Director of Institutional Giving

February 2025 | Hybrid / New York, NY
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Children’s Aid seeks a Director of Institutional Giving to lead and manage a comprehensive institutional giving program.

About Children’s Aid

Children’s Aid works to end generational poverty. Since their founding in 1853, they have been anchored in the knowledge that poverty cannot be overcome with a single service delivered at a single point in time. Reaching nearly 50,000 children and families each year, Children’s Aid provides comprehensive supports to those living in the most under-resourced neighborhoods in New York City. The issues are complex, but as one of New York City’s largest and most innovative child-focused nonprofits, Children’s Aid mission is simple: to help children living in poverty succeed and thrive.

Children’s Aid is a professional powerhouse of solutions for young people. They are teachers and social workers, coaches and health care providers. They know what it takes to ensure children grow up strong and healthy, and ready to thrive in school and life: excellent education and health care, social-emotional support, and strong, stable families. Thus, the myriad of programs offered by Children’s Aid focus on these areas.

• Academic and Social-Emotional – Education neither begins nor ends within the walls of a classroom. Young people have the best chance to rise above the barriers of poverty when they succeed academically. Children’s Aid has built a foundation of supports designed to position children and youth to achieve in school. Programs in this area include early childhood programs; school-day, after-school, and summer programs; initiatives that combat chronic absenteeism; and college and career readiness programs.
• Health and Wellness – Strong, healthy children and youth thrive—in school and life. For children and youth to focus on their education, they need to grow up strong and healthy. All of the health and nutrition programs offered by Children’s Aid are designed to permeate family life and are tailored to address the whole body and all aspects of behavioral wellness. Programs in this area include medical, behavioral, and dental healthcare; teen pregnancy prevention; fitness and recreation; and nutrition programs.

• Family and Community – Young people excel with strong families and communities behind them. Not only does Children’s Aid offer children the chance to succeed in school and in life, but they also provide parents and guardians with the tools that they need to strengthen their families and advocate for themselves and their communities. Programs in this area include youth leadership and advocacy programs; family supports; foster care and prevention services; and community building.

Last fiscal year, Children’s Aid began executing a three-year strategic plan. With goal areas of Integration, Community, Operational Excellence, and Team, Children’s Aid will invest in staff, strengthen community partnerships, and create seamless access to critical services for children and families. The plan illustrates Children’s Aid’s continued dedication to building brighter futures, ensuring Children’s Aid youth outpace the peers on academic milestones, have consistent quality access to health care, and grow up in safe and stable homes.

About the Opportunity

Children’s Aid raises $20M – $25M each year from private philanthropy, representing approximately 15% of the organization’s operating budget. This revenue is generated through a comprehensive development program that includes major gifts, direct mail, corporate and foundation giving, and events.

The Director of Institutional Giving is responsible for the implementation and management of a well-coordinated, comprehensive strategy for cultivating and soliciting $12+ million in private grant support annually from foundations (including corporate foundations) in support of Children’s Aid’s mission. Children’s Aid is well respected in the New York funder community, with a track record of securing funding from prominent foundations including Robin Hood, The New York Times, The Clark Foundation, the Doris Duke Foundation, and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.

Reporting to the Chief Development Officer, the Director is a member of the development department’s senior leadership team and will manage a team of four grant writers. The position works closely with the Director of Public Funding to foster consistency, alignment and synergy between public and private grant requests and leverage content expertise. This position also promotes cross-collaboration in the interest of corporate engagement. Additionally, the Director works in close partnership with agency and programmatic leadership to ensure an understanding of programmatic operations, innovations, and funding needs. The Director will also analyze divisional programs and budgets and works in close coordination with the Fiscal department, especially around agency budgets.

Key Responsibilities

Organizational Advancement

• Develop, implement and evaluate the Department’s annual action plan that focuses on maintaining, expanding and enhancing institutional and corporate foundation partnerships in support of a cross-section of agency programs, special projects, and capital support, when applicable
• Drive then support executive leadership with outreach and engagement strategies to maintain and increase grant revenue, inclusive of funder priorities, histories and alignment in interests; provide regular reports and updates to the Chief Development Officer and other executive staff
• Ensure strategic alignment through collaboration with other departments by:
  • Working in close partnership with program leadership to ensure an understanding of programmatic innovations and funding needs and to communicate that information to a funding audience
  • Partnering with the Fiscal department and divisional budget directors in the agency’s annual budget process
  • Working with the Policy and Performance Management teams to uncover data relevant to funding opportunities
  • Delegating and overseeing a close relationship with the Marketing/Communications team to develop materials and promote social media opportunities
• Ensure strong consistency and alignment in messaging and approach
• Engage in cross collaboration with the Public Funding and larger Development team to strategize around funding gaps and opportunities resulting from public contracts, understand policy implications on programming and services, and coordinate and leverage written content
• Collaborate and execute strategy in coordination with Development’s Corporate team to maximize impact and partnership with corporate foundations
• Support and strengthen agency programs through opportunities for public-private partnerships based on programmatic needs, budget analysis, and funder priorities
• Understand and promote the organization’s Mission, Vision, and Core Values to ensure alignment with organizational policies and procedures

Donor Stewardship and Grant Management

• Ensure close collaboration between Development and other internal departments to create informed proposals responsive to programmatic needs, direction and capacity, and ensure accuracy and consistency with organizational priorities and communications standards
• Work with divisional budget directors and fiscal staff to ensure proper classification and designation of grants, monitor use of funds, and ensure high level of communication and accurate reporting on all project budgets
• Actively maintain existing funding and seek new sources of support by leading the identification, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of relations with private and corporate foundations, with a focus on the agency’s identified priority areas
• Promote ongoing stewardship with funders through customized communication and the distribution of publications including annual reports, newsletters, and event invitations; guide staff in proactively identifying cultivation opportunities among funders in respective portfolios
• Field incoming inquiries from prospective partners and manage a pipeline of both prospective and active funders; serve as primary contact for funding representatives
• Arrange and conduct site visits and ensure timely, accurate and strategic follow-up with funders and prospective supporters
• Lead and direct grant writing staff in prospect research, proposal writing, grant reporting, and targeted donor correspondence and outreach
• Monitor the grant life-cycle and manage the workflow of grant writers to respond to the balance of deadlines, and ensure efficient submission and follow-up
• Oversee the utilization of the Raiser’s Edge database for relationship management, including tracking grants received, reports due, proposals pending, and new prospects
• Track industry best practices, relevant industry articles and newsworthy information (e.g., Chronicle of Philanthropy) and attend informational meetings as required by funders and potential funders

Key Qualifications

• A minimum of five to seven years of successful, results-oriented experience in proposal writing for nonprofit organizations
• Demonstrated success in identifying, developing, and stewarding relationships and securing funding from private grant resources such as foundations and corporate foundations
• Excellent writing and editing skills and demonstrated ability in grant and proposal writing at appropriate levels for varied proposal development
• Strong and demonstrated supervisory and team-building experience
• Ability to work with program staff to develop an idea into a concrete proposal for funding, including a clear statement of need, program goals and outcomes, evaluation methods and budgets
• Excellent organizational, interpersonal, presentation, and networking skills with large groups of people as well as with individuals; must work well as a supervisor, independently and as a team member
• Strong project manager with the ability to succeed in a deadline-driven environment and handle multiple priorities with professionalism and grace
• Strong fiscal acumen
• Strong attention to detail
• Knowledge of Development software (Raiser’s Edge preferred), Proficiency in Microsoft Office
• Strong commitment to helping children in poverty succeed and thrive

Compensation

Children’s Aid offers eligible employees a comprehensive benefit package including medical, dental and vision coverage, paid time off, retirement savings plans, and more. This position has a hybrid work schedule including three days each week at Children’s Aid’s headquarters and sites. Compensation for this role is $140,000-$145,000.

All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

If you are interested in being considered for this search, please use the form below to submit your cover letter and resume in confidence.

Mary Plum

Senior Consultant

Development Guild