Senior Institutional Giving Lead/Technical Writer Job at Cara Chicago in Chicago

SENIOR INSTITUTIONAL GIVING LEAD

About Cara Collective

Cara Collective seeks to fuel a courageous national movement to eradicate relational and financial poverty. Our Mission is

to build an inclusive economy by developing employment pathways to advance transformative individual and community success. Through our four entities – Cara, 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.

We believe that there is an incredible and untapped talent pool in our country, one comprised of people often experiencing homelessness and poverty. Our job is to unlock the strengths they already have and showcase them anew to the world. Today, we take the insights gained over the past 30 years to equip other organizations and employers with practices to help build a more inclusive economy.

To ensure that we are centering our work around the individuals and communities we serve, Cara Collective commits to taking an inclusive and equitably approach in all we do: in our program design, diverse representation in our staff, partnerships we choose to enter, and our external and internal communications and policies. We leverage our individuality and differences as a way of deepening community and expanding opportunity in and around our organization.

Discover the impact we are making and explore the impressive numbers behind our success by clicking here:

About the Cara Collective’s External Affairs Department

The External Affairs Department aims to advance Cara Collective’s mission by amplifying our brand, building partnerships, attracting resources and investments, sharing proven techniques, and driving practice change.

About the Role

The Senior Institutional Giving Lead will work closely with the Director of Institutional Giving to help strategically lead and grow Cara’s portfolio of grant funded partners to raise $4M - $5M annually. The individual will focus on securing five-figure and six-figure grants. The Senior Institutional Giving Lead will initiate and maintain regular communications with active and prospective funders through in-person meetings (i.e. site visits), virtual and electronic communications, and other methods of communication such as written correspondence via letters of inquiry, formal proposals, and stewardship reports. The Senior Institutional Giving Lead will work with staff members at all levels to ensure that proposals are of the highest quality, application deadlines are met, and that grantors’ expectations are fulfilled. This includes collaboration with members of the Leadership Team to ensure prospective opportunities are advancing the priorities of the organizations’ strategic growth, with program staff to gather programmatic information to support grant applications, with finance to assist in developing budgets associated with the grant, and with the data & technology team to ensure Cara is accurately representing metrics and outcomes in communications with prospects and funders. This individual shares responsibility with the Institutional Giving team for the continued growth of annual fundraising, conceiving and implementing new strategies for growth. 

Qualifications 

We are excited to offer this opportunity for a mission-driven professional to join our team. This role is ideal for a strategic thinker passionate about fostering relationships with funders to support an organization committed to advancing racial equity and breaking the cycle of poverty. The Senior Institutional Giving Lead will focus on securing significant gifts at the five-figure and six-figure levels, building and nurturing strong relationships with donors.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
• At least five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in individual giving, major gifts, or a related field.
• Proven track record in securing five- and six-figure gifts and managing relationships with high-level donors.
• Experience with fundraising research techniques and tools.
• Exceptional written and oral communication, organizational, and project management skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and familiarity with Salesforce or other donor management systems.
• Ability to manage multiple short-term and long-term plans and goals simultaneously.
• Flexibility and adaptability in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment.
• Availability for occasional evening and weekend work for donor events.
• Commitment to Cara Collective’s mission and values, with a strong understanding of racial equity and poverty alleviation efforts.

Responsibilities

Fundraising - Grants Management & Strategy (85%) 

• Implements fundraising initiatives including identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies for foundations and corporations. 
• Manages annual grant calendar for foundation and corporate accounts and updates Salesforce regularly to track related grant activity and contacts.
• Conducts prospect/donor research and vetting for the enterprise and advises on viability of funding opportunities in alignment with Cara Collective priorities. 
• As a relationship manager and an externally facing point of contact, develops and maintains relationships with foundation and corporate donor program officers, staff, and trustees.
• Arranges site visits and meetings with donors for self or organization leaders, including but not limited to the coordination of meeting logistics. 
• Writes meeting preparation materials to prepare participants for cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship visits. 
• Writes timely and strategic correspondence that advances relationships and thus keeps prospects involved and informed of projects.
• Project manages a system to effectively engage colleagues in preparing and submitting high quality proposals. 
• Works with program, finance, and data teams to write and manage the submission of quality and accurate proposals to foundations and corporations 
• Collaborates with Cara Collective’s executive and leadership team to understand the current and future needs of each domain in order to strategically pursue opportunities that will provide adequate funding support.
• Ensures that funder objectives and grant agreements are met and fulfilled by their deadlines through coordination and completion of grant submission and stewardship logistics. 
• Ensures that gift and grant acknowledgement is done in a personalized, and expert and timely manner in collaboration with Development Specialist. 
• Attends regular meetings with Director of Institutional Giving to review prospects and deadlines, as well as to strategize on donor engagement. 
• Maintains collection of relevant research, white papers, articles, data, etc. to be utilized in proposals and other application materials. 
• Writes annual case for support, including templates for proposals, reports, LOIs, and cover letters as needed. 

 Government Grants (10%) 

• Produces grant narrative and supplementary materials, when needed, for government grant opportunities. 
• Partners with Contract and Compliance to assess alignment with potential new public grants. 
• Prospects and evaluates public funding opportunities and partners with Contract and Compliance to assess alignment with potential grants. 

 Special Events / General (5%) 

• Supports the Development Team in promoting and executing all special events.
• Participates in office-wide endeavors such as All-staff meetings, town halls, team retreats, orientation, ad hoc working groups, and other similar activities. 

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of the work being performed by people assigned to this job. They are not an exhaustive list of all duties and responsibilities associated with it. 

Reports To

Director of Institutional Giving

Workplace Type & Team Culture

Cara Collective has a strong team culture that values collaboration, communication, and camaraderie. We believe in the power of working together in person, which is why we expect our employees to be onsite at one of our Chicago-based locations multiple days each week. The exact number of onsite days per week may vary by role, employee tenure, and other factors. This commitment to in-person collaboration fosters a sense of belonging and teamwork among our employees, creating a supportive and dynamic work environment.

We consistently measure staff satisfaction through employee surveys and have found that year over year, the vast majority of staff agree that Cara Collective is a great place to work and grow. This high level of employee satisfaction reflects our dedication to creating a positive and fulfilling workplace for all members of our team.

Starting Pay Range

We take budget and starting salary very seriously. We market our roles and use a salary analysis tool called Payscale and offer competitive, market-based compensation to all employees.

This position’s expected starting pay range is $71,000 - $74.000.

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.