Director of Institutional Giving

WBEZ-FM 91.5

Director of Institutional Giving at Chicago Public Media managing fundraising strategies and teams. Responsible for institution donor engagement and performance management in a hybrid workplace.

Posted 7/29/2026full-timeChicago • Illinois • 🇺🇸 United StatesLead💰 $104,000 - $129,000 per yearWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

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Demonstrates extensive experience in frontline fundraising, with a strong focus on developing multi-year gift strategies and managing institutional donor relationships. Proven ability to lead and motivate a fundraising team while utilizing data-driven approaches to enhance performance and accountability.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Frontline Fundraising ExperienceInstitutional Donor Relationship ManagementMulti-Year Gift Strategy DevelopmentTeam Leadership and CoachingData-Driven Decision Making

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills

Fundraising Strategy DevelopmentProposal WritingPortfolio ManagementMoves ManagementDonor StewardshipQuantitative and Qualitative AnalysisGift SolicitationPerformance ManagementBenchmarkingStrategic Planning

Soft Skills

Excellent Communication SkillsInterpersonal SkillsCollaborationEmotional IntelligenceAttention to Detail

Tools & Technologies

Google SuitesConstituent Management SoftwareFundraising Software

Industry Keywords

Corporate PhilanthropyFoundation PhilanthropyFundraising Industry StandardsDonor ConfidentialityGift CreditingStewardship Principles

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Develop and maintain strategy for institutional revenue that supports organizational needs. Requires the ability to benchmark, strategize, and build a pipeline through sophisticated prospect research.
Supervise and support the Institutional Giving team, including onboarding, day-to-day management, goal setting, and performance management.
Conduct portfolio and moves management reviews to ensure timely donor engagement, solicitation activity, proposal tracking, and stewardship.
Support the development of donor strategies, cultivation plans, solicitation approaches, and stewardship opportunities for institutional donors and prospects.
Set and track on ambitious individual goals for direct reports, with the aim of advancing donor relationships, upgrading support, and maintaining a high standard across the team.
Manage an active portfolio of 50-80 foundations and corporations with increases year over year.
Identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward institutional donors.
Prepare written solicitations, proposals, and donor reports.
Manage the responsible stewardship of gifts, including the interpretation of terms in collaboration with finance colleagues.
Maintain data for the institutional giving portfolio in the database, including contact reports, proposals, and other stewardship activities.
Proactively identify and approach potential institutional funders to establish new relationships and strengthen CPM’s connections within the institutional funding community.
Monitor and keep leadership apprised of team fundraising performance, portfolio health, and activity metrics.

Requirements

What you’ll need

Seven-plus years progressive frontline fundraising experience with demonstrated expertise interacting with executive-level foundation and corporate representatives
In-depth knowledge of corporate/foundation philanthropy process
Successful experience in developing multi-year gift strategies
Management experience, with the ability to lead, coach, and motivate a talented team of fundraising professionals
Comfortable using both quantitative and qualitative data to inform strategy and create a culture of excellence, accountability, and support
Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Experience developing case statements and donor proposals
Superior interpersonal skills required with donors and prospects as well as internal leadership, peers, colleagues, and direct reports. Must be a team player with high emotional intelligence who values collaboration and partnerships and treats everyone with respect
Proactive nature with strong planning and attention to detail. Ability to be strategic, collaborative, and results-oriented. Ability to take initiative and manage complex projects and work effectively from conception to completion in a timely manner
Possess an understanding of fundraising industry standards, especially regarding the legal and ethical aspects of donor solicitation, confidentiality, gift crediting, stewardship, and financial principles that shape the work of fundraising professionals
Proficiency with Google Suites and constituent management and fundraising software
Ability to work with a variety of people in multiple departments for the benefit of the organization; desire to collaborate across departments
Ability to think strategically and possess thorough understanding of strategic development

Benefits

Comp & perks

medical
dental
vision
vacation
holidays
life insurance
disability coverage
retirement savings
commuter benefits