Position: Director of Foundation Relations
Functional Area: Development & Sales
Organization: iMentor
Location: New York
Metro Region: New York
Overview:
iMentor leverages the power of mentoring to help youth in low-income communities graduate high school college-ready and succeed in college. Students and mentors work one-on-one through iMentor’s online and in-person curriculum to build the non-academic competencies that further college success. In New York City, iMentor partners with public schools to ensure every student in the school receives a mentor. Since 1999, iMentor has connected 7,000 students in New York City with mentors, and will match 2,600 mentor-mentee pairs this year. iMentor also provides its curriculum, technology, and best practices to more than 30 nonprofits in 20 states to help them run effective mentoring programs in the iMentor model.
iMentor is one of the nation’s most innovative and quickly growing mentoring organizations. As a team, we are mission-focused, results-oriented, passionate and fun, and were recently named one of the Best Nonprofits to Work For by Opportunity Knocks and The Nonprofit Times.
Position:
iMentor is seeking an experienced fundraising professional to serve as its Director of Foundation Relations. This position is responsible for setting and executing strategy to increase iMentor’s foundation revenue significantly over the next several years. Next year, iMentor aims to raise a significant portion of iMentor’s expected $11M budget next year in foundation revenue to support the organization’s growth efforts. The Director of Foundation Relations will have the opportunity to work with some of the country’s premier funders, including Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Lumina Foundation for Education, Robin Hood Foundation, Tiger Foundation, New Profit Inc., among others.
Reporting to the Managing Director of Development, the Director of Foundation Relations will be responsible for strategically positioning iMentor with new potential funders, including drafting creative concept papers and asks to cultivate and secure new support, especially on the national level, while growing contributions from current supporters. The Director of Foundation Relations will also play a leadership role in the efforts to raise $1.1MM in matching funds for iMentor’s inclusion in the Social Innovation Fund.
The Director of Foundation Relations will join a hardworking, ambitious, and successful fundraising team and take a leadership role in growing iMentor’s impact in NYC and nationally. The Director of Foundation Relations will oversee a Development Manager who is responsible for drafting iMentor’s foundation and corporate funding proposals, concept papers, letters of intent, and other written materials as needed to tell iMentor’s story.
The ideal candidate will be established in the foundation community and excel at working with senior foundation executives. The Director will be committed to iMentor’s vision of college readiness and college success for our mentees S/he will also be an excellent communicator, with the ability to listen and create a tailored pitch, both verbally and in writing, and will be excited by the responsibility of being accountable for significantly increasing foundation support for iMentor.
Responsibilities:
- Serve as the primary contact with current and potential new foundation funders. Initiate and steward relationships with foundation staff, leveraging the CEO, Board of Directors, and/or the Managing Director of Development’s involvement as needed.
- Create and implement a comprehensive plan to attract new foundation funding, as well as increase current funders’ support for and relationship with iMentor.
- Conceptualize, develop, and implement customized strategies and pitches to fit funders’ goals and requirements, using external research and iMentor data to strengthen grant proposals.
- Work with senior leadership and colleagues throughout the organization to gather information and data for proposals and reports.
- Collaborate with the COO and Director of Finance to create customized budgets for proposals.
- Manage a list of 50+ funders and prospects and the institutional proposal calendar to ensure that proposals, renewals, and reports are submitted on time.
- Supervise a Development Manager to write proposals, letters of inquiry, briefing materials for meetings and site visits, internal memos, and other documents.
- Identify and vet potential funders to create and grow institutional prospect list.
- Support organization-wide and development department initiatives, requiring occasional evening and/or weekend events.• At least 10 years of work experience, with at least 5 years of experience in fundraising from foundations.
Qualifications:
- At least 10 years of work experience, with at least 5 years of experience in fundraising from foundations. Strong track record in securing six-figure gifts from foundations and/or experience with national foundations.
- Confident communicator who is able to engage people and organizations and get them to commit to funding.
- Skilled in strategy, planning and project management. Able to take an idea from concept to completion.
- Excellent at assimilating information about iMentor, its place in the sector, programs, and budget from a variety of sources to craft persuasive and tailored proposals
- Comfort and understanding of outcomes, metrics and data
- Strong organizational and time management skills with exceptional attention to relationship management.
- Superb leadership skills, able to manage own performance as well as team members’ and colleagues’.
- Proven superior writing skills with a concise, clear and compelling style.
- Exceptional attention to detail and the ability to effectively track and manage dozens of relationships at once.
- Desire to work in a fast-paced, startup-like environment with aggressive growth plans; flexible and adaptive to changing priorities.
- Resourceful, results oriented, team-player with a positive “can do” attitude and a sense of humor
- A sincere and deep commitment to the fundamental belief that every child deserves a college education and that college closes the opportunity gap.
- Views differences between individuals (race, gender, age, cultural heritage, physical ability, education and lifestyle) as an asset rather than a liability, and demonstrates an appreciation of the diversity within iMentor
- Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred
- Employment is contingent upon the completion of a satisfactory fingerprinting and criminal background check, conducted by the Division of Human Resources at the New York City Department of Education
To Apply:
Please upload a resume and thoughtful cover letter, outlining how your skills and experience meet the qualifications of the position and stating how you heard about this opportunity, both in Word format, to Kevin Flynn athttp://jobs.cgcareers.org/application.aspx?id=1935 Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
