Corporate and Foundation Relations Officer

The Opportunity

The Corporate and Foundation Relations Officer will cultivate a philantrophic community of funders, and is responsible for identifying, soliciting, and stewarding corporate and foundation donors. Reporting to the Reach Out and Read Associate Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations and working closely with colleagues at the National Center and with affiliate teams nationwide, the Corporate and Foundation Relations Officer plays an essential fundraising role in support of Reach Out and Read’s mission.

As an ideal candidate for this role, you are a compelling storyteller and effective champion for the causes you represent. You can identify and take opportunities, grow relationships, and develop impactful partnerships. You are a self-starter, organized, efficient, and kind, with close attention to deadlines and details. Your prior experience working with corporate and foundation funders and managing the grant life cycle and reporting will serve you well in this role. As a Corporate and Foundation Relations Officer, you must apply creative solutions, adapt to an evolving and growing organization, and work as a collaborative and productive team member with remote colleagues in a virtual working environment.

Your Key Responsibilities Will Include the Following:

Corporate & Foundation Giving (100%):

• Assist the National Center and our affiliate teams across the country in developing partnerships with foundation and corporate donors
• Conduct all stages of the grants and sponsorship process, from initial prospect identification to online and in-person meetings with funders to the proposal and budget creation through continued stewardship and reporting
• Conduct stewardship activities including holding meetings and presentations to establish and deepen relationships with current and prospective funders and corporate contacts
• Manage grants submission process for the national center and in support of affiliates, including collecting and synthesizing data, writing high-quality proposals, managing grant calendar, reporting, and correspondence
• Create funder-facing stewardship materials and help manage and update the grant writing library, including creating messaging for current and new program initiatives
• Work closely with all departments on project planning, grant deliverables, and evaluation. Ensure grant requests meet the organization’s needs
• Combine big-picture thinking with attention to detail as we work across multiple states and ROR affiliates. Synchronize multi-state opportunities and help us move as a cohesive organization, executing a shared strategy.
• Secure sponsorship for special events
• Contribute content to newsletters, annual reports, and other stewardship materials
• Support additional development projects and activities as requested

Qualifications and Experience
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. We are most likely to be interested in your candidacy if you can demonstrate the majority of the qualifications and experiences listed below:

Commitment to increasing equity in opportunity and outcomes for children and to recognizing factors known to significantly impact differential outcomes for children, including race, ethnicity, language, and socio-economic status

• 5+ years of development experience, preferably with foundations and corporations
• Demonstrated success in cultivating and sustaining partnerships and relationships among diverse stakeholders
• Excellent interpersonal skills to interact effectively with colleagues and partners
• Excellent research, writing, and proofreading skills with high-level, consistent attention to detail
• Experience creating effective external communications to partners and supporters
• Interest in applying equity-driven fundraising principles and emerging models, such as Community-Centered Fundraising principles, ethical storytelling, and others, experience doing so is a plus
• Self-motivated and organized independent worker who functions effectively in a virtual work environment while being an enthusiastic, collaborative team member committed to shared success
• Ability to prioritize multiple tasks, meet deadlines, and adapt flexibly within a growing organization
• Ability to use technology with solid skills using database systems and Microsoft Office
• Experience with Salesforce or similar donor management software is a plus. Experience with graphic design or email marketing is a plus

Position Specifications

• The Corporate and Foundation Relations Officer works from a home-based office and may reside in any location within the United States.
• Full-time, exempt position.
• Occasional travel may be required in the form of team retreats, site and funder visits, meetings in Boston, and one to two national meetings per year.
• The position is expected to support collaborative projects with ROR affiliate offices that expand our collective work. You must be an expert in finding win-win solutions with our affiliate teams and our external partners.
• While Reach Out and Reach does not currently require employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, Reach Out and Read program sites may require vaccinations and will consequently require the individual in this role to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to perform the duties of the position.
  
  

Compensation and Benefits

Salary will be competitive with similar roles at non-profit organizations of comparable size, and you will receive a robust benefits package. The target salary for this position is $68,000-$74,000. We offer medical and dental insurance, a 401(k) retirement plan with a match, paid vacation, and more.

Commitment to Diversity

Reach Out and Read is committed to building an organization that embraces diversity, pursues equity, and fosters an environment of inclusion. ROR sits at the intersection of health and education, uniquely positioned to play a critical role in addressing systemic disparities and inequities in the public health framework. ROR strives to be an antiracist organization, using its influence to fight against social injustice by supporting a culture of learning, empowerment, equity, and a deep appreciation for the unique experiences that we each bring to our communities. And, we believe that changing the world begins with holding ourselves and our workplace to that same standard.

About Reach Out and Read

Founded in 1989, Reach Out and Read is a national non-profit organization working to ensure all families have the opportunity to create meaningful everyday moments through shared reading aloud and building relationships. By leveraging pediatric care to champion the positive effects of reading daily and distribute books, Reach Out and Read gives young children a foundation for success and reaches 4.2 million children across the county – half of whom identify as BIPOC and a quarter of whom come from low-income families.

Reach Out and Read’s tens of thousands of trained pediatric providers use books as a diagnostic tool during regular check-ups, and teach parents how to engage their child with a book to promote positive parent-child interactions during the rapid brain growth between birth and age five. The daily practice of reading aloud with a parent supports children’s literacy and math skill development, their social-emotional development, and prepares them for future success in school. Working together with our sites and providers, we leverage our three decades of expertise, build on our literacy foundations, and engage our shared networks as a catalyst for change, focusing on equitably strengthening and deepening our impact on the children, families, and communities we serve.

The Impact

• Reach Out and Read program sites are located in 6,000 clinics, safety net hospitals, medical systems, and other healthcare settings in all 50 states, Washington, D. C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
• Reach Out and Read serves 4.2 million children and their families annually.
• More than 6.5 million new, developmentally appropriate books are given to children annually.
• 33,000 medical providers currently participate in Reach Out and Read
• Our peer-reviewed body of evidence demonstrates that Reach Out and Read parents are two-and-a-half times more likely to read regularly to their children, and that children experiencing Reach Out and Read show enhanced language development.

To learn more about Reach Out and Read, visit www.reachoutandread.org.

------------------------------EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER------------------------------

Reach Out and Read is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, cultural heritage, ancestry, political belief, age, marital status, pregnancy, physical or mental disability or veteran status. Reach out and Read is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act and we are committed to making special accommodations for your interview or work as a member of our team. If specific accommodations are needed, please notify us and our HR team will work to accommodate your needs.