Manager, Institutional Giving

About the Role

Good Reason Houston is in the midst of a multi-year plan to increase the number of students learning in high-performing schools, which will require raising significant private investments from local and national sources. Good Reason Houston is seeking a Manager of Institutional Giving who is results-oriented, passionate about fundraising, and excited about working in a start-up environment to improve education for all children across Houston. The Manager of Institutional Giving, a key member of the Advancement Team, will be responsible for maintaining and growing a portfolio of foundation and corporate donors by implementing strategies for the identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of prospects. The Manager of Institutional Giving will collaborate with the advancement, program, and communications teams to craft proposals, donor engagement activities and stewardship reports. This role reports to the Managing Director of Strategic Philanthropy. 

Primary Responsibilities

Portfolio Management (80%)

• Develop and launch a multi-year strategy for ambitiously increasing the size and number of foundation and corporate gifts to Good Reason Houston
• Grow a portfolio of foundation and corporate donors by identifying, researching and qualifying prospects
• Set strategy and execute action plan to cultivate, solicit and steward corporate and foundation donors, primarily through presentation and meeting material creation, proposal and report development, writing, and solicitation
• Develop, implement, and execute donor engagement plans, including meetings, events, and correspondence, leveraging CEO, Managing Director of External Partnerships, and senior leadership team members as appropriate
• Support the CEO and Managing Director of External Partnerships by conducting research on major foundation and corporate prospects, preparing briefing materials and proposals, and ensuring prompt follow-up to close gifts
• Prepare the CEO and Managing Director of External Partnerships to take meetings, and personally take meetings, with foundation and corporate representatives in your portfolio
• Oversee stewardship of a high-quality donor experience through correspondence, donor engagement, professional proposals, mailings and acknowledgments
• Collaborate with the Advancement and Public Affairs teams to implement donor cultivation and stewardship events

Development Operations (20%)

• Efficiently track and monitor communications, actions, events, and commitments in the database for donors in the portfolio
• Develop and maintain systems to communicate progress to goals and strategies
• Be an active participant in a team-based advancement department and provide additional assistance to other staff members when possible

Perform other duties as assigned.

Our Team

Along with our team’s core beliefs, the team traits listed below were generated by the team to capture what it looks like in action when our team is operating at our best.

We embrace and drive change.

We are flexible and fierce.

We operate with a bold bias toward action.

We fess up when we mess up.

We dare greatly and engage humbly. 

We grow as we go.

We turn up the love when we turn up the heat.

We root for each other.

Our team traits shape our organizational culture and provide a shared set of expectations and language. We believe that operating in alignment with these traits makes us better positioned to meet our goals, build trust, and maintain an open work environment across all members of the team

Qualifications & Key Attributes 

• Bachelor’s degree required
• Minimum 3-5 years of professional work experience required, with nonprofit fundraising experience highly preferred
• A track record of developing and maintaining strong relationships with and among a diverse group of stakeholders
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills, including attention to clarity, persuasiveness, nuance, and tone
• High level of initiative, creativity and energy
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team, under deadlines, without close supervision; self-direction in the initiation, coordination and completion of tasks, acute attention to detail is essential
• Knowledge of industry standards, current trends, and best practices
• Experience using donor database, such as eTapestry, Blackbaud, Salesforce, etc., highly preferred
• Excellent organizational skills, with a demonstrated commitment to meeting a high bar and a history of getting things done even in the face of obstacles and ambiguity
• Experience managing multiple projects and ability to manage teammates, volunteers, and stakeholders on short-term projects
• Ability to be flexible and adaptable in changing environment
• Passion about Good Reason Houston’s mission and how this position contributes to the organization’s success

The Ideal Candidate:

• Comfortable in an entrepreneurial environment and thrives on being a team-player
• Self-starter who is driven by results
• Strategic thinker who can develop new ideas, follow through on responsibilities, and always be prepared
• Great communicator and writer with demonstrated ability to compel individuals to action
• Able to independently organize, prioritize, track and manage time bound projects
• Have exceptional attention to detail and a high bar for quality

Working at Good Reason Houston

Good Reason Houston offers a competitive salary with a 401(k) (with automatic 3% employer contribution), life, medical, dental and vision insurance packages. Each employee accrues 35 paid time off days per calendar year in addition to the 19 paid holidays per year. Good Reason Houston is an office-based organization, but allows for virtual work on Mondays and Fridays.