Assistant Director of Foundation Relations

Assistant Director of Foundation Relations

For 140 years, National Louis University has been driven by one core belief: education changes lives. Since our founding, we've stayed grounded in the values of innovation, access, excellence, and equity, and we've never wavered from the idea that education is the greatest lever for social and economic mobility. We are a student-focused community built on continuous improvement and a genuine commitment to serving those we teach.

Through education, we empower change and build stronger, healthier communities. Our hard-working team runs on collaboration and mutual respect, for one another and for every student we serve.

The Assistant Director of Foundation Relations works in close collaboration with the Director of Foundation Relations and the Advancement Associate, Foundation Relations, to achieve the team's annual fundraising goal for private institutional support and drive NLU's mission forward.

Reporting to the Director, the Assistant Director is responsible for a portfolio of privately-funded projects, and/or a portfolio of corporate and foundation prospects and funders, securing support for NLU in restricted and unrestricted grants. This role is designed for an exceptional storyteller and strategist who can translate complex institutional needs into compelling grant proposals, reports and communications. The Assistant Director will help identify new funding sources, partner with colleagues across the institution to lead and/or assist in program and proposal development, and support the Director of Foundation Relations, Vice President of Institutional Advancement and other NLU executive staff and colleagues in cultivation, solicitation and stewardship strategies.

Additionally, the Assistant Director collaborates with colleagues to develop financial budgets and reports, assists the Director of Foundation Relations with grant projections for annual budgeting, and ensures that NLU accurately tracks and reports against stated metrics for successful grants.

• Grant Development/Writing:

  • Work with Advancement colleagues and NLU faculty and staff to explore, synthesize, articulate and prioritize ideas for foundation support, and develop written products (narratives, program descriptions, letters of inquiry, proposals, correspondence, etc.) that capture and relay need in compelling ways. Manage a portfolio of 30 to 40 foundations and corporations, communicating with and responding to program staff and officers as appropriate, and ensuring that all proposal and reporting requirements are met.
    
    Ensure consistent and accurate tracking of activities, tasks, contacts, due dates, and deliverables in Salesforce NPSP.

• Stewardship and Cultivation:

  • Partner with Advancement colleagues, faculty and staff to develop and coordinate cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship efforts. Arrange meetings with corporate and foundation representatives, and prepare senior leadership and colleagues for these meetings and other interactions with funders. Grow NLU's portfolio of corporate funding partners and strengthen existing corporate partnerships through strategies such as collaboration with NLU's career services and partnerships departments, and the exploration of a potential Corporate Advisory Council.

• Research and Administrative Functions:

  • Conduct foundation and corporation prospect research; devise and execute plans to qualify, cultivate, solicit and steward institutional funders. Partner with colleagues to develop budgets and reports for funders; track private institutional revenue allocations.

• Bachelor's Degree, preferably in English, Communications, Liberal Arts, Journalism, Nonprofit Management, Business, or other related field, required

• A minimum of five (5) years' experience in institutional fundraising in higher education or another type of not-for-profit organization

• Exceptional oral and written communication skills. Ability to synthesize systems-level ideas and create compelling written products for specific audiences

• Ability to work independently and confidently with senior leadership at NLU and in the foundation and/or corporate sector

• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to relate to Advancement colleagues, donors, volunteers, faculty, and staff

• High level of professionalism, integrity, and good judgment, and the ability to work in a team environment

• Prior knowledge and familiarity with local and national foundations, and fundraising strategies and…