ABOUT MENTOR

Potential is equally distributed; opportunity is not. A major driver of healthy development and opportunity is who you know and who’s in your corner.

30 years ago, MENTOR was created to expand that opportunity for young people by building a youth mentoring field and movement, serving as the expert and go-to resource on quality mentoring. The result- more than 10x increase in young people in structured mentoring relationships, from hundreds of thousands to millions.

Today, we activate a movement across sectors that is diverse and broad and seeps into every aspect of daily life. We are connecting and fueling opportunities for young people everywhere they are from schools to workplaces and beyond.

Commitment to Diversity

MENTOR is committed to fostering an environment of diversity and inclusion for all. We embrace our differences and celebrate our common humanity in advancing awareness of the need for a transformative power of supportive relationships for our young people. We believe that varied perspectives, experiences, and opinions are central assets in our mission to close the mentoring gap. As we seek to build the most complementary team when it comes to skill, perspective, and experience, we strongly encourage candidates from underrepresented communities to apply.

THE POSITION

 MENTOR seeks a Director of Institutional Giving to strengthen and expand funding partnerships with corporations and private foundations. Working closely with MENTOR’s Senior Leadership and Impact Team Directors, this position will provide leadership for a comprehensive institutional giving program across MENTOR and its Affiliate Network. The Director of Institutional Giving is responsible for overseeing a portfolio of approximately 50 active corporate and foundation funders and managing $13MM of active institutional investments.

The Director of Institutional Giving will be responsible for maintaining and growing the pipeline of institutional donors, cultivating and stewarding current and new funders, as well as overseeing proposals and reports.

The ideal candidate is an experienced frontline fundraiser with a proven track record of informing and implementing a robust fundraising strategy across institutions. A background in mentoring, youth development, and/or education is a plus, but an appreciation for the MENTOR’s work and ability to speak compellingly to the mission is paramount.

The Director of Institutional Giving reports to the Senior Director of Development and will supervise the Grants Manager (who provides grants management support for the institutional giving portfolio, including researching grant opportunities, writing proposals and reports, and coordinating internal and external grant check-ins).

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Maintain and Grow the Portfolio 

• Steward and renew existing five-, six-, and seven-figure gifts from foundations, corporations, and other institutional stakeholders aligned with MENTOR’s goals.

• Manage and expand MENTOR’s network of potential funders and strategically develop new prospects through proactive outreach, ensuring pipeline of prospects meets funding needs and goals.

• Work closely with the Advancement Team (Development, Marketing and Communications, and Government Relations) to expand stakeholder engagement opportunities that align with funder’s social impact priorities and MENTOR’s growth strategy.

• Engage corporate grantors around growing fee for service opportunities with MENTOR.

Oversee Fundraising Strategy for National Events

• Oversee the fundraising strategy for the annual National Mentoring Summit, supported by the Grants Manager and Development Associate.

• Support fundraising for other events as needed, including MENTORCon sponsorships, Summer Institute, and MENTOR’s Anniversary Celebrations

Advance Institutional Giving Across the Affiliate Network   

 There are innumerable ways to learn, grow, and excel professionally. We respect this when we review applications and take a broad look at the experience of each applicant. We want to get to know you and the unique strengths you will bring to the work. This said, we are most likely to be interested in your candidacy if you can demonstrate the majority of the qualifications and experiences listed below.

• Progressive experience in institutional fundraising, with experience working with national corporations and/or foundations in a frontline fundraising role preferred.

• Experience cultivating and securing five- and six-figure gifts; experience in raising seven-figure gifts a plus.

• Exceptional relationship building skills and customer-service orientation; ability to build rapport and credibility with foundation and corporate leaders and with program officers.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to target a message to a variety of diverse stakeholders.

• Strong sense of teamwork, with the ability to forge trusting relationships with and provide support to remote teams.

• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines simultaneously; able to be flexible and work in a fast-paced environment.

• Strong presentation, negotiation, and liaison skills; demonstrated tact and diplomacy in difficult or sensitive situations.

• Ability to fully contribute strengths and abilities to the achievement of team goals while making room for the strengths, expertise and abilities of others.

• Experience and comfort with technology including online platforms and database work; experience working in a CRM (Microsoft Dynamics a plus).

• A strong connection to MENTOR's mission and a commitment to continuous learning and progress around diversity, equity and inclusion is highly desirable in all team members at MENTOR.

MAKING THE DECISION TO APPLY

This is a fully remote role, with preferences for candidates living in Boston or Washington, DC. Occasional evenings and travel will be required. For candidates who are based where MENTOR National has offices (Boston and Washington D.C), employees work in the office 2 days a week or 8 days a month.

We hope to have phone interviews in March with select candidates followed by video interviews with Senior Director of Development Julie Babyatzky. A few finalists will have a virtual interview day with other staff and leadership at MENTOR followed by a holistic reference check process. Expected start date is spring 2023.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

Salary for this role will be commensurate with experience and the range is $90,000-$100,000. Full-time employees are eligible for benefits including health, dental, vision, 403(b), a commuter stipend, life insurance, short- and long-term disability, student loan repayment assistance, and a generous vacation policy. The summary of the benefits can be found HERE.

MENTOR is an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages candidates of all backgrounds to apply. Diversity of opinions, experiences, and backgrounds is a key asset.