Arena Careers

About the Obama Foundation

At the Obama Foundation, we are guided by a core belief: that ordinary people working together can change history. Our mission is to inspire those people to take action, empower them to change their world for the better, and connect them so they can achieve more together than they can alone.

We were founded by community organizers, so when we seek change, we do it by bringing people together.

That approach begins at home, on the South Side of Chicago, where we are building the Obama Presidential Center. The Center represents a historic opportunity for Chicago: a chance to build a world-class museum and public gathering space that celebrates our nation’s first African American President and First Lady, steps away from where he began his career, where she was raised, and where—together—they made their home.

But that approach extends to all our work, whether it’s holding leadership training sessions in communities throughout the U.S., bringing local leaders together in countries around the world, working to support the global education of girls, or ensuring young men of color have pathways to opportunity.

As President Obama has said, “we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together.” So join us.

For more information, please visit www.obama.org.

Purpose of the Role

The Director, Corporate and Foundation Relations (DCFR) will play a pivotal role in driving the Obama Foundation’s institutional fundraising efforts forward. This position requires a seasoned professional with experience leading a team and a proven track record securing substantial funding from corporate and foundation partners. You will build relationships and cultivate/solicit seven-figure gifts while managing a small team of fundraisers responsible for expanding the prospect pipeline. Reporting to the Senior Director, Corporate and Foundation Relations, this role is instrumental in shaping the Obama Foundation’s short- and long-term institutional fundraising strategy. It is an ideal opportunity for a proven fundraiser motivated to work collaboratively to pursue big goals.

Core Job Responsibilities

• Portfolio Management and Support: Create and lead the strategy for a portfolio of prospects, with a focus on institutional foundations. Manage a portfolio of 100+ seven-figure prospects and develop customized cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship plans for each. Manage a portfolio of roughly $50M in current donors while fundraising approximately $20M in new funding each year.
• People Management: Manage a team of fundraisers to achieve ambitious fundraising targets. Provide guidance and strategic counsel to help advance their portfolios or support work. The Director will manage two Deputy Directors of Development and a Development Analyst.
• Team strategy: In partnership with the Senior Director and the Deputy Directors, set a strategic fundraising plan for unrestricted and restricted institutional gifts. Strategy components include cause marketing, capital campaign support, program-restricted support, and employee giving.
• Prospect Research: Research and identify new prospects, analyze their giving histories, and develop cultivation strategies in partnership with the Prospect Research team.
• Development Communications: Prepare development-related communications, including correspondence, proposals, spreadsheets, reports, and briefing memos, in partnership with the development communications team.
• Customized Donor Stewardship & Grants Management: Working in collaboration with our Grants Management & Stewardship Manager, partner with teams across the Foundation, including Global Programs, Obama Presidential Center Museum, Public Engagement, Creative & Communications, and Finance, to develop customized cultivation and stewardship strategies for donors.
• Prospect Tracking: Ensure accurate and timely tracking of gift and prospect activity in Salesforce to ensure appropriate cultivation, solicitation, negotiation, and stewardship.
• Perform other duties as assigned

Key Deliverables / Outcomes

• Meet fundraising targets and other key metrics.
• Prospect portfolio strategy and annual cadence of fundraising activities.
• Expanded prospect pipeline.
• Prospect stewardship and engagement plans.
• Fundraising/stewardship materials, collateral and briefings, and highly personalized proposals.
• Development communication collateral.
• Cultivation and stewardship events.
• Donor stewardship strategies and plans.

Required Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience in institutional fundraising, including extensive experience in a leadership position securing corporate and/or foundation funds directly.
• Track record of building relationships with major gift-level donors, ideally closing gifts of at least $1M.
• Experience with strategy creation and execution; focus areas include cause marketing, capital campaign, program fundraising, and employee giving.
• People management skills.
• Deep understanding of fundraising programs and complex gift strategies.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and high emotional intelligence, with an ability to develop and maintain long-term, productive relationships internally and externally.

In the interest of employee health and safety during the pendency of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the Obama Foundation is requiring that all prospective employees present proof that they are fully-vaccinated against COVID-19, or seek a reasonable accommodation for religious or medical reasons, prior to their first day of employment.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The Foundation is committed to creating a diverse work environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. The Foundation does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability, parental status, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable laws. We encourage individuals of all backgrounds to apply. If you are a qualified candidate with a disability, please e-mail us at [email protected] if you require a reasonable accommodation to complete this application.