Director of Institutional Giving

The James Beard Foundation (“JBF”) is a vital cultural institution with deep roots honoring and advancing the culinary arts industry. JBF’s mission is to celebrate, support, and elevate the people behind America’s food culture and champion a standard of good food anchored in talent, equity, and sustainability. As a 501(c) (3) national non-profit organization, JBF brings its mission to life through the annual James Beard Awards, industry and community-focused initiatives and programs, advocacy, partnerships, and events across the country.

The James Beard Foundation has experienced a historic year of organizational transformation and increased philanthropic support in FY23, including the launch of the silent phase of a new $15 Million campaign. As the Foundation continues to evolve to be an impact-first organization, building a culture of philanthropy and a robust Development Department are critical. Following the granting of a historic $500,000 grant to support the Foundation’s advocacy work in the food systems space, JBF is taking strategic aim at further developing a robust base of philanthropic support from foundations, government, and other institutional entities. 

The Director of Institutional Giving is a key role working within the Development Department, with a focus on campaign fundraising. Reporting to the Vice President of Development, the Director of Institutional Giving will lead the strategic effort around building out our base of institutional support, including: prospecting and management of the discovery process, pipeline reporting, proposal writing and tracking, maintaining close coordination with impact programs staff to develop opportunities for support and engagement, and effective and prompt reporting to donors. 

Responsibilities

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Responsible for the achievement of approved revenue goals for corporations, foundations and government and the management and control of related expenses. 

• Comprehensively manage the JBF’s corporate, foundation and government development programs 

• Prospect and solicit general operating, project, in-kind, and capital support. 

• Continually update Salesforce and other assets in order to maintain effective and current reporting 

• Create tailored sponsorship proposals for corporate partners and collaborate with corporations to achieve maximum return on investment. 

• Lead the development of proposals, applications, and reports to Foundations and Government entities. 

• Ensure that all sponsorships, donations and grants are acknowledged within best practices timeframes. 

• Interact with and involve CEO, COO, VP of Development, Trustees, and other partners as appropriate in solicitation, cultivation and stewardship process. 

• Identify, track, and leverage board linkages to institutional prospects and donors. 

• Serves as a senior leader of the Development team and work closely and collaboratively with other departmental leadership to ensure cohesiveness within the Department. 

• Develop and manage and effective influencer strategy to ensure strategic JBF presence and engagement with institutional giving prospects at major events, conferences, and other opportunities. 

• Perform other duties as assigned, including attendance at key JBF Development and organizational events. 

Requirements

To be effective in this role, key core competencies and personal characteristics include:

• Minimum of 7-10 years of experience in fundraising, with a track record of success in institutional giving 
• Strong proposal writing skills for a variety of funders, including traditional foundations, government, and corporate funders. Ability to understand, interpret, and synthesize complex programmatic information.
• Position requires a self-motivated individual with demonstrated ability to provide leadership for Trustees and other business executives. 
• Interest in and ability to identify new donors and interact with corporate executives. 
• Some familiarity with project grant rules and institutional funding of advocacy efforts is preferred.
• Excellent communication skills, written and verbal. 
• Proficient in Microsoft Office and donor database software. Salesforce preferred. 
• Ability to work successfully in a fast-paced environment while managing multiple assignments and priorities.
• Strong organizational skills.  Demonstrated ability to establish schedules, set priorities, and meet deadlines.  Must be able to balance and complete multiple projects and daily responsibilities.
• Must be able to communicate with key program and executive staff, and possess the capability of motivating volunteers, professional staff, and donors.  
• Exceptional interpersonal skills.  Demonstrated ability to use problem solving skills for resolving donor questions and issues.  Demonstrated businesslike manner and ability to function efficiently in a busy work environment.
• Track record working successfully in teams representing a rich mix of talent, backgrounds, and perspective, with a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The salary range for this position is $95,000 - $115,000.

 Benefits

JBF offers its employees a dynamic work environment with benefits including medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and their dependents; life insurance; flexible spending account; commuter benefits; retirement savings; employee assistance program; tuition reimbursement/ professional development; and generous paid time off. We also offer fertility planning support and up to 18 weeks of paid parental leave. Additional perks include staff events, tickets to events at Platform by JBF (Pier 57), and much more. 

The Foundation currently works a hybrid schedule that requires employees to be in our NYC office 2-3 days per week. This position is not eligible for relocation. 

JBF requires all employees to be fully vaccinated and boosted for COVID-19 unless a medical or religious accommodation is needed.

Contacting the hiring team via phone or email will not be accepted.