Chief Philantrophy Officer

About Cara Collective

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

 At present, we produce 1,000 jobs each year, at one-year retention rates for their permanent placements over 20 points higher than national norms, and with more than 80% of employed participants moving on to permanent housing in which their families can thrive. 

Our results don’t just end with employment. We also maintain market-competitive businesses that create gateway jobs for those they serve, and produce a profound social return on investment, where for every dollar invested in this work, $5.97 is re-invested in society over a five-year time horizon. The work is important not only because of its clear goal of bringing individuals in need back to the dignity and the productivity of employment, but because of its clear mission to transform people’s lives. Families become stronger, relationships are healed, and communities become more vibrant because nothing gives you a positive outlook on life like a job. 

Today, we take the insights gained over the last three decades to not only serve a growing number of jobseekers locally, but also to equip other nonprofits and companies nationally with the tools and practices to build a more inclusive economy. Our hope is that as more jobseekers get back to work, and more employers realize the value of this untapped workforce, we will not only shift the narrative of what talent looks like in our country, we will also ensure thousands more families realize the lasting power of hope, jobs, and opportunity.  

Learn more at www.caracollective.org.

About the Role

The Chief Philanthropy Officer serves as a member of the executive management team and is the lead curator of donor experiences at Cara Collective. Leading with equity, the Chief Philanthropy Officer is responsible for developing and implementing a comprehensive donor relations strategy to maximize fundraising from institutional partners, events and individual donors, while building a culture of philanthropy across the enterprise

Reports to

President & CEO

Outcomes

The Chief Philanthropy Officer takes primary responsibility for the enterprise’s goal of $6M in private revenue through several key areas of fundraising: individual relationship development with major gift donors, event strategy and execution 4 large events annually), and foundation and corporate grants. The role also oversees the marketing and communications of the enterprise alongside key leadership. 

Responsibilities

The essential activities described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the job.

Fundraising Development, Marketing, and Communications (70%)

Individual Donor Relationships and Major Gifts

• Cultivate portfolio of high-level donors
• Develop successful cultivation and solicitation strategies to direct and monitor the progress of donor relationships, utilizing moves management model
• Advance individual donor relationships by planning and executing site visits and small donor cultivation events for those assigned to the portfolio
• Identify donors’ philanthropic interests and provide them with an opportunity to realize an outstanding philanthropic experience through their charitable investment of time, treasure and talent in support of Cara Collective
• Assist with logistics for site visits by major gift prospects assigned to the CEO

Institutional Relationship Management

• Supervise and support Director of Development to ensure that Cara Collective delivers high quality proposals and reports to foundation, corporate, and government funders with an eye to developing multi-faceted relationships with institutional funders
• Strategize foundation and corporate requests and conceptualize proposal language with the Director of Development prior to proposal submission as needed

Committees and Affinity Groups

• Lead Nominating Committee and Fundraising Committee activities
• Attend to needs and requests of Board of Directors
• Represent Cara Collective at nonprofit and donor community events

• Supervise and support Senior Engagement Officer who manages relationships with affinity groups, volunteers, and corporate partners

Special Events

• Oversees he top-level aspects of four large fundraisers annually
• Lead cultivation, sales, and stewardship for all events via sponsorships and in-kind support
• Supervise and support Senior Events Producer who manages relationships with external and internal parties to produce quality revenue generating events
• Guide strategic planning for events and collaborate with Senior Events Producer to develop innovative strategies to expand net proceeds at events and elevate attendee experience

• Provide influential voice and best practices to event committees alongside Senior Events Producer

Marketing & Communications

• Supervise and support Director of Marketing & Communications
• Alongside key leadership, create vision and strategy for enterprise-wide efforts to grow and sell our four entities
• Provide an editing eye to the overall brand, as well as to new and refreshed content, as needed

Management (20%):          

• Working with the Executive Team, monitor the financial health of the organization. Assist in preparation of  income and expense projections and financial reports related to major gifts, events and institutional fundraising
• Hire, train, supervise and evaluate Development Department personnel and consultants
• Meet regularly with team members to identify priorities, discuss strategies and review ongoing projects
• Lead the team in the development of a written annual work plan. Track progress towards goals and make mid-course adjustments as necessary
• Follow major trends and changes in philanthropic giving and engagement and position Cara Collective to respond
• Provide professional development opportunities and guidance to team members to help strengthen their skill sets and job satisfaction
• Actively engage and participate in Cara Collective’s ongoing diversity, equity, and inclusion work

Data Management (10%):

• Co-manage the internal systems and processes required for a successful fundraising program

• Ensure accurate records and donor information in Salesforce database; seek out and analyze data to inform development and communications strategy
• Utilize solicitation credits for giving in our reporting to show the cascading philanthropy effect of those in our network
• Deliver metrics-driven reports summarizing progress on fundraising strategy

Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must demonstrate evidence of success in a previous events role. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required:

• Bachelor’s degree required
• At least 10 years of comparable experience working with foundation, corporate, and individual donors
• Five years of sponsorship solicitation experience
• Ability to write persuasively, clearly and concisely to blend information from multiple sources while maintaining a consistent message and aligning it with donors’ interests
• Meticulous record-keeping skills and a detail-oriented approach
• Experience working in a fast-paced environment while maintaining high personal standards for the quality of output
• Strong critical-thinking skills, with the ability to understand high-level strategic objectives, as well as the tactical details critical to the success of such objectives
• Ability to solve problems independently and collaboratively, exercising good judgment while balancing competing priorities
• Highly professional demeanor with the ability to work successfully with a wide array of constituents including donors, board members, volunteers, professional consultants, program staff, and other stakeholders
• Aptitude with Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint
• Ability to simultaneously manage short-term and long-term plans and goals
• Familiarity with Salesforce preferred, or other fundraising software
• Commitment to excellence and, most importantly, a passion for the mission and services of Cara Collective

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.