The Children’s Foundation focuses every day on the health and well-being of children in Michigan. The Foundation is the steward of the philanthropic assets donated to Children’s Hospital of Michigan over the past 120 years. The Foundation invests in community-based organizations and solutions through grantmaking, capacity building, and partnerships while continuing to raise money to support charitable activities at the hospital. The Foundation also seeks to eliminate systemic barriers that create inequities in children’s health in our state. As of 2023, the Foundation’s total assets are $120 million, primarily made up of more than 400 unique philanthropic funds (endowed and non-endowed) created by families, foundations, companies, and community organizations who share our passion for children and have placed their trust in the Foundation as a philanthropic partner. Among the key areas of investment for the Foundation are youth mental health, health access & equity, youth development, substance use disorder, and medical research.
Primary Responsibilities Include:
- Lead the development team to set and achieve ambitious goals while developing as people and professionals.
- Oversee all fundraising activities, including individual gifts, legacy giving, corporate and foundation relations, special events, and gift processing.
- Thought partner with President & CEO to cultivate relationships and develop strategies that deepen and broaden support for the Foundation. Serve as key liaison to Board of Trustees and Board committees.
- Assess current fundraising strategies to scale best practices and efficiently allocate Foundation resources. Develop new, innovative approaches to working with donors seeking to realize the power philanthropy has to make a positive impact on the lives of children.
- Oversee donor database, prospect research, fundraising reporting, and gift processing, to ensure Foundation is an effective fundraising operation and compliant with all policies and procedures.
- Serve as critical member of the Foundation’s Executive Team. Work across departments to ensure alignment of fundraising priorities with other functions at the foundation (impact, communications, operations, people). Help nurture organizational culture that is inclusive, innovative, and fun.
Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Include: The ideal candidate has 10 or more years of relevant experience.
- Deep commitment to the Foundation’s mission and vision and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Relevant business development experience. Ability to build authentic relationships based on trust with diverse audiences. A successful track-record of major gift fundraising and/or experience working with high-net-worth individuals and families.
- Excellent communication skills to effectively listen and lead others in a positive way.
- Ability to think strategically and plan tactically. High-level of emotional intelligence, discretion, and problem-solving ability.
- A hands-on, seasoned, collaborative leader who has integrity, a service orientation, strong communication skills, exceptional attention to detail & project management skills, and thrives in a dynamic & entrepreneurial environment.
- Experience serving as a trusted advisor to the CEO, Executive Team, and Board of a multi-departmental organization.
- Strong analytical skills and experience operationalizing a strategic vision.
- Exceptional people management skills; experience in building, retaining, mentoring, and motivating strong teams to meet goals.
- Experience with CRM systems and databases.
- Other duties as assigned.
If you are interested, please submit your resume and a short statement of interest to hr@yourchildrensfoundation.org.
The Children’s Foundation is proud of its diverse workplace and is an E.E.O employer. The Children’s Foundation provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.