Philanthropy Officer, Special Events

As we serve vulnerable youth, all employees working for Covenant House Vancouver must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19. Proof of vaccination status will be required prior to your start date.

Since 1997, Covenant House Vancouver has provided relentless support for youth experiencing, or at-risk of experiencing, homelessness. We provide support to young people age 16 to 24 who have experienced a wide range of early life and ongoing, complex trauma; including physical, sexual and emotional abuse and neglect. Our purpose is to serve all youth, with absolute respect and unconditional love, to help youth experiencing homelessness, and provide a safe and supportive environment for all youth in need.

Working at Covenant House will be one of the most meaningful things that you’ll do in your life. However, you will be confronted with significant issues in this work and frankly, this work is not for everyone. In the course of doing your work, particularly for those doing frontline work, you will be exposed to the trauma of others. The youth we serve may also experience overdose, physical harm perpetuated by self or others and even death.

Because we provide a relational model of care, the harms our youth experience can impact us in varying degrees.

While we provide training for youth workers on avoiding what we call vicarious trauma (namely, the trauma you can experience or take on by hearing other’s traumatic stories), and a generous allowance for counselling, it is still difficult work that can and does take its toll on many employees. Self‑awareness and self‑care are key. Some candidates and employees decide during the recruiting and probationary periods that this work isn’t for them, and that is totally fair.

We will provide more information on vicarious trauma during recruiting and on‑boarding, to help you decide if Covenant House is the place for you.

The Philanthropy Officer, Special Events will build and oversee a portfolio of both individuals and organizations who participate in special events including our two signature Sleep Outs. Responsibilities include relationship building, communications, ongoing stewardship and cultivation, managing and attending events, and administrative duties. This role involves collaborating with colleagues, community advocates, associations, and businesses. You will also maintain a CRM database, strategize to support fundraising efforts, and contribute to event logistics, guest experience, volunteer management, and participant and donor engagement.

How you will contribute:

Relationship Management & Communications

• Drive the annual recruitment and communications cycle for new and returning Sleep Out participants including relationship building, event invitations, and communications (phone, email, and in‑person)
• Build the participant pipeline for Sleep Out events through prospecting new participants, research and outreach, strategic planning, and face‑to‑face interactions
• Work collaboratively with the Philanthropy team to recruit individuals and organizations from their portfolios to join Sleep Out
• Create compelling and personalized invitations and communications including sharing fundraising tips, event updates, gratitude, and the impact of their support
• Attend corporate and community events during evenings and weekends, including occasional public speaking, to cultivate, solicit (invite to fundraising events), and steward participants
• Correspond with event participants to answer their questions regarding Team Raiser peer‑to‑peer fundraising webpages and event logistics
• Respond to donor inquiries regarding event donations and tax receipts

Event Logistics & Administration

• Responsible for supporting critical paths, run of show, and event logistics
• Leading up to events, provide administrative support for Sleep Out events by administrating Luminate Team Raiser including event webpages, participant registration, participant fundraising pages, gift entry, and reporting
• Administrating Raiser’s Edge CRM database including tracking actions, proposals, queries, and relationships
• Support the events team to successfully execute the…