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Director of Principal and Major Gifts

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Director of Principal and Major Gifts

Phillips Exeter Academy

Exeter, New Hampshire

Phillips Exeter Academy (Exeter) was co-founded in 1781 by John and Elizabeth Phillips, who believed every student should have access to the very best education — one that embraces the ideals of both goodness and knowledge. Now a coeducational, residential school with more than 1,000 high school students from the United States and 33 foreign countries, Exeter has a centuries-old tradition of academic excellence and a commitment to empowering Exonians to find their place in the world. Exeter is a community that celebrates curiosity and cultivates potential. Diversity and inclusion are critical to sustaining and strengthening the tradition of excellence in all aspects of life at Exeter — academic, programmatic, and organizational.

The Opportunity

Exeter seeks a seasoned, highly collaborative fundraiser as its next Director of Principal and Major Gifts. Reporting to the Director of Institutional Advancement, the new Director will be responsible for providing strategic direction and the development of an annual operating plan for the achievement of principal and major giving goals. The Director will lead and manage a team of five frontline fundraisers while overseeing direct management of the Planned Giving, Prospect Research, and Principal Stewardship programs and staff. The successful candidate will carry a portfolio of 100–150 of Exeter’s top-tier prospects and donors, as well as support the fundraising efforts of Exeter’s Principal Bill Rawson ’71, P ’08. With an international student body, the Director will also support the Exeter Asia Council and oversee the management of engagement and solicitation strategies in the region.

The ideal candidate will be an exceptional relationship-builder and senior leader with excellent communication skills who understands and embraces Exeter’s mission, philosophy, and values. They will work to establish a culture of teamwork, trust, collegiality, and accountability within the Advancement team.

By admin|2023-01-19T19:16:52-05:00January 19, 2023|Comments Off

About the Author: admin

Libby Roberts has earned the trust and admiration of executives across sectors and industries for her bold leadership, incisive judgment, and refreshing candor. A paragon of relationship-building, Libby forges strong client partnerships by deriving clear, actionable insights from open and honest dialogue. Libby’s expert guidance, rooted in a deep understanding of nonprofits, makes her an essential partner for organizations navigating the complexities of succession planning and executive recruitment.

Expertise

Libby’s proven recruiting and talent management strategies are designed to achieve the unique goals of her clients. She excels at guiding boards and leaders through the many stages of a search, collaborating with stakeholders while surfacing the core goals, priorities, and aspirations that unite an organization. For Libby, the end goal isn’t simply placing top talent in leadership roles but preparing organizations and teams to maximize the new leader’s potential long after the search has concluded.

Libby’s client list and broader community involvement reflect her extraordinary global network as well as her commitment to service. Her work has ranged across arts and culture, healthcare, higher education, and advocacy, as well as faith-based hospitals, universities, and other organizations.

Experience

With years of experience in the leadership roles for which she now recruits, Libby brings with her a deep and nuanced understanding of how organizations can engage their communities, develop teams, and recruit talented individuals who will succeed and drive missions forward.

Prior to joining Lindauer, Libby held leadership roles at many influential institutions, including Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Dartmouth, and Harvard Law School.

Her experience in annual giving, major gifts, and fundraising campaigns allowed Libby to form a holistic picture of the interconnected components of modern advancement programs. Meanwhile, her time spent managing teams and engaging boards honed her ability to navigate complex organizational structures effectively.

Through her extensive volunteer work, Libby gives back to her community and contributes to the development of the field of philanthropy. She has served on many boards, including the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Boston Trinity Episcopal Church, the Nelson Rockefeller Center, and The Boston House. She brings a wealth of global experience through her travel, international education, and work with Habitat for Humanity. She maintains her connection with her alma mater, Dartmouth, where she has been deeply involved since matriculation.

Libby’s passion for effecting change, her wealth of experience, and her commitment to forging successful client partnerships make her a valued leader and an essential resource for any search, leadership, or talent management project.

Education

Libby holds a BA from Dartmouth College with a Religion major.

Josh Maker brings to Lindauer and its clients significant global philanthropic consulting and project management experience in the nonprofit sector.

Prior to joining Lindauer, Josh played a key role in advancing alumni and donor engagement at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He partnered with institutional leaders and volunteer committees to design and deliver flagship reunion programs that strengthened the School’s philanthropic pipeline and deepened alumni commitment.

Josh also spent several years at Grenzebach Glier and Associates (GG+A) where he served in multiple roles. As the Executive Director of Consulting Resources, Josh was a member of the firm’s senior leadership council and led a team in Chicago of 10 professionals in delivering client reports, presentations, and trainings. As the Chief of Staff to the President, he worked in close partnership with GG+A’s President and senior leadership to deliver on the firm’s strategic initiatives, as well as supporting the President in all of her client engagements. In the role of Senior Project Manager at GG+A, Josh managed upwards of 20 client projects at a time, ranging in sectors from arts and culture, academic medicine and healthcare, higher education, independent schools, to voluntary sectors.

Josh has partnered with a number of clients including; Art Institute of Chicago, Brooklyn Law School, Carnegie Mellon University, Cancer Research UK, Charlotte Country Day School, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Drexel University, Esade Business School (Barcelona), Fuller Theological Seminary, Houston Methodist Hospital Foundation, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Philadelphia Museum of Art, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Sidwell Friends School, Tate, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, University of Queensland, and the University of Toronto.

Josh holds a Master of Arts in Cultural and Creative Industries from King’s College London, and Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Kent State University.