Foundation Relations Manager

Headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Focus on the Family has nearly 700 employees who work to achieve the mission of enriching the lives of families, engaging the culture, advocating for life and spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The work is meaningful, the culture is rewarding, and the purpose is eternal.

The Foundation Relations Manager position exists to plan, direct, and implement Focus on the Family’s strategy to solicit and secure funding from institutional foundations and to collaborate with Family Advancement Representatives to solicit and secure funding from family foundations. On an annual basis, the Foundation Relations Manager will be responsible for raising or exceeding the target income from institutional donors, as well as developing a new prospect pool of donors through strategic cultivation and solicitation strategies. Collaborating with the Communications and Strategy Manager, Finance, and program owners across the ministry, the Foundation Relations Manager is responsible to manage all aspects of the foundations process and provide necessary resources and communication to internal team members to support their development efforts with their donors’ family foundations. The Foundation Relations Manager must be intrinsically self-motivated and highly-organized, and have excellent written and oral communication skills. This position will require independent working ability and prioritization of a large number of tasks to ensure deadlines are met, while consistently delivering a high-quality product.

Essential Duties/Responsibilities:

• Manages all the details, deadlines and timelines for foundation communications, ensuring all deadlines are met with Focus on the Family’s quality standard of service
• Researches and prospects potential new institutional foundation funding priorities that match with Focus’s key mission initiatives to grow the revenue of the foundations department
• Develops and implements internal systems for preparing letters of intent, proposals, and status reports
• Provides Family Advancement Reps with proactive and reactive foundation research, qualifying giving potential, offering support and follow up, consultation and accountability as they proceed through the various stages leading to the solicitation of funding from foundations
• Participates in and executes a thorough editing process for all documents prepared for an external audience, in accordance with Focus on the Family’s quality standards
• Uses in-house software to document research, communications, letters of inquiry, proposals, status reports, grant submission due dates, types of programs the foundation funds, board/trustee member names and biographical information, and other necessary data related to foundation management
• Fosters an atmosphere of teamwork by anticipating needs of colleagues, providing all necessary information for the assigned task
• Engages foundation staff on a regular basis to include inquiries, research, and thank you calls.Serves as their liaison and advocate at FOF
• Meets or exceeds all scorecard metrics; modifies/adapts strategy as necessary to ensure goals are attained. Presents results at trimester meetings with senior leadership
  
  

Other Duties/Responsibilities:

• Performs other duties as assigned
  
  

Managerial Breadth/Scope of Job:

• Managing systems, processes, people, deadlines and quality of work produced and distributed to constituents
  
  

Working Environment/Physical Requirements:

• Office environment
• This role may require occasional travel including nights and weekends
  
  

Job Qualifications/Requirements

Character/Spiritual:

Exemplifies Ephesians 5:1-2, “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children and walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us...”

Pursues the Great Commission given by Jesus Christ in Matthew 28:19-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Is a consistent witness for Jesus Christ; maintains a courteous, Christ-like attitude in dealing with people within and outside of Focus; adheres to the Standard of Moral Conduct and Statement of Faith; upholds Focus on the Family's ministry in prayer

Prays personally for Focus on the Family’s staff and constituents and may occasionally lead in a public prayer

Engages in Christian ministry

Demonstrates behaviors aligned with FOF core values

This role is considered a Spokesperson for Focus on the Family and should represent Focus’ position and tone at all times

Personal Characteristics:

• Exhibits integrity in professional and personal life in accordance with biblical standards
• Self-motivated; Proactive; Articulate; Relational; Personable; Reliable; Flexible; Detail-oriented; Organized; Approachable; Confident
  
  

Knowledge/Experience:

• Bachelor's Degree in related field preferred
• 2-5 years of experience in foundation fundraising preferred
• Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel and Windows database management tools
• Administrative experience; enjoys developing and maintaining systems
• Salesforce experience preferred
  
  

Skills, Abilities, and Special Talents/Gifts:

• Highly polished written and verbal communication and social skills; clarity of expression, good organization of thoughts, and effective articulation
• High level of energy and enthusiasm; must be bright and friendly, conveying warmth and genuine interest in people
• Convincing, persuasive and credible; able to impress favorably and win long-term confidence and trust
• Skill at creating and implementing the tactical level elements of foundation fundraising
• Accuracy and an eye for detail
• Excellent organization and time management skills
• Capable of handling pressure and rejection without inappropriate disappointment
• Enjoys working with complex situations and solving problems.
• Ability to deal in fast-paced environment with shifting priorities; flexible
• Able to independently prioritize projects
• Able to meet high capacity work load and deadlines
• Able to work flexible hours and long hours when needed
• Independent self-starter
• Ability to work with limited supervision
• Proactive and creative problem solver
• Curious and tenacious in pursuit of Foundation leads and activities
• Enjoys working with people
  
  

Stewardship Requirements:

• Plans and develops annual revenue and expense budget for Foundations segment
• Discusses scorecard progress three times a year with the executive leadership team
  
  

Salary Range: $70,716 to $81,117/yr

Application Materials Required: Cover Letter, Resume/CV

• Colorado Residents: In any materials you submit, you may redact or remove any age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.
  
  

Application Materials Instructions: Please identify the job specific minimum qualifications you possess in your cover letter and be sure your resume includes any and all relevant experience to be accurately assessed against the qualifications listed in the posting. To apply, please submit the following application materials to this posting. 1. A current resume. 2. A cover letter that specifically addresses the job requirements and outlines qualifications.

Focus on the Family puts a high value on our team members and offers a unique benefit package.

Employees scheduled for 20 hours or more per week are eligible for:

• Norton LifeLock ID Theft Coverage
• Legal Shield/ID Shield Coverage
• AFLAC
• 403B Retirement Plan
• Vacation Time & Vacation Payout
• Sick Time
• Holidays
• Service Awards
• Community Service Days
• Bookstore Discount
• Fitness Center
  
  

Employees scheduled for 30 hours or more per week are eligible for all the above and:

• Medical Plan
• Dental Plan
• Vision Plan
• Life Insurance
• Disability Insurance
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• EAP (Employee Assistance Program)
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Warehouse Membership Reimbursement
  
  

Note: This is a summary and should not be construed as future promises to continue to provide benefits as outlined above. For complete and definitive language, refer to the governing plan documents.

• Temporary employees are not eligible for benefits, except for:
• Sick Time
• Bookstore Discount
• Fitness Center
  
  

Tentative Search Timeline:

• Priority will be given to applications submitted by February 21, 2025. However, this posting will remain open until filled.
• The potential employee start date is March 3, 2025.
  
  

Posting date: January 22, 2025

Unposting date: ongoing until filled

Posting contact email: job@fotf.org

Helping Families Thrive in Christ! Focus on the Family is a 501c3 Christian Non-Profit Ministry.