and the media to experience the camps to create greater awareness.
• Explore the creation of a special event(s) to create greater awareness of the program, build the prospect pipeline and attract corporate sponsorship support.
• Ensure that all donors receive an appropriate level of stewardship and seek creative ways to keep them connected and engaged.
• Collaborate with Golden Corral marketing leadership on ways to promote this unique partnership and history within the Golden Corral community to the general public.

Planning and Management

• Lead the organization in the creation of an ambitious, comprehensive, written annual and multi-year development plans, calendar, budget and communications/marketing plan with clearly defined goals, objectives, timelines and delegation of roles and responsibilities.  Monitor progress and success and adjust as needed.  Share top-level goals and progress toward them routinely.

• Create and monitor the annual development program budget and track progress through monthly and annual reports.
• Oversee and evaluate all processes and procedures related to prospect identification, donor engagement and stewardship activities, and contributions management.
• In coordination with the CEO, make recommendations to the Board for further investments in the fundraising program to strengthen its capacity for growth.
• Ensure that development and marketing materials are unified and consistent with the Camp Corral brand.