TEAM: Chicago-Northwest Indiana Regional Team at Teach For America

REPORTS TO: MD, Institutional Partnerships

LOCATION: Chicago, IL 

THE ROLE

Teach For America ∙ Chicago-Northwest Indiana is seeking a Director, Institutional Giving. The Director, Institutional Giving serves as the primary grant-writer for the Teach For America ∙ Chicago-Northwest Indiana Development operation. The Director will manage a portfolio of existing and lapsed annual gifts up to $100,000 across corporate and foundation funding and will oversee the grant writing for our government partnerships. The ideal candidate will have an interest in front-line fundraising as well as a passion for Teach For America’s mission and a developed, nuanced understanding of how to communicate our mission to funders, ensuring alignment in funding requests to partner motivations, our organizational theory of change, and our strategic direction. The Director, Institutional Giving is a member of the Teach For America ∙ Chicago-Northwest Indiana External Affairs team, which is responsible for fundraising and building and strengthening partnerships with the business, civic, philanthropic, and government leadership communities. The Director reports to the Managing Director, Institutional Partnerships (MD,IP).

THE ORGANIZATION

There are more than 16 million children growing up in poverty in the U.S., and less than 10 percent of them will graduate from college. These statistics are not a reflection of our children’s potential; we know that children growing up in poverty can and do achieve at the highest levels. Rather, these statistics reflect the systemic lack of access and opportunity for children in low-income communities.

Teach For America’s (TFA) mission is to find, develop, and support a diverse network of leaders committed to expanding opportunity for children from classrooms, schools, and every sector and field that shapes the broader systems in which schools operate. We are seeking individuals who align with our mission and core values and are ready to join us in this global movement.

THE PERSON

Grant-writing and Reporting (35%)

• Write high-quality proposals, progress reports, and final reports for all existing and lapsed corporate and foundation partners with the potential to contribute up to $100,000
• Set the vision and direction for each written piece, incorporate knowledge of partner motivations and barriers into writing, solicit support and information from other functional teams when writing about a new aspect of our work or when others hold information critical to ensuring the composition of a high-impact piece
• Execute proposals and reports for public grants in collaboration with the Vice President, External Affairs
• Collaborate with Managing Director, Institutional Partnerships, Vice President, External Affairs and Executive Director to set vision and direction for new and complex writing projects, then execute advanced drafts

Portfolio Management & Create and Execute an Operational Plan (30%)

• Set vision and direction, define opportunities, and develop and execute strategies for the portfolio of existing and lapsed corporate and foundation partners with capacity up to $100,000
• Regularly track progress to goal, in part by maintaining accurate partner records for the Institutional Partnerships portfolio through Salesforce
• Once progress to goal is known, conduct analysis to create and implement strategies and solutions to address gaps and ensure adequate progress is made
• Work closely with Managing Director, Institutional Partnerships, Vice President, External Affairs and Executive Director to ensure strategies are implemented, actions are taken, and portfolio progress is made
• Manage the operational systems required to manage a high volume of partner cultivation, stewardship, progress, and research to ensure efficiency, effectiveness, and alignment with all grant guidelines and deadlines
• Efficiently track all communications, actions, events, and fundraising commitments for each partner in the portfolio to ensure high renewal rates and that we meet our fundraising goals

Manage and Build Partner Stewardship and Cultivation Experiences (20%)

• Build and execute stewardship and cultivation strategy for existing and lapsed corporate and foundation partners with capacity to give up to $100,000
• Collaborate with the MD, IP to refine and enhance corporate engagement programs such that they become a key lever for investments, and build additional strategies for partner retention and upgrades
• Partner with the Coordinator, Institutional Partnerships to manage the strategy for all institutional partner engagements, meetings, and school visits
• Conduct in-depth data analysis to inform actions and strategic plans with a focus on retaining current supporters and increasing contribution level
• Build capacity to own and manage relationships with a subset of the Institutional Partnerships portfolio

Operational Support & Other Staff and Team Responsibilities (5%)

• Use TFA’s Constituent Relationship Management (CRM) System (Salesforce) to track all portfolio deadlines (proposals, reports, etc.)
• Prepare for and lead check ins with your manager around progress towards goals and your ongoing development
• Partner with the Coordinator, Institutional Partnerships to ensure we have a comprehensive database that includes accurate partner information
• Partner with the Coordinator, Institutional Partnerships to monitor, process, and acknowledge all corporate, foundation, and public grants to the region
• Support in External Affairs (XA) team initiatives including but not limited to: event support; team meetings; retreats
• Collaborate with and support XA colleagues’ work and development

Collective Responsibility Regional Projects (10%)

• Fulfill foundational responsibilities that allow our region to do our work, make decisions, grow as professionals, and strengthen our team culture, including but not limited to attending regional meetings, operating with our Core Values and commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness, completing our performance management cycle, and upholding our data management, office operations, and fiscal responsibilities
• Make a direct impact on the organizational mission of enlisting, developing and mobilizing leaders to strengthen the movement for educational equity by participating in selection (6-10 days total plus preparation and close out time), matriculation (up to six windows across the year), regional recruitment activity, member facing events (including Leadership Summits and Summer Training), our alumni giving campaign, alumni survey, and at least one regional or national committee/working group, and other initiatives that impact our members and partners

THE MUST HAVES

Prior Experience:

• 4-7+ years of professional work experience preferred; experience writing in a professional setting, especially writing grants, is strongly preferred
• Experience in an entrepreneurial environment, developing new ways of approaching problems in a logical and disciplined manner, and achieving outcomes through layers

Skills:

• Passionate about Teach For America’s mission and the role the organization plays in helping to eliminate educational inequity; believes deeply in the importance of inspiring/investing external people in our mission/work and operates with a partner- and mission-service mindset
• Ability to build relationships and influence others through stellar written communication, and an ability to understand the unique perspectives of others and create written materials and strategies aligned to those perspectives
• Exceptional ability to build and execute a project plan, manage and plan around deadlines, and adjust/evolve plans as new information becomes available
• Ability to conduct strong analysis leading to clear prioritization and understanding of opportunities/problems
• Respond to challenges from a solutions-oriented mindset, and think expansively about what is within one’s locus of control
• Able to build strong relationships with others
• Results-orientation: Driven by goals and outcomes, and driven to manage up and laterally to invest others in achieving those goals and outcomes

Work Demands:

• Ability to work in a fast-paced, partner- and mission-service oriented environment
• Ability to work evenings for occasional partner events

Education

• Bachelor’s degree required

THE TEAM

Here in Chicago-Northwest Indiana, our local vision for educational equity is that the students of today will be the leaders of tomorrow at every level in our community. These leaders will have the long-term skills, access and agency needed to lead a life of their choosing and disrupt systems of inequity. The students of today will take pride in sending their children to a school in their Chicago-Northwest Indiana community, knowing that our local community will accept nothing less than an excellent education for all students. To realize this vision, our region needs transformational schools and equitable policies to break down barriers between students and their aspirations and our region needs the disruptive innovation and public will to make these schools and policies possible.

Teach For America’s mission is to enlist, develop and mobilize our nation’s most promising future leaders to grow and strengthen the movement for educational equity and excellence. As a leadership development organization, Teach For America – Chicago-Northwest Indiana will work in partnership with others by fostering diverse and talented education leaders, igniting our community to lead together, and building an enduring organization that can sustain the fight for educational equity for the long haul. With a local member base of over 3,000, including 1,100 teachers, 90 school leaders, system level leaders, and non-profit leaders, and a staff of 35, we are positioned to work alongside the Chicago-Northwest Indiana community to ensure that the students of today become leaders of tomorrow.

THE PERKS

By joining staff, you join a network of individuals committed to pursuing equity for all students and developing themselves as professionals in the process. We as an organization value the longevity of our employees and offer a full benefit plan that has proven to be pretty competitive. The salary for this position is also competitive and depends on your prior work experience. Please be advised, you will have an opportunity to discuss salary in more detail after you begin the application process. 

WE ARE DEEPLY COMMITTED TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION

Teach For America encourages individuals of all ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds to apply for this position. We are committed to maximizing the diversity of our organization, as we want to engage all those who can contribute to this effort.

Teach For America is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all qualified individuals and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, marital status, veteran status, pregnancy, parental status, genetic information or characteristics (or those of a family member) or any other basis prohibited by applicable law.

*This job description reflects Teach For America's assignment of essential functions and qualifications of the role. Nothing in this herein restricts management's right to assign, reassign or eliminate duties and responsibilities to this role at any time.

NEXT STEPS - How to Apply:

Interested in this position? Apply now! Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find the link to the online application. If you still have questions regarding the role, feel free to contact our recruitment team at [email protected] or visit www.teachforamerica.org/about-us/careers.