Philanthropy Officer

Position Description

A member of Uniting Voices Chicago’s Development team, the Philanthropy Officer will nurture and grow relationships with individual donors and institutional partners, as well as seek and cultivate new potential funders. This position is responsible for creating and implementing a relational fundraising strategy to expand the individual and institutional giving donor segments to help meet the organization’s strategic growth goals (15%) by the end of fiscal year 2027. This role will also serve as staff liaison to the Ambassadors Board, and will play a key role in supporting special fundraising initiatives and other activities as needed. Reporting to the Vice President, Development, the Philanthropy Officer works closely with the Senior Manager, Donor Services on prospecting and reporting, and participates in regular cross-departmental collaboration on donor engagement, communications strategy and grant management. 

Responsibilities

• Serve as a key solicitor for the organization, managing a diverse portfolio of individual and institutional donors/prospects, and helping them accomplish their philanthropic goals/priorities through commitments to Uniting Voices

  • Develop and execute rigorous and dynamic outreach and stewardship strategy that  includes emails, phone calls, in-person meetings, site-visits, and personalized letters

  • Build innovative partnerships that maximize engagement, affinity and advocacy

  • Track and report on all activities (e.g., prospects identified, face-to-face visits, solicitations made, etc.) using the organization’s CRM (Salesforce).

  • Set annual goals for prospect engagement and portfolio members

• Act as liaison to the Ambassadors Board, the organization’s emerging philanthropic leaders, and guide annual strategy

• Work closely with the President, Executive Vice President, and Vice President, Development on comprehensive solicitations

• Participate in the Development Committee of the Board of Directors as needed

• Attend external events and represent Uniting Voices with community stakeholders and donors/supporters 

Qualifications

Ideal candidates for the Philanthropy Officer role will possess the following skills and

attributes:

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline or equivalent work experience

• 6+ years professional development experience in a non-profit setting with demonstrated advancement in responsibilities  

• Direct experience successfully soliciting, closing, and stewarding mid-level gifts

• Excellent oral presentation, writing, relationship-building, and listening skills  

• Strong administrative and organizational skills, with the ability to multitask, set goals, and prioritize workload

• Experience with CRM applications/fundraising software

• Flexibility to work after regular office hours for rehearsals, concerts and events, as needed

• Passion for the mission to inspire and change lives through music

OTR” Life Experience: We know that many of your most character-building experiences -- where resilience, grit and grace were required to persevere -- do not show up neatly on a resume. So, we want to hear some of those “OTR” (“off the resume”) moments for you. In order to be on the Uniting Voices team, EQ (Emotional Intelligence) is not a nice-to-have...it’s a must. So, show us your EQ.

Uniting Voices is an equal opportunity employer that actively pursues candidates of diverse backgrounds and experiences. We are committed to providing diversity, equity, and inclusion training to all employees, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, ethnicity, nationality or national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, pregnancy status, marital status, age, medical condition, disability, or veteran status in admission or access to, or employment in, its programs and activities.