Director of Philanthropy

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in Canada.

📋 Description

• Develop an annual fundraising strategy and schedule in collaboration with organizational leadership.

• Design and execute initiatives aimed at achieving impact objectives and securing financial backing.

• Facilitate cross-departmental teamwork to ensure alignment of priorities and fundraising opportunities.

• Monitor and assess fundraising metrics, applying insights gained for continual improvement.

• Oversee, mentor, and provide support to the Development Coordinator.

• Ensure that fundraising practices reflect The Narwhal’s values, maintain donor privacy, and uphold editorial independence.

• Assess fundraising capabilities, pinpoint strengths and weaknesses, and outline future revenue potential.

• Create revenue forecasts and budgets for fundraising, tracking performance and reporting to the Executive Director and leadership team.

• Cultivate a diversified fundraising portfolio that includes legacy gifts, donor-advised funds, foundation contributions, and major gifts.

• Establish and nurture relationships with foundations, aligning funding priorities with The Narwhal’s mission.

• Forge new connections with foundations to enhance grant revenue.

• Lead grant development and management processes, including prospect research, project scoping, grant writing, budgeting, and reporting.

• Maintain an institutional giving pipeline and calendar, ensuring follow-up and stewardship efforts are in place.

• Develop grant-writing processes, templates, and workflows to streamline operations.

• Create strategies for the cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of major donors.

• Supervise prospect research and identify opportunities to enhance donor support.

• Assist the Executive Director in engaging donors and directly connect with donors and prospects as necessary.

• Organize and oversee strategic cultivation and stewardship events.

• Conduct research on donors and prospects, providing reporting and written correspondence as needed.

• Communicate effectively with donors, foundations, staff, and external partners through email, phone, video conference, and in-person meetings.

• Attend meetings with donors and foundations, as well as organizational meetings and special events across Canada.

⛳️ Requirements

• A minimum of 10 years of senior-level experience in direct work for a foundation or successfully fundraising from foundations and major donors for an organization with annual revenue of at least $3 million.

• Proven experience in raising funds from both individuals and foundations.

• Demonstrated success in personally cultivating, soliciting, and securing major gifts and multi-year foundation commitments, managing a portfolio of approximately $2 million+/year.

• Strong writing abilities for crafting proposals, emails, and briefing notes.

• Experience in managing, mentoring, and supporting fundraising staff and/or cross-functional teams.

• Background in building and leading effective teams through periods of organizational growth and change.

• Capability to represent an organization in high-level external contexts and build trust with a diverse range of stakeholders.

• Ability to maintain a long-term strategic vision while establishing systems necessary for delivering results.

• A proven history of writing successful grant proposals and managing grant reporting.

• Familiarity with fundraising databases and project management tools.

• Experience with Salesforce and Airtable is advantageous.

• An understanding of the significance of journalism is a plus.

• Connections with foundations and donors who have a vested interest in environmental issues are beneficial.

• CFRE certification is a valuable asset.

• Must be eligible to work in Canada.

• Regular travel within Canada is required.

• Occasional evening or weekend work may be necessary.

🏝️ Benefits

• Group health, vision, and dental benefits along with a health spending account.

• A flexible work environment that fosters a vibrant and collaborative culture.

• Work-from-home stipend or the option to work from a shared office in Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, or Toronto.

• GRSP base contributions after three months of employment.

• Four weeks of vacation annually, plus a day off for your birthday.

• 10 personal days each year.

• Organization-wide holiday shutdown.

• Opportunities for professional development and funding for growth.

• Two-month top-up program for EI-protected leaves.

• Compensation provided during the hiring process.