Senior Philanthropy Officer, Corporate & Foundation Giving
Please note: A cover letter and resume are mandatory for all applications.
As we serve vulnerable youth, all employees working for Covenant House Vancouver must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19. Proof of vaccination status will be required prior to your start date.
About Covenant House Vancouver
Since 1997, Covenant House Vancouver has provided relentless support for youth experiencing, or at-risk of experiencing, homelessness. We provide support to young people age 16 to 24 who have experienced a wide range of early life and ongoing, complex trauma; including physical, sexual and emotional abuse and neglect. Our purpose is to serve all youth, with absolute respect and unconditional love, to help youth experiencing homelessness, and provide a safe and supportive environment for all youth in need.
Working at Covenant House will be one of the most meaningful things that you’ll do in your life. However, you will be confronted with significant issues in this work and frankly, this work is not for everyone. In the course of doing your work, particularly for those doing frontline work, you will be exposed to the trauma of others. The youth we serve may also experience overdose, physical harm perpetuated by self or others and even death. Because we provide a relational model of care, the harms our youth experience can impact us in varying degrees.
While we provide training for youth workers on avoiding what we call vicarious trauma (namely, the trauma you can experience or take on by hearing other’s traumatic stories), and a generous allowance for counselling, it is still difficult work that can and does take its toll on many employees. Self-awareness and self-care are key. Some candidates and employees decide during the recruiting and probationary periods that this work isn’t for them, and that is totally fair.
We will provide more information on vicarious trauma during recruiting and on-boarding, to help you decide if Covenant House is the place for you.
The Impact a Senior Philanthropy Officer with the Corporate, Foundation, & Community Giving Team can make:
As a Senior Philanthropy Officer, Corporate & Foundation Giving, you will build relationships with and manage a portfolio of 150+ corporate and foundation donors. Using your strong communication, administrative, organization, and relationship-building skills, you will engage these supporters in the work of Covenant House Vancouver (CHV), ask for monetary donations to support our cause, and help tell our story to demonstrate the impact of how donors are making a difference in the lives of youth who choose CHV for support.
You have a particular interest in working with corporate and foundation donors and enjoy public speaking and making presentations to groups in the community. You are keen to receive donor strategy advice from team members and to take the initiative to move forward with suggested actions and are a skilled leader who is able to mentor other Philanthropy Officers with their donor work and strategy. You want to make a difference to help youth who are experiencing homelessness and care about the success of your teammates and the organization. The annual financial goal associated with the Senior Philanthropy Officer position will be $750,000 -1,000,000+.
How you will contribute:
- Build meaningful relationships with corporate and foundation donors through thoughtful questions to understand their interests, passions, and reasons for supporting the youth at CHV
- Develop tailored proposals and write grant applications to apply for funding to support the programs and services offered at CHV
- Work alongside the Prospect Development (research) team to learn more about your donors and plan how to best connect with them
- Communicate with donors through in-person meetings, virtual meetings, phone calls, and written avenues including mail and email, and represent Covenant House through face-to-face presentations in the community at donor events and meetings
- Learn about youth stories and updates to CHV’s programs and share them with donors, including the impact that their donations have had on the lives of youth experiencing homelessness
- Invite supporters to participate in events including donor engagement gatherings, gratitude events, Sleep Out events, and other fundraising events
- Lead projects and working groups to contribute to the Philanthropy team’s overall goals, including complex projects for the team, writing speeches/talking points for Senior Management Team members, making presentations to high-net-worth donors at meetings and events, and acting as project manager on donor events and for the development of our newsletter for major donors
- Perform administrative tasks including data entry into our database (Raiser’s Edge), and answering the general donations phoneline in a warm and helpful manner to assist donors with their requests and concerns
- Other duties as required
Who are we looking for?
Education and Experience:
- 5-7 years of experience with fundraising and donor relations
- Demonstrated ability to solicit major gifts by creating tailored donor proposals/grants and intentionally and successfully soliciting $25K+ gifts through strategic moves management processes
- Degree in a related field such as Communications, Business or Non-Profit Studies
- Specialized education such as master’s degree, certificate in Fundraising Management or CFRE training considered an asset
- Donor database experience, preferably in Raisers Edge
- Microsoft Office including Outlook, Excel, and Word
- Passion for learning about Vancouver’s homelessness issues
If you have fundraising experience but do not yet meet all of the requirements of this Senior Philanthropy Office position, we will consider applications for a Philanthropy Officer role. Please note the job description and compensation will be adjusted accordingly
Competencies:
- Skilled at strategic one-to-one major gift work with donors, navigating complex scenarios that require self-directed decision-making
- Outstanding relationship-building skills
- Skilled at communicating Covenant House Vancouver’s mission, interests, and impact and making compelling cases for support in written and verbal formats.
- Ability to lead Major projects within the Philanthropy Department
- Comfortable with public speaking and making presentations to a diverse range of donors
- Demonstrated ability to work in a supportive team environment and independently
- Big picture thinker with attention to detail
- Ability to juggle competing demands and deadlines, prioritize with ease and are efficient with your time
- An interest in philanthropy and learning new skills
Compensation
The successful candidate can expect a starting salary of between $62,915.00 and $76,896.82 depending on factors such as internal equity, experience, competencies, and education. Once hired, salaries are reviewed annually following the annual performance review and successful employees have the opportunity for their salary to increase, over time, up to the maximum of the pay band, currently $83,883.80.
Total Rewards
This position has flexible working arrangements with a hybrid in office expectation; excellent extended health and dental benefits for you and your spouse & children, including generous counselling benefits. During the first year, employees receive three weeks’ paid vacation, increasing to four in the second year; we have paid sick and personal leave and a matching Registered Pension Plan, investment in professional development, and more. If you’d like more information on what we offer, please ask!
We have been recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers for 2024!
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Covenant House Vancouver is a secular organization that welcomes and serves young people from all backgrounds. While the international federation to which we belong was founded in the 1970s by members of the Catholic Church, we are not aligned with any specific faith traditions.
CHV is committed to upholding diversity, equity, and inclusion in our workplace. We actively encourage applications from members of groups with historical and/or current barriers to equity, including, but not limited to:
- Persons from groups marginalized due to race, ancestry, colour, religion/spiritual beliefs, or place of origin;
- Persons with visible (physical) and/or invisible (mental) disabilities;
- Persons who identify as women;
- Persons of marginalized sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions; and
- Indigenous persons.
We recognize that many of these identities intersect and that therefore, diversity, equity, and inclusion can be complex. We value the contributions that each person brings and are committed to ensuring full and equal participation for all at Covenant House Vancouver.
We love what we do and try to make a difference every day. Covenant House Vancouver offers a competitive salary with a great benefits package and excellent opportunity for training and career advancement. If you are looking to join a place where we have a purpose and aim to achieve positive outcomes, please join us by applying.
If our recruitment process does not work for you, let us know. Let’s see how we can work together to get to know you and see what might be a great fit!