Director, Institutional Giving

Girl Scouts of Northern California • San Jose, CA

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

Girl Scouts of Northern California is seeking an experienced, strategic leader who thrives in a collaborative and innovative environment. The Fund Development Department raises philanthropic support from individuals, corporations, foundations, and government agencies to advance programs serving girls across 19 Northern California counties. Reporting to the Chief Program and Development Officer, the Director, Institutional Giving is a department leader responsible for growing and diversifying institutional revenue. This position leads corporate, foundation, and government fundraising strategy and owns the cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of these key relationships. The Director, Institutional Giving will develop and execute data-informed strategies to expand GSNorCal’s visibility, engagement, and financial support among institutional partners. Responsibilities include strategic prospecting, relationship building, proposal development, forecasting, pipeline analysis, performance tracking, and identifying opportunities for new and increased investment in GSNorCal’s programs and strategic priorities. This position will manage a grant writer(s) responsible for identifying funding opportunities, developing competitive proposals, administering awards, meeting reporting requirements, and achieving institutional revenue goals. This position will also collaborate closely with leaders and stakeholders across the organization to align fundraising strategies with programmatic priorities, organizational goals, and available funding opportunities. The ideal candidate is a strategic thinker, skilled relationship manager, and collaborative leader who can translate data and organizational priorities into actionable fundraising strategies. They will bring the judgment and initiative needed to guide decision-making, strengthen in-person partnerships with corporate and foundation leaders, steward existing funders, develop new relationships, and position GSNorCal for sustainable philanthropic growth.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in English, communications, journalism, nonprofit management, business, or a related field preferred. Equivalent relevant professional experience will also be considered.
• Minimum of seven years of progressively responsible experience in institutional fundraising, corporate partnerships, foundation relations, government grants, or a related field, including demonstrated success securing six-figure grants and sponsorships.
• Experience developing and executing institutional fundraising strategies, managing revenue pipelines, forecasting results, and achieving ambitious fundraising goals.
• Demonstrated experience cultivating, soliciting, closing, and stewarding corporate, foundation, and government funders, including managing in-person relationships with senior institutional partners.
• Experience supervising or coordinating grant professionals, writers, consultants, or cross-functional teams.
• Strategic and data-informed approach to prospecting, portfolio management, revenue forecasting, performance analysis, and fundraising decision-making.
• Exceptional writing, editing, presentation, and verbal communication skills, with strong attention to detail, accuracy, and audience.
• Strong financial acumen, including experience developing grant budgets, reviewing financial information, and communicating complex funding requirements to internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to build trusted, productive relationships with corporate and foundation leaders, government representatives, executive leadership, staff, Board members, volunteers, and community partners.
• Strong leadership, planning, organizational, and project-management skills, including the ability to set priorities, manage multiple deadlines, anticipate challenges, and ensure accountability across a team.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate across departments and translate organizational priorities and program outcomes into compelling institutional funding opportunities.
• Proficiency with prospect-research tools, online grant portals, Microsoft Office applications, and fundraising databases.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment, maintain confidentiality, work independently, and represent GSNorCal professionally in external meetings and events.
• Ability to work a flexible schedule, including occasional evenings and weekends, and travel throughout GSNorCal’s service area for meetings, events, and partner engagement.
• Must reside within or in close proximity to GSNorCal’s council footprint.
• Current California driver’s license, valid automobile insurance, and the ability to meet the requirements of the council’s automobile insurance carrier.
• Ability to lift and carry up to 25 pounds without assistance.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with Raiser’s Edge NXT or a comparable CRM is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead GSNorCal’s institutional-giving program and serve as the organization’s primary relationship manager for corporate, foundation, and government funders.
• Develop and execute a comprehensive institutional-giving strategy that supports annual revenue goals and GSNorCal’s long-term organizational priorities.
• Partner with Fund Development, Marketing and Communications, Program, Membership, Property, Volunteer Resources, Finance, the Funded Projects Team, and other stakeholders to identify and prioritize funding needs.
• Translate organizational priorities into actionable fundraising strategies, funding opportunities, and revenue projections.
• Lead the Institutional Giving Team, including supervising staff, assigning and prioritizing projects, managing performance, and supporting professional development.
• Own and actively manage GSNorCal’s portfolio of corporate, foundation, and government funders and prospects.
• Develop accurate revenue forecasts, pipeline projections, and scenario analyses to support organizational budgeting and decision-making.
• Regularly assess portfolio strength, funding risks, renewal opportunities, prospect readiness, and progress toward goals.
• Use historical performance, funder engagement, renewal and success rates, and other relevant data to inform strategy and recommend adjustments.
• Provide clear and timely reports, analysis, and strategic recommendations to the Chief Development Officer, Executive Team, Finance Team, and other organizational leaders.
• Lead ongoing, data-informed prospect research to identify and qualify corporate, foundation, and government funding opportunities.
• Build and maintain a robust pipeline of prospects capable of supporting GSNorCal’s short- and long-term revenue goals.
• Strategically align GSNorCal’s programs, general operations, properties, capital needs, and special initiatives with funders’ priorities and guidelines.
• Collaborate with the Board of Directors, Fund Development Committee, organizational leadership, and Fund Development Team to identify, cultivate, and secure new institutional prospects.
• Leverage existing donors, volunteers, and community relationships to generate introductions and expand GSNorCal’s institutional network.
• Own the cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of GSNorCal’s corporate, foundation, and government relationships.
• Build productive, long-term partnerships through regular communication, in-person meetings, site visits, events, presentations, and other meaningful engagement opportunities.
• Serve as a visible and knowledgeable representative of GSNorCal and clearly communicate the organization’s mission, impact, priorities, and funding needs.
• Develop customized engagement and stewardship strategies that strengthen funder relationships, support renewals, and expand partnerships beyond transactional grant requests.
• Coordinate appropriate recognition, volunteer engagement, employee involvement, and other partnership benefits in collaboration with internal teams.
• Lead the development of compelling, strategic proposals, letters of inquiry, case statements, sponsorship requests, and other institutional funding materials.
• Collaborate with the Chief Development Officer, senior leadership, Finance, and cross-functional teams to identify funding priorities and develop strong impact narratives, budgets, outcomes, and supporting materials.
• Oversee the planning, writing, review, editing, and submission of all institutional requests, ensuring they are accurate, persuasive, timely, and aligned with both funder priorities and GSNorCal’s strategy.
• Support and supervise institutional-giving staff in proposal development and submission.
• Partner with program leaders, Finance, and research and evaluation staff to ensure grant-funded activities, goals, budgets, and outcomes are achieved and effectively measured.
• Guide the development of goals, outcomes, and evaluation measures that align with funder expectations, evidence-informed practices, and GSNorCal’s organizational strategy.
• Ensure responsible staff understand grant requirements and their roles in tracking activities, expenditures, outcomes, and impact.
• Identify potential performance or compliance concerns early and coordinate timely solutions.
• Provide leadership and oversight from award acceptance through implementation, reporting, renewal, and closeout.
• Ensure all grant requirements, restrictions, deadlines, and recognition commitments are clearly documented and fulfilled.
• Coordinate with program and Finance staff to monitor grant performance and the appropriate use of restricted funds.
• Ensure narrative and financial reports are accurate, compelling, and submitted on time.
• Serve as a responsible steward of institutional funding and maintain strong internal accountability for all awarded funds.
• Establish and maintain effective systems for tracking prospects, relationship activity, proposals, awards, reports, deadlines, funding restrictions, and stewardship commitments.
• Ensure institutional-giving information is complete, accurate, and current in Raiser’s Edge and shared organizational systems.
• Use data and performance indicators to monitor progress, evaluate fundraising strategies, strengthen forecasting, and inform decisions.
• Regularly analyze and report on pipeline value, probability-weighted revenue, renewals, acquisition, retention, proposal success rates, and progress toward annual goals.
• Lead regular funded-project coordination meetings.
• Establish clear priorities, responsibilities, timelines, and communication practices across departments.
• Build strong internal partnerships and create shared accountability for developing fundable initiatives, managing awards, measuring impact, and stewarding funders.
• Represent institutional-giving priorities in organizational planning and help ensure GSNorCal is positioned to pursue and successfully manage significant funding opportunities.
• Maintain current knowledge of trends and developments in corporate philanthropy, foundations, government funding, youth development, after-school programming, and the broader philanthropic sector.
• Build an active professional network and represent GSNorCal at relevant meetings, conferences, community events, and funder convenings.
• Apply knowledge of funding trends and the external landscape to advise organizational leaders, identify emerging opportunities, and strengthen GSNorCal’s institutional-giving strategy.

Benefits

• Girl Scouts of Northern California is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE). Our mission is to build girls and employees of courage, confidence, and character while working to make the world a better place for all people. This work includes our commitment to become an anti-racist organization through learning and practice. Together with our youth, we strive to provide diverse, equitable inclusive spaces where girls, volunteers, and staff feel they belong. Working at GSNorCal is a commitment to anti-racism and anti-oppression in alignment with our Culture Code and Volunteer Policy for Building Equitable Community . Applicants are encouraged to apply without regard to age, race, color, creed, ethnicity, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, ancestry, veteran status, citizenship, pregnancy, childbirth or other related medical condition, marital status, political persuasion or any other classification protected by federal, state or local laws or ordinances.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director