Foundation Executive Director

The Merage Foundations are a consortium of four private family foundations representing multiple generations of David and Laura Merage’s family. While each foundation is tackling unique, tough societal problems, they share a common entrepreneurial culture and results oriented business orientation. The Executive Director will embody this spirit and be a proven mission driven leader, with a deep commitment to social impact, and bold sense of purpose and possibility.

The Foundations believe in the unique power of venture philanthropy. By investing in new, sometimes unproven initiatives, the Foundations embrace the unknown and creatively overcomes challenges to achieve ambitiously impactful results. The Merage family is highly engaged in their philanthropic endeavors and takes a hands-on, solutions focused approach to social impact grantmaking. The Foundations have a natural blending of business practices and social impact given their co-location in David Merage’s business Consolidated Investment Group. There is extensive cooperation, collaboration, and sharing of services between the organizations, the Executive Director will confidently navigate between for-profit and non-profit sectors.

The Executive Director will be an experienced, creative problem solver who will partner with family leadership to execute their social impact vision through the development of effective, innovative, and fiscally sound strategies, which may include traditional charitable giving, long-term capital grants, public- private partnerships, and Program Related Investments.

The Executive Director will be committed to the major areas of the Foundation’s focus, including:

• Early care and education with specific focus on advancing Child Care access, quality, and affordability. A signature initiative and key responsibility of the Executive Director is the national scaling of Early Learning Ventures, a groundbreaking childcare shared services organization founded by the David and Laura Merage
• Long term capital grants
• Contemporary Arts
• Jewish Life

Role & Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• In conjunction with the Board Chair develop the Foundation’s strategic plan with long-term goals and annual targets and provide leadership in articulating and implementing the
• Provide strategic guidance and direction for the national scaling of Early Learning Ventures; work to accelerate their growth trajectory and increase the number of childcare providers and the children in their care who benefit from their
• Oversee efforts to ensure the Merage social impact legacy is broadly known in society and deeply known to their family. This effort will include the research and execution of major legacy grants that optimize the Foundations’ resources and maximize social
• Be knowledgeable about community and national issues and trends that have impact on the work of the Foundation and share this knowledge with the Board as
• Work closely with the Board of Directors on planning for the long-term future of the Foundations. Create and execute long-term education strategies for the 4th generation of the Merage family.

Finance and Operations

• Responsible for managing the finances of the Foundations. This responsibility includes working with the accounting team to prepare annual budgets, reviewing monthly/quarterly cash flow reports and balance sheets, regular tracking and reporting on the financial health of the organization, ensure responsible reporting of the organization’s financial activities and investment performance to its Board. Work closely with CIG investment team to be aware of investment strategies and return of the foundation’s
• Provide oversight for all grantmaking activities. This includes executing grantmaking strategies, overseeing proposal intake, review, financial analysis, and staff comments, grant evaluation and interim reports, creation and execution of grant agreements, site visits and program assistance to grantees, accurate and timely distribution of authorized grant funds, special project development and implementation, and preparing materials for the Board materials (four meetings per year), annual board retreat and any other board meetings or
• Maintain collaborative, effective working relationship with the business office.
• Ensure compliance with IRS Private Family Foundation rules and regulations, and other relevant tax laws, and oversee the creation of grant and vendor contracts
• Responsible for hiring and providing leadership to the associates, ensuring they are properly selected, supported, and guided in their professional development, and with the goal of maintaining a cooperative and professional working relationship with associates of the business office and contracted employees and Foundation

Public Relations and Communications

• Serve as the primary voice and representative of the Foundations and be knowledgeable about and involved in the philanthropic and non-profit communities in the key funding areas of the
• Responsible, for the development and execution of annual public relations and website activities as sell as overseeing content development and editorial function for all communications, and ensure messaging is clear, consistent, and reinforces the legacy of the Foundation.

Candidate Profile

• A confident and competent decision-maker and strategic thinker with ability to envision bold outcomes while also being a strategic
• Expect excellence from the management and staff
• This position requires hard work and dedication to the
• A trailblazer who stays ahead of the curve on management trends, technology, and business practices, and serves as a resource to the entire organization to optimize
• A leader who can operationalize the family’s social impact goals with bold, creative, efficient, and effective
• Someone who has a wide circle of influence and can gain the trust and cooperation of others-- at all levels of business and government.
• A passionate and charismatic leader who can effectively advocate for the social impact priorities of the Foundation and is committed to changing hearts and
• Knowledge of Private Family Foundation principals and
• Commitment to Early Childhood Education, with ideally leadership experience in advocacy, and innovation the ECE
• Minimum bachelor’s degree or equivalent in Business Management or related degree, MBA degree

Travel Requirements: Travel 10-20%