Director of Insitutional Giving

Climate Central•Princeton, NJ

3d•$130,000 - $145,000•Remote

About The Position

Reporting to the Chief Development Officer, the Director of Institutional Giving is a senior fundraising leader responsible for securing and expanding major institutional support for Climate Central. This role represents a strategic evolution from a traditional foundation relations function to a broader institutional fundraising portfolio that includes foundations, corporate philanthropy, philanthropic collaboratives, and emerging funding streams such as sports philanthropy. The Director manages a portfolio of high-value institutional donors while building a robust pipeline of new prospects—including funders beyond traditional climate philanthropy. The role leads the full lifecycle of institutional fundraising, from prospect identification and strategic cultivation through proposal development, grant management, and reporting. Working closely with the Executive Leadership Team, development colleagues, and program staff, the Director ensures Climate Central delivers compelling proposals, clear impact reporting, and high-quality stewardship that strengthens long-term partnerships and expands the organization’s institutional donor base.

Requirements

10+ years of institutional fundraising experience, with a strong track record securing major foundation and/or corporate grants.
Demonstrated success securing and managing six- and seven-figure, multi-year funding commitments.
Experience managing a portfolio of institutional donors and prospects, including cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
Proven ability to grow and diversify an institutional funding base, including identifying new prospects beyond established networks.
Strong strategic thinking and ability to translate organizational priorities into compelling funding opportunities.
Exceptional writing and storytelling skills, with experience producing high-quality proposals, reports, and donor communications.
Experience managing complex fundraising processes involving multiple internal stakeholders.
Strong relationship management skills with senior leaders at foundations, corporations, or other institutional funders.
Experience leading or contributing to corporate philanthropy or institutional partnership development.
Excellent project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple deadlines and priorities.
Proficiency with Salesforce or similar CRM systems.
Ability to translate complex scientific or technical content into clear, compelling narratives for external audiences.
High level of professionalism, discretion, and judgment in managing donor relationships.

Nice To Haves

Experience with corporate philanthropy, corporate foundations, or corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs.
Experience or interest in sports philanthropy, sports partnerships, or engagement with leagues, teams, athletes, or sports-affiliated foundations.
Experience working in or with fast-paced, high-output environments (e.g., media, campaigns, advocacy organizations, or rapid-response communications teams).
Familiarity with climate, environmental, science, or public interest communications.
Experience identifying and engaging funders in adjacent sectors (e.g., health, media, resilience, education, democracy).
Experience working with or supporting board members in fundraising.
Familiarity with donor research tools (e.g., Foundation Directory, iWave, DonorSearch).
Experience working in a remote or distributed team environment.

Responsibilities

Partner with the Chief Development Officer and Executive Leadership Team to develop and execute Climate Central’s institutional fundraising strategy.
Build and manage a strategic portfolio of institutional funders and prospects, prioritizing relationships capable of significant, multi-year philanthropic commitments.
Secure six- and seven-figure grants through strategic cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
Expand the institutional funding pipeline by identifying and engaging new prospects both within and beyond the climate funding ecosystem.
Develop targeted strategies to reach funders in adjacent sectors such as public health, media, democracy, education, resilience, and sports and entertainment-related philanthropy.
Lead development of a corporate philanthropy strategy, including corporate foundations and mission-aligned corporate giving programs.
Explore and build a sports philanthropy strategy, identifying opportunities to connect climate science and impacts to sports audiences, leagues, teams, and affiliated foundations.
Design and execute complex funding strategies and high-level solicitations aligned with organizational priorities.
Contribute to achieving annual institutional fundraising goals through portfolio management, pipeline growth, and strategic renewal of major grants.
Serve as the primary relationship manager for key institutional funders.
Build and maintain strong partnerships with senior leaders at foundations, corporations, and other institutional donors.
Develop tailored cultivation and stewardship strategies to deepen relationships and sustain multi-year support.
Identify and activate strategic networks, including board members, advisors, and partners, to strengthen engagement with prospective donors.
Represent Climate Central in meetings, briefings, and events with funders and partners.
Lead the development of compelling proposals, concept notes, briefings, and presentations in collaboration with program, communications, and development colleagues.
Manage the full lifecycle of institutional grants, including proposal submission, grant agreements, reporting, and renewals.
Ensure timely, accurate, and high-quality reporting that clearly communicates impact and outcomes.
Coordinate across teams to gather programmatic, financial, and impact data required for proposals and reports.
Maintain systems and workflows to ensure all deadlines are met and deliverables are of consistently high quality.
Partner with program teams to shape funding opportunities and align institutional funding with organizational priorities.
Work closely with Finance to ensure accurate budgeting, compliance, and reporting.
Support Executive Leadership Team and board engagement with institutional funders.
Provide insight on institutional funding trends and emerging opportunities, including new sectors and cross-cutting funding approaches.
Contribute to a strong culture of philanthropy across the organization.
Track institutional fundraising activity, pipeline, and revenue projections in Salesforce.