Director of Institutional Giving

The American economy is broken. Today, 53 million working adults–nearly half of the U.S. workforce–do not earn a living wage. These talented workers have few options to advance: college is too long and expensive, full-time boot camp programs don’t offer enough flexibility, and online courses don’t have the structure or support to translate learning into a new career. The result? Talented workers, disproportionately people of color and women, get stuck in low-wage roles with no way to build a better life for themselves and their families.

Merit America is a national nonprofit that creates pathways to family-sustaining careers for Americans stuck in low-wage work. Our fast, flexible solutions are built for working adults: We start by analyzing tens of millions of job postings to identify in-demand, high-paying tech careers and then work with industry-recognized partners to train for these roles with part-time programs that combine flexible online learning with best-in-class coaching. Finally, we support our learners in their job search, helping them connect with a broad constellation of local and national employers such as JPMorgan Chase and Infosys to land higher-earning, family-sustaining jobs, driving an average wage gain of $24k three months or more after completing the program. Merit America is on a mission to build a scalable pathway for workers to join the middle class through merit, not money. Since our founding in 2018, we’ve generated a projected $1 billion in near-term wage gains for our learners.

About the Role

As the Director of Institutional Giving, you will play a pivotal leadership role within Merit America, actively collaborating with our co-CEOs, the executive team, and other development leaders. Your primary responsibility will be to strategically manage, cultivate, and grow relationships with both new and existing funding partners, ensuring their continued support for our mission.

A successful candidate will:

1. Expertly steward existing partnerships (with annual grant amounts of $50k to $1M+) with the goal of growing existing partnerships and securing new six and seven-figure commitments, primarily from foundation funders.
2. Maximize the efforts of the co-founders/co-CEOs, ensuring that every fundraising opportunity is strategic and exemplifies excellence in every donor relationship.
3. Play an integral role in meeting an org-wide fundraising goal of $15M in 2025 and ~$25M+ in 2026

The Director of Institutional Giving is an exempt role and will report to the Director of Development.

What You’ll be Doing:

As the relationship manager for the majority of institutional funder opportunities, you'll be directly responsible for ensuring they have a best-in-class experience with Merit America and are inspired to continue supporting our mission. Your expert relationship management will also attract new funders and expand our influence in funder networks.

The primary responsibilities of the Director of Institutional Giving will include, but are not limited to, the following:

Manage Donor and Prospect Relationships (60%)

• With the support of the team, manage relationships with prospects and existing funders, including producing all written communications, proposals, and reports, as well as interacting via regular meetings or presentations.
• Take a proactive and tailored approach to stewardship, demonstrating a high degree of responsiveness, creativity, and a keen understanding of each funder’s interests and priorities.
• Strategically leverage the co-CEOs to build and nurture relationships that enhance commitment and investment from funders.
• Successfully position the organization for renewed and increased investment from existing funders at the end of their grant cycle.
• Create powerful fundraising narratives that connect program data, impact metrics, and with emotional impact to drive stakeholder engagement.

Grow and Advance the Development Pipeline (30%)

• Meaningfully contribute to the ambitious team goal to add $50M+ to the qualified pipeline during your first 12 months, with a focus on identifying opportunities to grow commitments from existing funders and leveraging funder networks to open up new opportunities.
• Analyze funding trends to identify potential headwinds and tailwinds and design outreach strategies to specific funders or groups, proactively positioning Merit America to capitalize on favorable funding opportunities.
• Contribute to the development of comprehensive, data-informed fundraising strategies that align with Merit America's long-term strategic priorities.
• Collaborate successfully with teams across the organization to create and refine cases for support that align with the needs of Merit America’s mission and strategy.
• Set strategy and prepare co-CEOs/executive leaders for meetings with current and prospective funders.

Advance Team Priorities through Cross-Functional Collaboration (10%)

• Engage the Sustainability team and broader organization to identify and address pipeline gaps with a solutions-oriented approach.
• Lead complex projects and create compelling cases about strategic priorities and resource allocation, effectively influencing decision-makers.
• Deeply understand our data and leverage it to advance fundraising goals, gathering insights from program and other teams.

What Makes a Successful Candidate

We recognize that individuals from marginalized backgrounds, including women, people of color, and those with disabilities, are often less likely to apply when they don’t meet 100% of the job qualifications. Don’t let that be the reason you miss out on this opportunity! We want to emphasize that your unique skills, experiences, and perspectives are valuable, and we encourage you to apply if you can demonstrate many of the skills and competencies. Below are the skills that are relevant for thriving in this role:

Must Haves

Strategic Fundraising

• At least 10- years of institutional fundraising experience inclusive of portfolio management, reporting, and funder engagement, with a track record of securing 6-8 figure investments.
• Analytical and data-driven lens, with skill in making sense of complex situations, anticipating outcomes, and developing plans that align with organizational strategy

Partnership & Relationship Management

• Experience working with senior leadership to cultivate and steward external partnerships that result in trusting and long-lasting relationships.
• Exceptional ability to build and maintain relationships with diverse stakeholders, reflecting an understanding of stakeholder interests and priorities in all interactions.

Entrepreneurial Spirit

• Bias for action - willingness to roll up your sleeves and do whatever it takes to make things successful.
• Ability to work with a high level of detail and quality in a start-up environment that is rapidly scaling

Communication & Storytelling

• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills with the ability to translate complex information into powerful, emotionally resonant narratives
• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely with both internal colleagues and external partners

Collaboration and Teamwork

• Experience “managing up” to CEOs on funder related tasks, making direct asks and ensuring excellent preparation and follow-up
• Ability to collaborate cross-functionally on time-sensitive projects.

Mission & Values Alignment

• Committed to Merit America’s mission to pave pathways to family-sustaining careers, break the poverty cycle, and create upward mobility for low-wage workers.
• Demonstrated history of embodying our values, which inform our work and drive our organization's culture.
• Shared sense of responsibility and ownership for our collective work in making a positive impact on the community we support, true to our value of Win & Lose Together.
• Committed to continuous learning and growth in advancing inclusive excellence and closing gaps across lines of difference
• Passionate about fostering a workplace culture that embraces and values individual differences, aligned with our core value of inclusivity

Nice to Have:

• Experience with Salesforce
• Familiarity with the workforce development sector
• Comfort working with ChatGPT or similar AI tools

• 4-day work week (Fridays are an operating day if there is a holiday closure during the week)
• Medical, Dental and Vision insurance (100% Paid Employee Only Coverage)
• Flexible Spending Account and Health Savings Account
• Dependent care Flexible Spending Account
• Health Reimbursement Account fully funded by Merit
• Education & personal development reimbursement
• Catalog of courses for professional learning and development
• Short and long-term disability
• Unlimited vacation (after a 90-day introductory period)
• Paid Parental Leave and Adoption benefits (after 1 year of employment)
• 11 federally recognized holidays
• 1 week office closure in July (week of July 4th)
• 2 week holiday office closure in December/January
• 401(k) retirement plan with automatic Merit contribution
• Wellness Benefits/Wellness Resources
• Discount perks at work program
• Phone/technology stipend
• Home office setup stipend
• Affinity groups and community building via virtual, in-person, and/or regional meetups