Sr. Director, Growth & Gift and Estate Planning

Thank you for your interest in joining the Coastal Community Foundation team. Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is an Equal Opportunity Employer with offices in North Charleston and Beaufort, as well as four affiliate foundations. We serve all nine counties on South Carolina’s coast: Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, Georgetown, Hampton, Horry and Jasper counties.

Established in 1974, Coastal Community Foundation works to create vibrant communities by identifying the challenges facing the region and bringing together resources to address them. Coastal Community Foundation is the largest community foundation in South Carolina, managing more than 700 charitable funds established by individuals, families and organizations and awarding tens of millions of dollars in grants and scholarships each year.

Financial resources are among the many tools we employ in our effort to create vibrant communities. Throughout our history we have served as conveners to bring residents and leaders together to facilitate solutions to community-wide challenges such as housing affordability, economic mobility, quality education and physical and mental well-being. We also have a long history of helping nonprofits build their capacity, and incubating grassroots causes to provide them with structural support, so they grow into fully operational organizations.

Why work for us?

When you join Coastal Community Foundation, you join a dedicated staff and Board of Directors who have earned the trust of donors and grantees alike, helping them advance positive outcomes in the communities they seek to serve and adapting to their evolving needs so that our region thrives together.

We take that same approach and dedication to supporting our staff members to ensure their success at work and outside of the work environment. We offer a competitive salary and a full benefits package, including Paid Time Off, Holidays, Insurance (health, dental, vision, life, disability), 401(k), and professional training and development opportunities.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Statement

Inclusion with equity is one of our four core values at Coastal Community Foundation, so we not only work to recruit diverse candidates, we work to ensure our team members have all the tools they need to be successful. Our purpose is most effectively fulfilled through proactively supporting the values of equity, inclusion, and diversity. Diversity may be measured by, but is not limited to, differences in age, ethnicity, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, economic circumstance, class, religion, disability, geography, and profession. We acknowledge and respect the many differences that comprise thriving communities and seek diversity in our staff to ensure that a range of perspectives, opinions and experiences are recognized and acted upon in achieving our purpose.

It is our intention to promote a fully equitable philanthropic sector that justly represents and serves all our constituencies. Therefore, we strongly encourage applications from candidates of color, of LGBTQ+ identity and of other historically marginalized communities.

About this position

The Senior Director of Growth & Gift and Estate Planning is a senior philanthropy leadership position on the CCF Philanthropy Team responsible for driving growth in charitable assets, expanding philanthropic capital, increasing estate gift commitments, and strengthening professional advisor engagement across Coastal Community Foundation's service area.

Under the supervision of the VP of Philanthropy and serving as the Foundation's primary internal resource for charitable gift planning and growth strategy, this position develops and executes initiatives that attract new donors, creates new philanthropic funds, grows legacy commitments, and advances organizational fundraising priorities. The role serves as a strategic partner to the philanthropic advising team, the donor experience team, the philanthropic operations team, Foundation leadership and supporting organizations by providing expertise in charitable gift planning, complex gift strategies, and philanthropic growth opportunities.

The Senior Director leads the Foundation's Professional Advisor Collaborative and serves as a key ambassador to attorneys, CPAs, financial advisors, wealth managers, trust officers, estate planning professionals and family offices throughout Coastal South Carolina. The position is responsible for expanding charitable planning awareness, generating referrals, increasing planned giving activity, and building long-term philanthropic partnerships that support community impact.

This position collaborates closely with relationship managers across the philanthropy team. While the role may manage select strategic professional advisor relationships, responsibility for ongoing donor relationship management will remain with assigned Philanthropic Advisors or other designated relationship managers. The Senior Director serves as a planning strategist, growth partner, and gift planning subject matter expert in support of donor and Foundation objectives. 

Essential Functions

Growth & Fund Development

•    Develop and implement strategies to increase charitable assets, philanthropic capital, and community impact.

•    Lead initiatives focused on new donor acquisition, new fund development, estate commitments, and growth opportunities.

•    Identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward major and planned gift prospects.

•    Build and manage a robust pipeline of current and deferred gift opportunities.

•    Support campaign planning, prospect strategy, and major gift development for Foundation fundraising priorities, including special initiatives and growth campaigns.

•    Collaborate with Philanthropy leadership to establish growth goals, performance metrics, and fundraising strategies.

•    Monitor key growth indicators including new funds established, charitable assets secured, planned gift commitments, donor acquisition, and campaign activity. 

Gift & Estate Planning Leadership

•    Serve as the Foundation's primary internal resource for charitable gift planning, planned giving best practices, and tax-efficient charitable giving strategies by providing ongoing technical guidance, training, and consultation to Foundation staff and supporting organizations.

•    Advise donors, prospects, Philanthropic Officers, and professional advisors regarding charitable planning opportunities.

•    Provide expertise involving: Bequests and estate gifts; Charitable remainder trusts; Charitable lead trusts; Beneficiary designations; Retirement assets; Life insurance gifts; Real estate gifts; Closely held business interests; Non-cash and complex assets

•    Collaborate with donors' legal, tax, and financial advisors to develop charitable solutions that align philanthropic and financial objectives.

•    Partner with Operations, Finance, Legal counsel, and Philanthropy colleagues to ensure effective implementation and administration of complex gifts.

•    Support development of gift acceptance procedures, planned giving resources, estate gift documentation, and related policies.

•    Serve as an internal consultant and strategic resource to relationship managers on planned and blended gift opportunities. 

Professional Advisor Engagement & Collaborative Leadership

•    Develop and lead the Foundation's Professional Advisor Collaborative.

•    Create and implement a comprehensive strategy for engagement of attorneys, CPAs, CFPs, trust officers, financial advisors, and wealth management professionals.

•    Establish an advisor council that serves as both a strategic partner and ambassador network for the Foundation.

•    Build relationships with advisors throughout the CCF footprint and across Coastal South Carolina.

•    Position the Foundation as a premier charitable planning resource for professional advisors and their clients.

•    Develop referral strategies that generate new funds, charitable gifts, estate commitments, and philanthropic partnerships.

•    Recruit, engage, and steward advisor ambassadors and volunteers.

Advisor Education & Thought Leadership

•    Design and execute an annual professional advisor education plan.

•    Lead seminars, workshops, webinars, and continuing education opportunities focused on charitable planning and philanthropy.

•    Develop charitable planning resources, publications, case studies, and thought leadership content.

•    Partner with professional associations, community organizations, and educational institutions to expand advisor engagement.

•    Serve as a Foundation spokesperson on charitable gift planning, legacy giving, and philanthropic strategies. 

•  Provide ongoing planned giving education and training for CCF staff and supporting organization leadership to strengthen charitable planning knowledge, donor engagement, and gift development capabilities across the Foundation network. 

•  Develop and deliver regular charitable planning and philanthropic strategy updates, including changes in federal and state tax laws, estate planning regulations, and charitable giving incentives relevant to donors, professional advisors, CCF staff, and supporting organizations.

Strategic Collaboration & Leadership

•    Serve as a member of the Philanthropy Leadership Team.

•    Collaborate closely with: Director of Philanthropic Advising; Director of Donor Experience & Engagement; Senior Director of Philanthropic Operations; Philanthropic Advisors; Marketing & Communications Team; Finance and Compliance Staff

•    Contribute to strategic planning, campaign development, growth initiatives, and organizational priorities.

•    Help define and strengthen systems that support prospect identification, gift planning integration, advisor engagement, stewardship, and donor growth strategies.

•    Represent the Foundation at community, philanthropic, and professional events. 

Travel & Community Engagement

•    Maintain a regular presence throughout Coastal Community Foundation's nine-county service area to cultivate donor, advisor, and community relationships; represent the Foundation at meetings, events, presentations, and networking opportunities; and support growth, fundraising, and philanthropic engagement initiatives across the region.

Qualifications

Required

•    Bachelor's degree required.

•    Minimum of ten years of experience in charitable gift planning, major gifts, philanthropy, financial planning, estate planning, wealth management, or related fields.

•    Demonstrated success securing major gifts and planned gifts.

•    Experience working with attorneys, CPAs, wealth advisors, trust officers, and other professional advisors.

•    Strong knowledge of charitable planning vehicles and philanthropic strategies.

•    Excellent relationship-building, networking, communication, and presentation skills.

•    Ability to lead multiple strategic initiatives simultaneously. 

Preferred

•    JD, MBA, CFP®, CPA, CAP®, CFRE, or related advanced credentials.

•    Community foundation experience.

•    Knowledge of charitable tax law, estate planning strategies, and complex gift administration.

•    Experience building advisor networks and educational programs.

•    Familiarity with donor CRM, fundraising analytics, and planned giving technology tools. 

Success Measures

Success in this role will be measured by:

•    Growth in charitable assets and philanthropic capital.

•    New donor acquisition and fund development.

•    Estate gift commitments and documented legacy intentions.

•    Growth and engagement of the Professional Advisor Collaborative.

•    Number and quality of advisor relationships and referrals.

•    Planned giving pipeline development and conversion.

•    Major and planned gift fundraising results.

•    Campaign prospect development and major gift support.

•    Advisor education participation and impact.

•    Advancement of Coastal Community Foundation's long-term growth objectives and community impact goals.