The Manager, Corporate and Foundation Relations (MCFR) will drive our local efforts to raise at least $1.7 million annually from corporate and foundation contributions, partnering closely with the Managing Director, External Affairs, the Deputy Executive Director (based in Chattanooga), and the Executive Director (based in Nashville) in this work. The MCFR is responsible for developing and executing the strategies, key tactics and operations necessary to build and maintain this base of corporate and foundation supporters. We are looking for an individual who is passionate about our mission and believes deeply in the importance of investing others in our work to achieve educational equity and excellence. We are also looking for someone who can craft a compelling story about our organization and is able to tailor it for different audiences. Our ideal candidate will possess a high level of personal responsibility for achieving results, have strong creative thinking skills, be a collaborative team player, and possess strong project management skills. The MCFR will report directly to the Managing Director, External Affairs and will be a member of the four-person External Affairs team.
Portfolio Management (45%)
Overall Management of Portfolio (20%)
- Develop measures of success, craft strategies and determine key tactics in collaboration with the Managing Director, External Affairs (MDEA), Executive Director (ED), and the Deputy Executive Director (DED) to ensure the region meets its corporate and foundation giving goals.
- Achieve our current goal of raising $650,000 through corporate giving and $1,075,000 through foundation giving in the current fiscal year, and grow the corporate portfolio in future years.
- Manage the TFA Corporate Collective plan, an emerging group of philanthropically-minded corporations that seek to play a strong role in fighting for educational equity.
- Plan and execute excellent donor interactions and communications for individuals within your portfolio (setting up meetings, touchpoints, marketing materials, follow-ups, etc.).
- Develop and maintain strong operations timeline (e.g. donor-tracking systems, data management, etc.), using our constituent database system where appropriate.
Donor Stewardship within the Portfolio (15%)
- Set up and maintain Donor Stewardship Plan for members of your portfolio.
- Reach out to external partners and set up meetings with members and potential members of your portfolio.
- Innovate on strategies and use the stewardship plan and other systems (TFACT) to deepen partnerships with existing and new corporations, including planning and executing differentiated strategies of engagement that will lead to multiyear partnership and funding.
- Analyze the interests of donors to develop and tailor compelling pitches, campaigns, engagement strategies and stewardship activities.
- Prioritize key actions for the ED, DED, and MDEA to take in cultivating, soliciting and stewarding donors through external meetings, events and correspondence, and follow up on what was accomplished by the ED, DED, and MDEA.
Prospecting for New Donors (10%)
- Assess corporate and foundation philanthropy in the local landscape to inform goals and strategies.
- Conduct research on donors and prospects to identify their capacity and interest in giving.
- Analyze the interests of prospects to develop compelling pitches, campaigns, engagement strategies and stewardship activities.
Grant Writing (30%)
- Write compelling grant narratives and pitches including proposals, reports and correspondence that are tailored to donor interests.
- Compile and manage a grants calendar to ensure all grants are completed and submitted on time.
- Create and maintain up-to-date supplemental materials (e.g. financial documents, organizational charts, data, etc.).
- Develop a process in partnership with regional staff to stay apprised of programmatic activities and results and to gather statistics and stories to share in donor communications.
External Affairs Team Support (10%)
- Support and partner where needed in developing and executing broader external strategies. Examples might include event support, stewarding partner relationships, etc.
Regional and Organizational Stewardship (15%)
Support team-wide priorities for Nashville-Chattanooga and organizational-wide initiatives. Examples include:
- Participating in staff committees and task forces
- Corps member recruitment, admissions, and matriculation
- Team meetings and professional development
- Regional events and programming (such as teacher orientation and end-of-year celebration)
- 3+ years of work experience preferred
- Fundraising and grant writing experience preferred
Skills
- Exceptional written communication skills
- Demonstrated ability to tailor approach and messaging towards the perspective of others
- Critical thinker who displays sound judgment in prioritizing problems to solve and opportunities to pursue
- Proven ability to constantly learn, grow and improve from past experiences
- Skilled in using logic and data to perform analysis and can translate into actionable solutions
- Ability to influence others toward outcomes through sophisticated relationship management
- Excellent relationship builder
- Highly organized, deadline-driven and with exceptional detail orientation
Work Demands
- Willing and able to work some early mornings, evenings or weekends when that furthers team or regional goals
- Willing and able to travel 2-3 times per year for professional development purposes