Director of Foundation Relations

Director of Foundation Relations | FamilyAid | Boston, MA (Hybrid)

About FamilyAid

FamilyAid is the leading provider of solutions to family homelessness in the region. Its mission is to empower parents and caregivers facing homelessness to secure and sustain housing and build strong foundations for their children's futures.

FamilyAid prevents homelessness whenever possible by carrying out a nationally ranked eviction-prevention program; reducing harm through effective emergency shelter if homelessness cannot be avoided; getting families stably housed as quickly as possible when they are in shelter; mitigating trauma, especially for children; and providing wraparound supports for children and parents that foster long-term stability. This approach works: families in their care make significant progress towards self-sufficiency within months; with a 99% retention rate for those placed in housing – far outperforming national averages. Most importantly, parents report that they and their children move from in crisis to empowered along measures such as economic assets, healthcare and education during their time at FamilyAid.

Under new executive leadership over the last five years, the hundred-plus year-old agency has quadrupled in size and experienced significant growth in fundraising revenue. The organization has launched bold new strategies to reduce two-generation homelessness by deepening prevention programs, housing placement, and supportive services for children and parents. FamilyAid is on the verge of opening a new, innovative Family Navigation Center (FNC) to provide education, training and services along with temporary housing all under one roof for 42 homeless families. The FNC Center is a response to the current family homelessness crisis and realization of the agency's strategic vision. It also attracted $4M in support additional to the annual fund in a one-year capital fundraising campaign. Significant new funding powers FamilyAid's ambitious goals of serving more families through a deepened two-generation approach that reduces homelessness's cause, scope, and impact.

About Philanthropy at FamilyAid

Philanthropy is a critical, integral and increasing facet of the organization's operations and success. With a strong donor base, robust relationships with organizational funders, and a growing list of promising new prospects to engage and cultivate, FamilyAid is committed to expanding its private philanthropy program and has made a significant investment to expand fundraising resources, with support from the Board and executive leadership.

FamilyAid is committed to and proud of its strong relationships with donors and funders and is supported by numerous leading foundations and a core group of dedicated individual and corporate donors. The agency received a surprise $5M gift from Jeff Bezos' Day One Fund in 2019 and giving from foundations regularly includes several six-figure gifts. This is an opportunity to lead and grow a high-performing foundation program, introduce new funders to the organization, and benefit from a vibrant culture of philanthropy where fundraising is highly valued and supported by the board, executive team, and program staff.

About the Position

Reporting to the Chief Advancement Officer (CAO) and in collaboration with the President, the Director of Foundation Relations will be responsible for setting the strategic direction of the fundraising plan as it relates to foundation giving as part of the overall development plan for annual and special gifts. The Director will be the primary point of contact for foundation philanthropy and is responsible for staying current with trends in fundraising and foundation relations. As part of a three-person senior development team member reporting to the CAO, this person will oversee efforts to sustain and maximize funding from current foundations and proactively seek new funding opportunities; cultivate relationships with foundation officers; manage a grant writer; and monitor compliance with gift designations, reporting, and administration. The Director will work with an established portfolio of donors to sustain the impressive level of foundation support achieved in recent years and aim to attract new support, including from national funders over time.

This position will play a critical role on FamilyAid's development team which is responsible for raising approximately 25% of the operating budget, which was $21M in FY23. The Director of Foundation Relations will supervise two additional staff members (1 full-time; 1 quarter time). Their work will support general operations, as well as special projects such as the aforementioned FNC special gifts campaign. The Director of Foundation Relations will be an exceptional writer, a highly skilled communicator, a critical and creative thinker and a strategic relationship builder. This position requires a deadline-driven, detail-oriented, highly organized development professional who shares FamilyAid's values in helping homeless families secure and sustain housing.

Key Responsibilities

Fundraising

• Work closely with the President and Chief Advancement Officer to set annual funding goals and strategy.

• In alignment with that strategy, develop an annual foundation solicitation plan, including sustaining and building relationships with current funders, as well as identifying and qualifying new funding opportunities.

• Craft program narratives and budgets in consultation with program, evaluation, and finance staff.

• Write, review, and submit grants and lead grant reporting.

• Effectively cultivate and steward foundation relationships.

• Coordinate with finance and development operations teams on grant agreements and fund restrictions.

• Effectively cultivate and steward foundation relationships.

• Manage the work of a grant writer and provide consistent weekly supervision.

• Ensure fiscal accountability as it relates to foundation work.

Leadership

• As a member of the senior team, follow and model all FamilyAid values.

• Lead and facilitate cooperative and collaborative working relationships with all FamilyAid departments, programs, and external funding partners.

• Work closely with all programs/departments to ensure FamilyAid follows all personnel regulatory and legal requirements and best practices in driving an engaged, motivated workforce.

• Provide highly visible, front-line leadership and participation in agency activities, including but not limited to general staff meetings, appropriate management meetings and agency celebrations, and commemorations.

Key Qualifications

• A minimum of 7 years of development, campaign, or comparable grant writing experience.

• A demonstrated track record of success in generating significant grant revenue (6-figures and above) from foundations.

• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills.

• Ability to meet deadlines, plan, and balance multiple competing priorities.

• Ability to work with and relate to diverse groups of individuals in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial team environment.

• Ability to craft coherent, organized, and compelling proposals and reports.

• Ability to distill complicated topics into accessible, persuasive language and copy.

• Supervisory or management experience, preferred.

• Experience with Donor Perfect and/or other fundraising databases and Microsoft Office.

•A strong commitment to FamilyAid's mission to end family homelessness.

FamilyAid is committed to a policy of equal employment opportunity without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, disability, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or age.

To express interest, please submit your cover letter and resume in confidence here.

For more information, please visit www.developmentguild.com.

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