Director, Advisor Relations

Communities Foundation of Texas•University Park, TX

About The Position

The mission of Communities Foundation of Texas (CFT) is to improve the lives of all people in our community by investing in their health, wealth, living, and learning. CFT works to accomplish this by growing community giving, expanding community impact, and advancing community equity. With a vision of building thriving communities for all, CFT works locally and across the state with many individuals, families, companies, foundations, and nonprofits through a variety of charitable funds and strategic grantmaking initiatives. CFT professionally manages more than 1,400 charitable funds and has awarded more than $3 billion in grants since its founding in 1953. CFT is committed to serving and understanding donor needs, expertly handling complex gifts, wisely managing charitable funds, and leveraging its community knowledge to increase charitable impact, in addition to powering several initiatives including the W. W. Caruth, Jr. Fund at CFT, the Center for Business Impact, Educate Texas at CFT, Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy at CFT, GiveWisely, and CFT’s North Texas Giving Day. CFT’s North Texas Giving Day raised more than $78 million in 2025 to help over 3,500 North Texas nonprofits, and has raised more than $712 million since its inception in 2009. Learn more at CFTexas.org.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in fundraising, business development, wealth management, or professional advisor engagement.
Demonstrated success cultivating relationships with professional advisors and high-net-worth clients.
Strong understanding of charitable giving vehicles, including donor-advised funds, planned giving, and complex gifts.
Proven ability to translate relationship-building into measurable revenue or asset growth.
Experience leading strategy, building programs, and managing cross-functional initiatives.
Exceptional interpersonal, communication, and presentation skills.
Ability to Effectively model and demonstrate CFT’s core competencies which include Collaboration, Impact and Problem Solving, Integrity and Accountability, Learning, and Internal and External Service.
Bachelor’s degree required

Nice To Haves

advanced degree (JD, MBA, CFP, CAP®) preferred

Responsibilities

Develop and lead an advisor relations strategy aligned with CFT’s asset growth goals.
Define advisor segmentation, targeting, and engagement models in partnership with senior leadership.
Identify, prioritize, and activate high-potential advisors across the DFW market, including attorneys, CPAs, wealth managers, and family offices.
Convert advisor engagement into measurable outcomes, including referrals, new funds, planned gifts, complex assets, and assets under management.
Serve as the lead, with General Counsel, for the cultivation, membership, and stewardship of the Advisory Council, including individual and group meetings and events.
Manage a portfolio of high-impact professional advisors and strategic prospects.
Build consultative relationships that position CFT as a trusted philanthropic partner to advisors and their clients.
Execute targeted engagement through meetings, office presentations, events, and ongoing touchpoints.
Train, support, and coach other Relationship Managers in advisor cultivation plans.
Design and scale a referral pipeline that produces consistent advisor-originated opportunities.
Partner with Donor Relations and Donor Services teams to ensure seamless qualification, handoff, and conversion of referred prospects.
Establish expectations, training, and accountability practices that keep advisor referrals visible, tracked, and advancing.
Lead advisor-facing programming, including seminars, roundtables, lunch-and-learns, advisory council engagement, and continuing education opportunities.
Position CFT as a thought leader in charitable planning, donor-advised funds, and complex gifting strategies.
Partner with Marketing/Communications to develop targeted advisor content, tools, and messaging.