IMSA is undertaking a $12M-$15M campaign to advance its 2033 Vision, including enhancing its residential facilities. Through intensive planning and research on student housing best practices, IMSA seeks to reimagine the student experience by modernizing our residential infrastructure for students now and for years to come.
As we look ahead, we envision a campus and residential experience that reflects our strong reputation as a best-in-class math and science academy. A campus where students have greater access to needed services and amenities, enhanced living, learning and recreation spaces, equitable opportunities for students and families to connect, and expanded infrastructure for our growing student body. We are working with the state to secure funding for the residential halls; however, we will rely on private philanthropy for the shared amenity spaces dedicated to care, connection, and curiosity.
IMSA offers 10th-12th grade STEM-loving Illinois students from every socioeconomic background tuition-free educational offerings and opportunities they can’t find elsewhere in the state. IMSA exists to transform lives by transcending educational boundaries through inquiry and innovation. We offer a challenging education for students talented in the areas of mathematics and science, and we stimulate further excellence in STEM for all Illinois schools. Our world-class cadre of faculty and administrators and extensive range of STEM classes and research experiences transcend disciplinary boundaries. The IMSA experience also distinguishes itself through its unparalleled network of students, alumni, and partners dedicated to progress in STEM and united to help such trailblazing students fulfill their academic and career potential. Whether in class with an instructor, in the residence hall under the guidance of a resident counselor, or interacting with alumni working in a STEM field, a student’s IMSA experience is a shared and lifelong one.
This is an extraordinary opportunity for a skilled leader and experienced fundraiser to join a leading STEM Academy whose cadre of Alumni include the founder of YouTube, PayPal, Yelp and Match.com. IMSA seeks a mission-driven development professional who is eager to join our efforts to design and implement creative and high impact development strategies focused on the campaign, identify and pursue prospective new funders and major donors, and ensure that IMSA continues on its trajectory of growth and impact. Reporting to the Chief Public Affairs and Development Officer and working closely with the IMSA President, the ED is a core leader of the Advancement Team and joins a Major Gift Officer, Donor Database Manager (Raiser’s Edge/Blackbaud), Finance Manager and an Accounts Payable/Receivable Clerk.
Candidate Profile: IMSA recognizes that there is a spectrum of lived and professional experience that will set candidates up for success in this role. While no one candidate will have every experience outlined in the position description, ideal candidates will display the following professional and personal qualities, skills, and characteristics:
- Mission Alignment. A mission-driven fundraiser, you are excited by an opportunity to use your professional skills to join us in contributing to a thriving STEM education ecosystem and economy.
- Donor Stewardship and Engagement. A seasoned development professional, you are unafraid to make big asks, aim high, and secure sustainable contributions and relationships with institutional funders, high-net-worth donors, and key partners. You model best in class stewardship practices and utilize storytelling techniques to convey the impact of donor contributions, and are experienced working in organizations that have successfully and consistently increased and achieved fundraising goals. A networker and a connector, you thrive on developing mutually beneficial donor relationships—particularly with high-net-worth individuals—and adeptly safeguard donor privacy with the utmost discretion. You bring a record of success providing strategic fundraising leadership across the organization, fostering transparent communication, and leveraging the collective expertise of staff and volunteers to maximize fundraising outcomes.
- Leadership and Organizational Development. At your core, you are energized by expanding philanthropic revenue and have successfully developed a culture of philanthropy within your teams, partners, and organization. Both strategic and action-oriented, you bring a track record of building integrated campaigns aimed at increasing philanthropic revenue and positioning your organization for growth and sustainability. An action-oriented leader, you have experience designing tactical campaigns that integrate donor cultivation, major gifts/individual giving, grants, corporate partnerships, and events that attract and sustain long-term philanthropic attention.
- Persuasive Communication and Relationship Building. An excellent written and oral communicator, you understand how to develop and implement fundraising strategies that drive donor engagement, enhance fundraising outcomes, and successfully advance your organization's mission, goals, and strategic priorities. You are a nimble and strategic communicator who demonstrates an exceptional capacity to deeply engage audiences, ignite a sense of purpose, and effectively mobilize financial support for your organization and its causes. A big-picture thinker, you deploy nuanced fundraising strategies that foster philanthropic alliances, impassion donors, and expand the network of allies and connectors dedicated to your organization’s cause.
The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA) is committed to an equitable, diverse and inclusive teaching and learning environment. IMSA has committed to advancing equity in STEM education and representation and creating a diverse, inclusive community of global citizens who can realize their full potential, and execute our mission to advance the human condition.
This Equity and Excellence work is the intentional integration of Cultural Competence, Diversity, Equity, Equity-Minded Frame, Excellence and Inclusion into every facet of the Academy, with the understanding that it is an active and ongoing process involving structures, processes and people and not an isolated initiative.
This position will support IMSA's Diversity work by ensuring the delivery of quality, equitable, and inclusive constituent-centered support while promoting and maintaining an inclusive work environment and culture that embraces the diversity of people and perspectives collaborating at IMSA to ignite and nurture creative, ethical, scientific minds that advance the human condition.