Director of Institutional Partnerships

Director Of Institutional Partnerships

The Director of Institutional Partnerships is a senior frontline fundraiser with a singular mandate: secure and grow significant corporate and foundation support for the organization. This role is responsible for identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding a portfolio of institutional funders capable of making six- and seven-figure gifts. The Director spends the majority of their time externally — meeting with foundation officers, building corporate partnerships, attending sector events, and closing gifts.

Working cross-departmentally, this leader collaborates closely with marketing, business development, program, and finance teams to identify funding opportunities, align messaging, and ensure funder commitments are met. This is not a grant or proposal-writing role; it is a relationship-driven, results-first position for a proven institutional fundraiser with a documented track record of closing major gifts and growing institutional revenue year over year.

Primary Responsibilities:

Frontline Fundraising & Portfolio Management

• Build and manage an institutional giving portfolio, starting with an initial base of 5 partners and growing to 25–50 active corporate and foundation partners at the six- and seven-figure gift level; own the full funding relationship lifecycle from identification through renewal.

• Drive all phases of the fundraising cycle—prospect identification, research, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship — with a focus on closing gifts and growing the portfolio.

• Set and consistently meet or exceed annual institutional revenue goals; track and report on pipeline activity, revenue projections, and closed gifts regularly.

• Maintain complete and accurate records of all prospect activity, proposals, correspondence, and meetings in the CRM.

Multi-Year Institutional Giving Strategy

• Partner with senior leadership to develop, own, and execute a comprehensive multi-year institutional giving strategy that spans general operating, programmatic, and special project funding.

• Set annual institutional giving goals in collaboration with the VP of Development and other senior leaders; contribute institutional giving projections to the organization's overall development planning.

• Grow the institutional portfolio year over year by aggressively prospecting new funders while deepening investment from existing partners through multi-year funding strategies.

• Provide regular pipeline reports and revenue forecasts to the VP of Development; contribute to annual budgeting for institutional giving.

Corporate Partnership Development

• Proactively identify and pursue new corporate funding relationships outside of the footwear and apparel industries, including multi-year philanthropic partnerships.

• Negotiate funding agreements and partnership terms; develop compelling proposals and presentations that communicate organizational impact and value.

• Stay current on corporate social responsibility (CSR) trends and corporate philanthropic priorities to identify alignment opportunities.

• Collaborate with the communications team to ensure corporate partners receive timely, compelling impact reports and recognition that deepens their investment.

Foundation Relations

• Develop and maintain deep trust-based relationships with foundation program officers and decision-makers at the regional and national level.

• Lead strategy and outreach for major foundation solicitations; identify emerging foundations and new funding priorities aligned with organizational programs.

• Coordinate with program and finance staff on proposal development, grant budgets, compliance, and reporting to ensure all funder requirements are met on time.

• Actively research institutional sources of funding and emerging philanthropic trends to continuously surface new opportunities.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work cross-departmentally to identify funding opportunities that align with organizational programs and priorities.

• Collaborate closely with the Community Partnerships team, whose members secure local and regional corporate and foundation support, to identify national escalation…