Development & Philanthropic Partnerships Lead

Overview

Ownership Capital Lab (the Lab) is seeking a proactive, creative, relational and self-propelled Development & Philanthropic Partnerships Lead to lead donor cultivation, philanthropic partnerships, grants and high-touch engagement initiatives. This role is grounded in our philosophy that fundraising is not transactional or competitive—it is the work of inviting people into shared leadership, building relational commitment and helping donors see themselves as what they are: essential co-creators in a bold movement for economic transformation. The role starts part-time and will be scoped appropriately, with potential to grow into full-time.

The ideal candidate understands that people commit not only cognitively but emotionally—and that their most valuable resources include not just money but time, attention, creativity, lived experience, expertise and networks. You are someone who knows how to unlock these resources, helping donors imagine themselves inside a growing community taking shared responsibility for transforming ownership in America.

In this role, you will partner on donor strategy and execution (leading in some areas, supporting in others), ensuring disciplined stewardship across the entire pipeline: prospect identification, warm introductions, scheduling key meetings for the Lab’s leadership, drafting persuasive communications, preparing relationally-focused briefing materials, stewarding follow-up, and creating structures that support deepening commitment through engagement and many-to-many leadership. You will also coordinate all grants work, from identifying opportunities to helping to shape strategy, drafting or overseeing drafting of proposals, driving reporting timelines, and aligning funders around a shared narrative and Theory of Change.

You will play a central role in three major-donor engagement initiatives: (1) The 2026 EO Capital Roadmap Roadshow: intimate, high-impact gatherings that spark imagination, strengthen relational networks and cultivate commitment; (2) The Leadership Circle: a peer community of philanthropic partners who meet twice yearly to learn, align and steward collective momentum; (3) Donor and investor learning trip(s): immersive experiences that deepen understanding of employee ownership and build momentum for long-term philanthropic and investment engagement.

This role is ideal for someone who thrives in relational spaces, excels at creating purposeful structure, brings courage and imagination to donor engagement, is adept at maximizing impact with modest resources and wants to build a movement—not merely raise funds. As the Lab expands fundraising success, this part-time role will evolve into a full-time position.

Time allocation snapshot

50%: Donor research, cultivation, engagement and stewardship

25%: In-person donor engagement and event support logistics (e.g. Roadshow, Leadership Circle, potential donor engagement trips and other opportunities)

25%: Grants strategy, drafting (or overseeing drafting) and management

Core responsibilities

Donor cultivation, engagement & stewardship (50%)

Creative, high-impact engagement opportunities

• Co-design donor experiences that promote agency, shared responsibility, and many-to-many connection—including Roadshow events, engagement opportunities, small-group gatherings and peer-learning spaces
• Craft compelling, resourceful approaches for engaging donors on a lean budget
• Shape narratives and materials that translate complex ideas into compelling calls to action grounded in shared purpose, values and the belief that everyone has meaningful resources to contribute
• Co-create dynamic, tiered “asks” (time, introductions, creativity, thought partnership, financial investment) to build momentum, strengthen relational ties and deepen commitment

Pipeline building & prospecting

• Bring to life creative engagement strategies that communicate the high leverage opportunity of expanding capital investment to grow EO, urgency and timeliness of this strategy, and the transformative potential of systems change
• Build and maintain a robust donor pipeline across individuals, family offices, foundations, DAF holders and others
• Conduct prospecting that prioritizes relational commitment, shared purpose and long-term leadership potential.

Donor coordination & communications

• Develop strategic communications plan (coordinating with overall org comms), rooted in the Lab’s shared narrative—supporting donors in making sense of their choices within a broader community
• Draft donor-facing communications (emails, outreach, follow-ups, stewardship) in the CEO’s or others’ voices with clarity, courage and relational intent
• Schedule donor meetings, join as appropriate, prepare agendas and briefing materials that support emotional connection and leadership identity, and ensure disciplined follow-through
• Maintain CRM tracking that identifies relational depth, leadership possibilities, and next-step invitations to ensure timely, polished follow-through for every relationship

In-person donor engagement (25%)

Event-based donor engagement

• Co-design intimate donor gatherings in each Roadmap Roadshow location (e.g. dinners, receptions, local tours), developing creative ways to connect donors into the Roadmap’s narrative and momentum
• Develop and manage planning for donor & investor learning trip(s), utilizing the trip planning as a donor engagement engine — cultivating imagination, commitment and collective purpose.
• Coordinate logistics, RSVPs, materials, run-of-show and follow-ups on a lean budget with relational excellence and follow-through.

Leadership Circle and other strategic engagement

• Support development of overall Leadership Circle as a community of shared engagement and momentum
• Plan gatherings that nurture relational power, strengthen many-to-many networks and invite members into leadership roles
• Ensure impeccable logistics, hospitality, facilitation and follow-up

Meeting strategy

• Map priority contacts in each city, segmenting 1:1s into introductory, relational stewardship and leadership invitation conversations
• Set up meetings for Lab leadership and prepare research-backed donor briefings that highlight motivations, values, leadership potential and relational opportunities
• Manage follow-up that builds momentum and supports timely meaningful asks

Grants strategy, development & management (25%)

• Monitor grant calendars, identify opportunities, and provide ample lead time for cultivation and strategy development
• Develop proposal strategy and manage feedback cycles
• Draft or oversee drafting of high-quality grant narratives, budgets and attachments
• Coordinate reporting timelines and prepare submissions
• Maintain an accurate, adaptive grants tracker

Qualifications

Required

• 5+ years experience in fundraising, donor relations, philanthropic partnerships and grant development
• Experience with donor meetings, events, and high-touch relational cultivation
• Comfort engaging donors at all levels
• Demonstrated ability to move donors from interest to commitment using relational approaches
• Exceptional written communication skills; able to write persuasively, including in the voice(s) of Lab leadership
• Entrepreneurial, resourceful, creative and adept at creating high-impact engagement with modest resources
• Strong project management and deadline discipline with clear-structure-building skills
• Experience managing grants calendars and developing proposals and/or overseeing grantwriter(s)
• Passion for impact investing, systems change and economic justice

Preferred

• Experience in philanthropy, working in or partnering with family offices and/or individual donors
• Familiarity with CRM platforms and workflow tools
• Familiarity with employee ownership or adjacent work.

Who you are

• Energized by authentic relationship-building, and inspiring and inviting donors to increase their commitment through engagement
• Skilled at helping donors imagine themselves inside a movement and understand their participation as meaningful and necessary
• Thrive in entrepreneurial settings; love being a structure creator and holder who makes fast-paced environments hum
• Highly organized and detail-oriented; ability to set clear priorities and manage up and across, given there is always more to do than bandwidth allows
• Comfortable making meaningful, timely asks — for time, attention, introductions, creativity and financial commitments
• Motivated by a belief in shared purpose, relational power, and the transformative potential of systems change
• Passionate about shared ownership and economic equity

• Part-time salaried role with generous benefits, prorated salary and benefits to a 25 hours/week role at full time rate of $90-$103K, with opportunity to grow into full-time as fundraising success expands. If preferred, could structure as a flat rate monthly contractor role.
• Remote within the U.S.
• Some travel required for Roadshow events, donor gatherings, and learning & engagement trip(s).