Treehouse Foundation and Pillar Search are thrilled to announce the appointment of Griet Dehandschutter to the position of Director of Development.

As the Director of Development, Griet will be a key member of the Treehouse Leadership Team, overseeing the organization’s fundraising and expanding its community of support across Massachusetts and nationwide. Griet will be responsible for setting fundraising strategy, managing the fundraising team, growing Treehouse’s resources by deepening engagement with individuals, corporations and foundations and raising the organization’s visibility in support of its big and bold vision. She will report to Treehouse Foundation’s Founder and Executive Director Judy Cockerton.

Most recently, Griet was the Executive Director of Acton-Boxborough United Way where she doubled the revenue in two years and engaged multi-stakeholder coalitions to address vital community needs. Prior to that, Griet was an international fundraising consultant, where she pioneered innovative and sustainable international major giving, corporate and foundation giving strategies with large and small nonprofits, museums, and universities across 15 countries and 4 continents. Earlier in her career, as East Coast Director for Flanders Investment and Trade, Griet partnered with Fortune 500 executives to locate their pan-European business operations in Belgium. Griet also co-founded the European-American Chamber of Commerce in the United States, today known as the Transatlantic Business Council (TABC).

Griet earned her Master of Arts degree in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University and her Master of Law from Belgium’s University of Antwerp.

In addition, Griet has served on several boards, including the American Fund for Charities, SilverAqua, and iScale. As a volunteer, Griet co-chaired the Capital Campaign for the United Church of Christ in Boxborough, MA.

About the Treehouse Foundation: The Treehouse Foundation is an award-winning Massachusetts-based nonprofit that is working diligently to inspire a Re-Envisioning of Foster Care in America.

Since its launch in 2002, Treehouse has been investing in foster care, vital aging, and affordable housing innovation. Its mission: To inspire, implement, and support innovative child welfare practices that ensure our children who experience foster care find permanent families and supportive communities, allowing them to develop, heal and thrive. Its vision: Every child rooted in family and community.

Nationally recognized social entrepreneur, Judy Cockerton, has provided her visionary leadership to the Treehouse Foundation since its inception. Cockerton, known as a highly collaborative leader, developed the award-winning intergenerational Treehouse Community model and leads the Re-Envisioning Foster Care in America (REFCA) movement. In 2006, the first intergenerational Treehouse Community opened in western Massachusetts, where the largest percentage of children and youth experiencing foster care in the Commonwealth reside. The Treehouse Foundation partnered with Beacon Communities LLC to design, build and operate the first Treehouse Community in Easthampton, MA. Treehouse is now partnering with 2Life Communities to bring the successful intergenerational Treehouse Community model to the site of the former Boston State Hospital in Mattapan.

On November 3-4, the Treehouse Foundation will host its 9th national Re-Envisioning Foster Care in America (REFCA) conference in Boston. REFCA2023 will feature the wisdom, award winning ideas, and lived expertise of REFCA Champions – stellar changemakers who are using their firsthand experience and professional acumen to create new visions for child welfare.

To learn more about this visionary organization, please visit https://www.treehousefoundation.net.

About Pillar Search & HR Consulting: A woman-owned business based in Boston, Pillar Search & HR Consulting provides executive search/recruiting and human resources consulting expertise to nonprofit and mission-driven organizations, working with senior leaders and the boards of directors to hire and develop the very best talent across all functional areas of the organization. For more information about Pillar, please visit www.pillarsearch.com.

About

The Treehouse Foundation has partnered with Pillar Search & HR Consulting in their search for their new Director of Development. This is an exciting role for an experienced fundraising professional with nonprofit leadership experience.

Organization Summary

The Treehouse Foundation is an award-winning Massachusetts based nonprofit organization that is working diligently to inspire a Re-Envisioning of Foster Care in America. Since its launch in 2002, Treehouse has been investing in foster care innovation that is designed to ensure that “every child is rooted in family and community”.

Nationally recognized social entrepreneur, Judy Cockerton, has provided her visionary leadership to the Treehouse Foundation for the past twenty years. In addition to leading the Re-Envisioning Foster Care in America movement, Cockerton – a highly collaborative executive director – has developed an intergenerational Treehouse Community Living model that is designed to support families adopting children from foster care and older adults who act as “honorary grandparents”.

Treehouse is now partnering with 2Life Communities and Plummer Youth Promise to bring the successful intergenerational Treehouse Community model to the Boston neighborhood of Mattapan. Treehouse Boston will be home to 12 foster/ adoptive families, 42 older adults (ages 55+) and 8 Transition Aged Youth (18 – 24 years): Treehouse Boston community members will invest in one another’s health and well-being while receiving ongoing supports and services from an on-site team made up of Treehouse Foundation, 2Life Communities and Plummer Youth Promise staff.

Come inspire a Re-Envisioning of Foster Care in America with the Treehouse Foundation Team! Help Treehouse Foundation develop a strong and vibrant statewide organization that shows the rest of the country how Massachusetts cares for its children and youth experiencing foster care and promote intergenerational Treehouse Community living! It’s a win-win-win for three vulnerable populations, the Commonwealth, and the country.

The Treehouse Foundation is proud to be an equal opportunity employer that is committed to the ongoing work of becoming an anti-racist organization, and strongly value diversity equity, and inclusion. One of their core values is creating a culture of dignity and respect for all members of their team and all program participants. They welcome team members from all backgrounds to join and enrich their team and they are dedicated to creating a culture where everyone can bring their authentic, original, and best selves to the work. The Treehouse Foundation invites qualified applicants from all races and ethnicities, religions, countries of origin, sexes, gender identities, gender expressions, sexual orientations, abilities, and ages to apply. They are stronger and better with you on their team! They are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities in their application process. If you need an accommodation due to a disability, please let us know.

Learn more about the Treehouse Foundation at https://www.treehousefoundation.net.

Position Summary

The Director of Development, a key member of the Treehouse Leadership Team, oversees the organization’s fundraising and manages relationships with supporters. Their duties will include setting fundraising strategies, major donor relations and solicitations, donor relations, seeking out opportunities for financial support through grants and sponsorships, and planning fundraising events.

Reporting to the Treehouse Founder/CEO Judy Cockerton, the Director of Development will lead fundraising planning and implementation, focused major donors and other streams of support for the organization in collaboration with the ED.

This is a statewide, remote role with travel to the office in Western Massachusetts and to donor meetings in/around Massachusetts as needed. Given the focus on opening the Treehouse Foundation location in Mattapan MA, there is a preference for a candidate in the Boston/Greater Boston area.

Strategy and Planning

The Treehouse Foundation’s Director of Development will be responsible for developing, implementing, and overseeing our statewide revenue generation model for Treehouse Boston, Treehouse Easthampton, and the HEROES Youth Leadership Program.
In addition, the Director of Development will develop, implement and oversee a national revenue generation model to support the growth of revenue for the Re-Envisioning Foster Care in America (REFCA) movement.
The Director of Development will work with the Treehouse Foundation Founder/CEO, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Finance and Operations Manager, and grant writing consultant to successfully achieve the organization’s fundraising goals.
Ensure successful achievement of the annual fundraising goals
As a member of the leadership team, help to manage the annual budget of the organization
Analyze and measure the progress towards the fundraising goals and evaluate the effectiveness of fundraising campaigns, reporting on progress to other members of the leadership team and the board of directors

Donor Relations and Solicitation

Maintain ongoing relationships with all the donors and cultivate new donors and sponsors
Implement strategies/donor stewardship plans to form strong relationships with new and existing donors and sponsors and keep them informed on how their financial contribution is being utilized, as well as establish donor/sponsor communication plans that meet Treehouse standards
Successfully solicit major gifts of $1,000 to $100,000+

Foundations and Corporate Sponsorships

Manage corporate gifts and sponsorships
Secure grants for the organization and manage foundation relations
Provide grant reports to funders

Team Leadership

Lead the development team and collaborate in developing strategies for increasing brand awareness and funding
Lead the board Development Committee with the committee chair and Director of Strategic Partnerships and Development
Collaborate with the board of directors on development initiatives
Recruit and train development team members
Stay up to date on nonprofit fundraising trends and best practices

Communications/Visibility

Lead the creation of development-focused marketing collateral, visibility campaigns, and social media campaigns
Take advantage of community relations, speaking engagements, fundraising events, and communication tools like newsletters and social media platforms to reach donors and sponsors

Qualifications:

Undergraduate degree or equivalent work experience
Minimum 5 years of nonprofit development leadership experience required including experience managing direct reports
Demonstrated skills in development, gift solicitation, donor relations practices
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Proficiency in donor databases
Must be organized detail-oriented, able to prioritize and handle multiple projects with tight deadlines
Passion for Treehouse’s mission and for fundraising
Commitment to social change required. Experience with racial equity work strongly preferred.

This is a 40-hour per week salaried position that includes health, dental, life, short-term and long-term disability insurances; generous vacation, sick time, and 12 paid holidays. The salary range is $100,000 – $120,000, depending on experience.

The Treehouse Foundation has partnered with Cindy Joyce of Pillar Search & HR Consulting for the Director of Development search. Please submit your materials (cover letter and resume) to Cindy at cindy@pillarsearch.com.

Search Success: Griet Dehandschutter Joins Treehouse Foundation as Director of Development!

New Search: Director of Development with Treehouse Foundation