About Cradles to Crayons:
Cradles to Crayons (C2C), founded in 2002, provides children from birth through age 12, living in homeless or low-income situations, with the essential items they need to thrive—at home, at school, and at play. We supply clothing, shoes, diapers, school supplies, and more, free of charge. Our vision is that one day all children will have the essentials they need to thrive.
Two in 5 kids in the United States are currently facing Clothing Insecurity, going without basic essentials like pants, shoes, diapers, and school supplies during their critical development years. Three of the top 10 reasons kids miss school are rooted in Clothing Insecurity—just one example of the significant short- and long-term social and economic costs when these needs go unmet. Cradles to Crayons keeps Clothing Insecurity at the core of our mission and is the only large-scale nonprofit organization to focus on this resource gap. Since its founding, Cradles to Crayons has distributed more than three million customized packages of essentials to children in Massachusetts, Greater Philadelphia, Chicagoland, and nationally, through Giving Factory Direct—a first-in-kind online product donation platform launched in 2021.
Cradles to Crayons takes a three-pronged approach to mitigating Clothing Insecurity:
In-person Engagement—through tens of thousands of children and adults volunteering at our Giving Factory warehouses to sort and package high volumes of new and like-new donations from our communities for our Service Partners to distribute to the children they serve.
Online Product Donations—Giving Factory Direct matches product donors directly to children who need the items they have to donate. GFD is currently available in a growing number of communities as we expand our reach nationally.
Advocacy and Awareness—Cradles to Crayons is uniquely positioned to raise Clothing Insecurity as a national issue through awareness campaigns, data/evaluation, and legislative outreach.
Cradles to Crayons has earned the highest possible rating from Charity Navigator since 2009. Only 2% of charities nationwide have received this distinction. C2C has a budget of $20M for FY25.
POSITION OVERVIEW:
This position reports to the Executive Director and supervises the Community Engagement (CE) and Partner Relations (PR) teams. The Director of Partnerships and Engagement serves as a member of the management leadership team in Chicago and an active participant in developing and implementing strategies affecting the Chicago Market, developing sustainable partnerships with other like-minded organizations, and building engagement within communities around C2C’s mission to End Clothing Insecurity.
The Director strengthens existing partnerships and forges new relationships to help build C2C’s visibility, impact, and resources. Possessing an entrepreneurial spirit and flexibility to work in a fast-paced environment and with individuals with different work styles will be critical for success. Possessing an ability to work in a collaborative, credible manner is a requirement.
Working collaboratively with colleagues in Chicago and in other markets, the Director is responsible for overseeing the standardization and metrics for the Community Engagement and Partner Relations functions in Chicago and across the C2C network and ensures that best practices are incorporated and measured for the function across the organization. They are also responsible for building on existing partners and expanding Cradles to Crayons’ portfolio of programs/partnerships.
The role is also responsible for overall staff management and leadership of the Partner Relations and Community Engagement teams, providing supervision for the PR and CE managers. This position establishes and oversees the execution of this team’s annual goals and advises the Managers regarding problem resolution associated with the market’s non-profit partners and community members.
MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:
Community Engagement
Partner Relations
Strategic Management
One Cradles Impact
Organizational Support
Assist with general Cradles to Crayons operations and signature events as assigned by the Executive Director.
Operations and Giving Factory production
Required Experience/Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:
DIVERSITY IS OUR STRENGTH:
Diversity and Inclusiveness are core values at Cradles to Crayons, and we continuously strive to be a team where everyone feels welcome and supported. It is the policy of Cradles to Crayons to provide equal employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information and/or any other protected characteristic under applicable law. Individuals from underrepresented groups are especially encouraged to apply.
Working Conditions:
This is a warehouse environment, and normal temperature changes are expected while working inside the warehouse or outside, on or around the loading dock. There are no hazardous or significantly unpleasant conditions.
Accommodation:
In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, it is possible that requirements may be modified to reasonably accommodate disabled individuals. However, no accommodations will be made by Cradles to Crayons which may pose serious health or safety risks to the employee or others, or which impose undue hardships on the organization.
About Cradles to Crayons:
Cradles to Crayons (C2C), founded in 2002, provides children from birth through age 12, living in homeless or low-income situations, with the essential items they need to thrive—at home, at school, and at play. We supply…