Director, Institutional Giving & Partnerships

The Children's Museum of Indianapolis•Indianapolis, IN

10d

About The Position

The Director, Institutional Giving & Partnerships develops and leads the comprehensive strategy for securing and sustaining philanthropic support from corporations, foundations, government entities, and other institutional partners for The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. As a member of the Advancement leadership team, the director is accountable for institutional contributed-revenue goals across annual, programmatic, campaign, capital, and other museum priorities. The director is both a strategic fundraising leader and an active frontline fundraiser, personally managing high-value institutional prospects and partners while leading and coaching staff responsible for corporate partnerships and foundation and government relations. The director builds a diversified institutional pipeline and advances relationships beyond transactional sponsorships and individual grants toward deeper, multi-year philanthropic partnerships aligned with shared priorities. The position collaborates with Annual Giving and Donor Engagement on recognition, stewardship experiences, and events, and with Advancement Strategy and Campaign Operations on prospect intelligence, pipeline standards, forecasting, campaign coordination, CRM practices, and reporting. The Children’s Museum is building and sustaining an inclusive culture that encourages, supports, and celebrates differences. It believes collaboration and open dialogue among people with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives best support its vision and mission.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree preferred, with five years of fundraising management experience, including demonstrated success securing significant institutional philanthropic support; corporate and foundation relations experience preferred.
Three years of people management experience, with demonstrated ability to lead, coach, develop, and hold professional fundraising staff accountable for measurable results.
Expertise in institutional philanthropy, including corporate partnerships, foundation and government relations, significant proposal strategy, grants management, stewardship, and multi-year relationship development.
Ability to personally cultivate, solicit, negotiate, and secure significant gifts or commitments from corporations, foundations, government entities, and other institutional partners.
Experience establishing and managing revenue goals, prospect pipelines, portfolios, forecasts, and fundraising performance measures using CRM systems, data, and analytics.
Highly self-directed, with initiative, discernment, problem-solving and negotiation skills, and ability to manage competing priorities and achieve individual and team goals.
Exceptional written and oral communication skills, including ability to translate complex museum priorities into compelling institutional funding opportunities and proposals.
Knowledge of fundraising principles, ethics, and practices, including the ability to distinguish philanthropic support from sponsorship, marketing, and other corporate relationships.
Values diversity and inclusion and promotes diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion activities; maintains a professional demeanor through inclusive language, tact, and sensitivity.
Proficiency with and ability to learn and use fundraising CRM, database, forecasting, reporting, and productivity software platforms.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree preferred.
Corporate and foundation relations experience preferred.
Experience working with nonprofit boards, senior leaders, donors, funders, volunteers, program staff, and cross-functional teams as fundraising partners and resources preferred.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute a comprehensive institutional giving strategy covering corporations, private and community foundations, government funders, and other institutional sources. Establish annual and multi-year revenue goals, work plans, pipeline targets, and performance measures; lead forecasting; identify risks and opportunities; and achieve institutional contributed-revenue goals.
Personally manage a portfolio of high-level institutional prospects and partners; develop cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies; build relationships with institutional decision-makers; and directly solicit significant institutional gifts.
Lead corporate philanthropy and partnership strategy, including acquisition, renewal, upgrades, and multi-year commitments. Create customized partnership plans balancing philanthropic support, mission alignment, audience and employee engagement, and community impact, while distinguishing philanthropy from sponsorship, marketing, and other engagement.
Lead private, community, and family foundation and government funding strategies. Evaluate opportunities for strategic fit, likelihood of success, potential revenue, reporting requirements, and organizational capacity; guide significant proposals and funding requests; and ensure funded commitments can be delivered successfully.
Build and maintain diversified donor and partner prospect pipelines sufficient to meet annual and campaign goals. Lead the reporting team’s work with data analytics and research colleagues to identify and qualify prospects, assign portfolios, conduct pipeline reviews, and maintain accurate data. Coordinate with Individual Giving where relationships intersect.
Lead corporate and foundation fundraising strategy for museum campaigns and major strategic initiatives. Develop campaign pipelines, identify significant and multi-year opportunities, coordinate institutional solicitations, and engage museum leadership, Board members, and volunteers appropriately.
Establish prospect standards and priorities for proposal development, grants management, reporting, recognition, and stewardship. Work with advancement, programs, and finance colleagues to ensure proposals and budgets are accurate, commitments are tracked and fulfilled, and funders receive timely, compelling impact reports as appropriate.
Maintain contributed-revenue forecasts and monitor performance indicators, including secured revenue, pipeline value, proposals and solicitations, renewal and upgrade rates, new partners, multi-year commitments, and portfolio movement. Use data to prioritize resources, identify variances, coach staff, and adjust strategies.
Participate on the Advancement leadership team and collaborate across the museum to align funding opportunities with strategic, infrastructure, programming, event, community, and other organizational priorities. Coordinate partner relationship approaches and help colleagues participate effectively in funder relationships.
Lead, coach, and support staff responsible for corporate partnerships and foundation and government relations. Establish team and individual revenue goals, portfolio expectations, performance measures, and accountability. Foster relationship development, follow-through, collaboration, and measurable results; manage budgets, consultants, vendors, and other fundraising resources.
Represent the museum with institutional funders, corporate and civic leaders, and philanthropic partners. Engage the President and CEO, Vice President of Advancement, Board members, museum leaders, and volunteers strategically in institutional relationships.