Diversified Search Group | Koya Partners Seeking Chief Development Officer for the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy
June 26, 2024 – Koya Partners, a part of Diversified Search Group, has been retained by the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy to lead in its search for a chief development officer. The assignment is being led by Gerard F. Cattie Jr. Reporting directly to the president and serving on the executive leadership team, the chief development officer will be responsible for creating and implementing the Foundation’s fundraising strategy and leading a major-gifts-focused, comprehensive development program. They will be a key visioning and thought partner to the president for fundraising and organization-wide strategy, also serving as proxy for the president or other senior foundation leaders when necessary.
Koya explains that the CDO will be an enthusiastic ambassador for the foundation and will foster catalytic philanthropic growth, developing and deepening critical engagements with partners and driving broader awareness and philanthropic support for the organization. The CDO will lead the development team’s efforts to implement a comprehensive development program in order to significantly grow the foundation’s philanthropic revenue from a broad base of supporters, including individuals, corporations, foundations, government entities, and community organizations. The CDO will be empowered to evaluate and enhance the functional and/or organizational alignment of the current development team with the understanding that additional team capacity will be needed going forward.
The CDO will join the foundation during a critical moment in its fundraising transformation – a yearlong celebration honoring Barbara Bush’s 100th birthday (June 8, 2025). Kicking off in fall 2024 and running through the end of 2025, the Centennial initiative presents a unique opportunity to reenergize and reimagine the foundation’s fundraising strategy to position it for decades of continued impact.
The successful candidate will have demonstrated success in implementing, growing, and managing a high-performing development program, as well as a proven ability to partner with organizational leadership, according to Koya. They will have experience in successful solicitation strategies for high-capacity individual, corporate, and foundation donors, and working with partners to support a comprehensive, multi-phased development effort.
Related: Diversified Search Group | Koya Partners Recruits Executive Director for TransitCenter
While the foundation will consider a broad range of backgrounds, the ideal candidate will have the following qualifications/experience:
- Passion for the Barbara Bush Foundation’s mission.
- Fifteen years or more in nonprofit fundraising with increasingly responsible experience in the creation and execution of development strategy and programs, with an established track record of growing a donor base and increasing philanthropic revenue. Broad knowledge of all functional areas comprising a multi-faceted, comprehensive development program (e.g., individual, institutional, major, planned, digital, and annual giving; special events; donor communications; stewardship; operations).
- Knowledge of and fundamental adherence to the principles, ethics, and best practices of modern fundraising.
- Five or more years of experience managing a team of development professionals. Ability to recruit, lead, evaluate, and develop staff and contribute to the ongoing fostering of a results-oriented, multiracial/multicultural workforce. Track record of maintaining best practices, clear goals, and shared accountability, as well as working cross-departmentally when necessary to achieve results. Experience managing budgets and revenue forecasts.
- Demonstrated commitment to and understanding of how to build diversity, equity, and inclusion in the development function; culturally competent with respect to issues such as racial, cultural, religious, sexual, and gender identity.
- Demonstrated success in developing the case for support and strategic, innovative fundraising plans, and executing those plans to grow fundraising and exceed goals. Significant experience identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major gifts from individual and institutional donors at the level of six to seven figures or greater.
A national public charity based in Washington, D.C., the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy is dedicated to building a stronger, more equitable America through literacy. Since the Foundation’s establishment in 1989 by First Lady Barbara Bush, it has supported evidence-based family literacy programs in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Family of Firms
Diversified Search Group is a family of firms serving specialized sectors. The firm was founded almost five decades ago for the express purpose of placing diverse candidates in client organizations. Koya Partners is a part of the Diversified Search Group and is dedicated to mission-driven leadership. Koya works broadly at the senior-most levels of the mission-driven field in philanthropy, social services, arts and culture, and social justice, among others.
Koya Partners, a part of Diversified Search Group, has been chosen by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation in New York City to lead in its search for a chief development officer. The assignment is being led by Gerard F. Cattie Jr. The CDO will design and lead a comprehensive, robust fundraising strategy to meet the Guggenheim’s current and future resource challenges as well as its ambitious aspirations. Reporting to the director and CEO, the CDO will work in partnership with leadership and colleagues, including the board of trustees, to leverage the Guggenheim’s extraordinary assets to focus on innovative, strategic approaches to expand its philanthropic base. The successful candidate will be a dynamic self-starter with a track record of success in a development leadership role as both a collaborative team leader and a frontline major gift solicitor. They will be a creative innovator, an exceptional relationship builder, and a proven manager and mentor.
In 2019, Koya was acquired by Diversified Search. With the combination of revenues and resources, Diversified Search and Koya now represent one of the largest non-profit and higher education practices in the executive search industry. Koya’s specialization in mission-driven search, primarily with non-profit and higher education clients, complements Diversified’s own major education, non-profit, and arts and culture practices, as well as the firm’s healthcare services, board of directors, life sciences, industrial, and digital, media, entertainment, and sports practices.
Mr. Cattie is managing director and practice leader, DSG fundraising and advancement, based in New York. His practice focuses on searches for senior leadership positions within prominent higher education institutions, non-profit organizations, global NGOs, foundations, associations and membership societies, healthcare providers, as well as arts and cultural entities. He serves as the leader of the firm’s development and philanthropy practice, along with the arts and culture sector of the firm’s education, nonprofit, and arts and culture practice.
Related: Diversified Search Group | Koya Partners Seeking CEO for Philanthropy Massachusetts
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
