Chief Philantrophy Officer

CHIEF PHILANTROPHY OFFICER

About Cara Collective

Cara Collective seeks to fuel a courageous national movement to eradicate relational and financial poverty. Through our four entities – Cara Chicago, Cleanslate, Cara Connects, and Cara Plus – we engage job seekers, employers, and other organizations across the country to break the cycle of poverty through the power and purpose of employment.

At present, we produce 1,000 jobs each year, at one-year retention rates for their permanent placements over 20 points higher than national norms, and with over 80% of employed participants moving on to permanent housing in which their families can thrive.

Our results don’t just end with employment. We also maintain market-competitive businesses that create gateway jobs for those they serve, and produce a profound social return on investment, where for every dollar invested in this work, $5.97 is re-invested in society over a five-year time horizon. The work is important not only because of its clear goal of bringing individuals in need back to the dignity and the productivity of employment, but because of its clear mission to transform people’s lives. Families become stronger, relationships are healed, and communities become more vibrant because nothing gives you a positive outlook on life like a job.

Today, we take the insights gained over the last three decades to not only serve a growing number of jobseekers locally, but also to equip other organizations and employers nationally with the tools and practices to build a more inclusive economy. Our hope is that as more jobseekers get back to work, and more employers realize the value of this untapped workforce, we will not only shift the narrative of what talent looks like in our country, we will also ensure thousands more families realize the lasting power of hope, jobs, and opportunity.

Learn more at www.caracollective.org.

About the Role

The Chief Philanthropy Officer serves as a member of the executive management team and is the lead curator of donor experiences at Cara. Leading with equity, the Chief Philanthropy Officer is responsible for developing and implementing a comprehensive donor relations strategy to maximize fundraising from institutional partners, events and individual donors.

Reports to

President & CEO

Outcomes

The Chief Philanthropy Officer takes primary responsibility for several key areas of fundraising: individual relationship development with major gift donors, event strategy and execution (5 large events annually), and foundation and corporate grants. The role also oversees the marketing and communications of the enterprise alongside key leadership.

Responsibilities

The essential activities described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the job.

Fundraising Development, Marketing, and Communications (70%)

Individual Donor Relationships & Major Gifts

• Carry own small portfolio of high-level donors
• Develop successful cultivation and solicitation strategies to direct and monitor the progress of donor relationships, utilizing moves management model
• Advance individual donor relationships by planning and executing site visits and small donor cultivation events for those assigned to the portfolio
• Identify donors’ philanthropic interests and provide them with an opportunity to realize an outstanding philanthropic experience through their charitable investment of time, treasure and talent in support of Cara
• Assist with logistics for site visits by major gift prospects assigned to the CEO

Corporate Philanthropy and Cause Marketing

• Lead cultivation, sales, and stewardship for all events via sponsorships and in-kind support
• Identify cause-marketing program and lock up with established companies with solid brand recognition and reach
• Employ a sustainable corporate service day program, vet companies, and co-execute on meaningful sessions
• Conceptualize and produce corporate engagement and appreciation events, such as special Motivations, receptions at offices of corporate supporters, and Motivations Roadshow

Institutional Relationship Management

• Support Director of Advancement to ensure that Cara Collective delivers high quality proposals and reports to foundation, corporate, and government funders with an eye to developing multi-faceted relationships with institutional funders
• Strategize foundation and corporate requests and conceptualize proposal language with the Director of Advancement prior to proposal submission as needed

Committees and Affinity Groups

• Lead Nominating Committee and Fundraising Committee activities
• Attend to needs and requests of Board of Directors

• Supervise Senior Engagement Officer who manages relationships with affinity groups and volunteers

• Build upon current strategy for Associate Board, Executive Council, and Ambassadors alongside Senior Engagement Officer
• Represent Cara Collective at non-profit and donor community events

Special Events

• Responsible for oversight of the top-level aspects of five large fundraisers annually
• Supervise Senior Events Producer who manages relationships with external and internal parties and produces quality events
• Guide strategic planning for events and collaborate with Senior Events Producer to develop innovative strategies to expand net proceeds at events and elevate attendee experience

• Provide influential voice and best practices to event committees alongside Senior Events Producer

• Support Senior Events Producer by reviewing project plan, collaborating with finance to ensure adherence to budget, reviewing contracts, etc.

 Marketing & Communications

• Supervise and support Marketing & Communications Director
• Alongside key leadership, create vision and strategy for enterprise-wide efforts to grow and sell brands
• Provide an editing eye in the maintenance of website and brand, as well as to new and refreshed content

 Management (20%):          

• Working with the Executive Team, monitor the financial health of the organization. Assist in preparation of  income and expense projections and financial reports related to major gifts, events and institutional fundraising
• Lead the team in the development of a written annual work plan. Track progress towards goals and make mid-course adjustments as necessary
• Follow major trends or changes in foundation giving / corporate philanthropy and position Cara to respond
• Hire, train, supervise and evaluate development department personnel and consultants, as needed
• Provide professional development opportunities and guidance to each team member to help strengthen their skill sets and job satisfaction
• Meet regularly with team members to identify priorities, discuss strategies and review ongoing projects
• Actively engage and participate in Cara Collective’s ongoing diversity, equity, and inclusion work

 Data Management (10%):

• Co-manage the internal systems and processes required for a successful fundraising program

• Ensure accurate records and donor information in Salesforce database; seek out and analyze data to inform communications and development strategy
• Allow for capacity to create and implement soft credit or solicitation credits for giving in our reporting to show the cascading philanthropy effect of those in our network
• Utilization of semi-annual reports summarizing incremental progress on the plan

 Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must demonstrate evidence of success in a previous events role. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required:

• Bachelor’s degree required
• At least 10 years of comparable experience working with foundation, corporate, and individual donors
• Five years of sponsorship solicitation experience
• Ability to write persuasively, clearly and concisely to blend information from multiple sources while maintaining a consistent message and aligning it with donors’ interests
• Meticulous record-keeping skills and a detail-oriented approach
• Experience working in a fast-paced environment while maintaining high personal standards for the quality of output
• Strong critical-thinking skills, with the ability to understand high-level strategic objectives, as well as the tactical details critical to the success of such objectives
• Ability to solve problems independently and collaboratively, exercising good judgment while balancing competing priorities
• Highly professional demeanor with the ability to work successfully with a wide array of constituents including donors, board members, volunteers, professional consultants, program staff, and other stakeholder
• Aptitude with Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint
• Ability to simultaneously manage short-term and long-term plans and goals
• Familiarity with Salesforce.com preferred, or other fundraising software
• Commitment to excellence and, most importantly, a passion for the mission and services of Cara Collective

Equal Opportunity Employer

Cara Collective is committed to creating a diverse work environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. Cara Collective does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability, parental status, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable laws. We encourage individuals of all backgrounds to apply. If you are a qualified candidate with a disability, please email us at kboelkens@carachicago.org if you require reasonable accommodation to complete this application.

Hello,

we are looking for an amazing talent to lead our Development Team at Cara Collective. Interested candidates should email their cover letter and resume directly to kboelkens@carachicago.org.

thanks,

Kristin