Ladew Topiary Gardens (Ladew) seeks an Associate, Annual Fund and Membership to continue building on the fundraising program’s success in recent years. Reporting to the Senior Director, Development and Communications, and working closely with the Director of Development, the Associate, Annual Fund and Membership will nurture positive relationships with all constituencies, including current and prospective donors of less than $1,500 annually, current and prospective members, other friends of Ladew Gardens, and a collegial staff.

The Associate, Annual Fund and Membership will be an outcomes-oriented professional who will build on the strengths of the existing annual fundraising and membership programs. The Annual Fund and Membership Associate will have a deep passion for the mission and vision of Ladew Gardens and an understanding of and dedication to fundraising and membership best-practices.

Essential Responsibilities

Annual Fund: The Associate, Annual Fund and Membership is responsible for growing the annual fund revenue stream for Ladew Gardens through the acquisition, retaining, and upgrading of donors of less than $1,500 annually.

Responsibilities include:

• Manage and proactively grow the annual fund program, with attention to both annual and long-term strategies and goals, to position Ladew Gardens for long-term financial stability and success.
• Create an annual fund communications calendar and manage the execution of all donor appeals and communications, to include:
  • Identifying compelling content ideas and themes for appeals and communications.
  • Drafting the content and overseeing the editing process.
  • Coordinating the logistics for all appeals and communications.
• Partner with the Director of Development to identify, qualify, and cultivate annual fund donors who have major gift potential.
• Manage stewardship activities for annual fund donors at all levels to build deeper relationships and ensure they are thanked and stewarded in a timely and consistent manner.
• Implement consistent in-person, written, and/or phone contact with annual fund donors to help build loyalty and more significant giving.
• Coordinate gifts in memory and honor with donors as appropriate.
• Ensure accurate gift tracking, timely issuing of gift receipts/letters of gratitude and capture of all relevant donor information in Altru, Ladew Gardens’s fundraising database.
• Consistently input moves management updates and information into the fundraising database, including meeting debriefs, donor notes and research, as needed.
• Conduct wealth screenings and gather other data to inform and enhance the annual fund program year over year.
• Optimize and leverage Altru to track all aspects of the giving cycle for annual fund donors and prospects.
• Partner with other staff to plan and coordinate annual fund donor events.
• Leverage existing events, such as the Garden Festival, to maximize fundraising impact through engagement and follow-up with annual fund donors and prospects.
• Conduct fundraising trainings with staff and volunteers.
• Leverage best practices and follow appropriate fundraising policies and procedures.

Membership: The Associate, Annual Fund and Membership will create and implement strategies to generate membership revenue for Ladew Gardens and acquire, retain, and upgrade members.

Responsibilities include:

• Manage and proactively grow the membership base in accordance with established targets.
• Create an annual communications calendar to manage the execution of all membership appeals and communications, to include:
  • Identifying compelling content ideas and themes for appeals and communications.
  • Drafting the content and overseeing the editing process.
  • Coordinating the logistics for all appeals and communications.
• Partner with the Director of Development to identify, qualify, and cultivate members who have major gift potential.
• Manage member benefits fulfillment and stewardship activities to build deeper relationships with members.
• Manage the new member onboarding and orientation process.
• Process membership transactions, ensure accurate payment tracking, and capture of all relevant member information in Altru.
• Create proactive reporting to support membership recruitment and fundraising priorities.
• Leverage data from Altru to inform future engagement with current members and opportunities to attract new members.
• Partner with staff to plan and coordinate membership events including monthly Member Strolls.
• Leverage existing events, such as the Garden Festival, to maximize membership engagement impact through engagement and follow-up with current members and prospective members.
• Optimize and leverage Cuseum, Ladew Gardens’s membership database, to track all aspects of membership.
• Conduct membership trainings with staff and volunteers.
• Serve as the main point of contact for members and respond to general inquiries.
• Leverage best practices and follow appropriate membership policies and procedures.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree required.
• Minimum of one to three-years’ experience in annual giving, membership, and/or non-profit experience with demonstrated success in revenue generation.
• Experience with cultivating and soliciting gifts is preferred.
• Willingness to input information into the fundraising database for all personally assigned donors and members.
• Strong interpersonal skills and a track record of successful relationship building.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Strong knowledge of development operations processes and best practices in non-profit fundraising.
• Experience using fundraising CRMs, membership software, or other database management software; specific experience with Altru and Cuseum a plus.
• Proficiency in MS Office with strong knowledge of Microsoft Excel and Word.
• Ability to proactively solve and approach problems and issues with the utmost professional demeanor.
• Ability to work independently with limited administrative support and engage as a partner of a highly collaborative team and work environment.
• Ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks effectively and efficiently.
• Embodies an all hands on deck working style to support the development team’s success as needed.

About Ladew Topiary Gardens

Ladew Topiary Gardens (Ladew), located in Monkton Maryland, encompasses 22 acres of gardens, an historic manor house, a mile-long nature walk and one of the first native butterfly houses in the region. Ladew welcomes close to 50,000 visitors and members annually for tours as well as a variety of programming. Featured in national magazines for its “creativity” and “playfulness,” Ladew has been recognized as “the most outstanding topiary garden in America” by the Garden Club of America. Highly skilled gardeners, professional staff and dedicated volunteers maintain and promote this natural treasure as a significant cultural, educational and historical resource for the community.

Engaging public programs provide visitors with learning opportunities including practical, hands-on gardening education; lectures featuring experts in environmental stewardship, horticulture, garden design and the decorative arts. Annual events such as the Garden Festival in the spring, and the popular Garden Glow during the fall provide visitors of all ages with cultural enrichment in a beautiful setting.

Ladew partners with schools across central Maryland to provide environmental science based programming to thousands of school-age children. Popular offerings include the Children’s Environmental Education Program which is designed to ensure that children from Harford County, Baltimore County, Baltimore City, and all over Maryland are able to experience hands-on environmental education that relates directly to the classroom science curriculum. Field trip offerings for pre-K-8th grade, scout programs, nature camps and an array of family programming provide an abundance of learning opportunities for children at Ladew throughout the year.

Ladew prioritizes wellness and emotional enrichment through nature-informed mental health and wellbeing programming such as Tai Chi Mondays. Wellness in the Gardens is a 6-week program that integrates nature connection with mindfulness and other resiliency practices to assist people in regulating stress, anxiety, depression and pain. Participants learn techniques such as guided relaxation, breathing exercises and forest bathing that can become lifelong practices for wellness. Ladew also offers Tai Chi in the gardens each Monday.

The Board of Trustees is committed to fulfilling the mission of Ladew to maintain and promote the gardens, house and facilities in keeping with the creative spirit of Harvey S. Ladew for the public benefit and for educational, scientific and cultural pursuits by continuing to grow its financial viability and the community of friends that are interested in, inspired by and equipped to support the myriad of programs that Ladew offers each year to the public.