Mikva Challenge

ABOUT THE POSITION

Reporting to the Senior Director of Institutional Giving, the Institutional Giving Manager plays a key role in securing and stewarding foundation, corporate, and government support for the organization. The Institutional Giving Manager’s primary focus is grant development, management and related compliance. We are seeking an accomplished grant writer and storyteller who can translate Mikva’s mission, programs, outcomes, and funding needs into compelling proposals, reports, and funder communications. 

As an integral part of the Advancement team, the Institutional Giving Manager supports annual development planning and contributes to the overall fundraising team’s goals. The Manager oversees an assigned portfolio of institutional funders and coordinates cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, and renewal efforts, including funder meetings and site visits. This role partners closely with program, finance, evaluation, and communications colleagues and consultants to manage deadlines and deliverables, strengthen funder relationships, and contribute to the organization's broader institutional fundraising strategy and revenue goals.  

OFFICE LOCATION
This is a hybrid position, working both in the office and remotely, engaging with staff and stakeholders through virtual platforms. Candidates must be based in Chicago, IL or the Washington, D.C metropolitan area. This position is not eligible for paid relocation.

SCHEDULE: Full-time

REPORTS TO: Senior Director of Institutional Giving

TRAVEL: Up to 10% travel may be required to attend meetings, events, or for other business related needs.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES
Grant Development, Management, and Compliance

• Lead and execute the development and timely submission of high quality grant materials, including letters of inquiry, proposals, reports, and funder presentations.
• Collaborate with cross-departmental staff to gather program updates and ensure accurate grant reporting.
• Ensure compliance with all funder and government grant compliance requirements, including tracking deadlines, site visits, and regular program updates.
• Provide writing support for development initiatives, including donor acknowledgements, stewardship, cultivation, and funding requests as needed.
• Collaborate with communications staff and consultants to create compelling fundraising materials.

Portfolio and Funder Relationship Management

• Manage a continuous pipeline of funders to achieve portfolio development and revenue goals.
• Represent Mikva Challenge by effectively communicating our mission, theory of change, and programs to external and internal stakeholders.
• Work across teams to support effective relationship management with stakeholders and funders, including participation in Mikva’s programming and events.
• Support corporate sponsorship efforts by attending event planning meetings, tracking outreach, preparing leadership for engagement, and making direct solicitations.
• Maintain accurate donor records in the donor database and shared systems.

Strategy and Prospect Development

• Research, identify, and prioritize potential funding opportunities, including outreach to prospective funders, in collaboration with the Senior Director of Institutional Giving and Advancement team.
• Contribute to developing the annual fundraising strategy and assist in setting and achieving annual revenue goals.
   
• Other duties as assigned.

REQUIREMENTS

Education: Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Experience: Minimum of four to six years of fundraising experience with responsibility for grant writing and management. Experience managing foundation grants is required; corporate and government fundraising experience is strongly preferred.

COMPETENCIES AND QUALIFICATIONS

• Passion for working with a mission-driven youth leadership non-profit.
• Experience applying fundraising best practices in a not-for-profit setting; experience with a national non-profit is a plus.
• Demonstrated success writing clear, persuasive, and high quality grant proposals and reports. Candidates should be prepared to provide writing materials during the recruitment process. 
• Strong storytelling skills and the ability to translate program data into compelling cases for support. 
• Demonstrated knowledge of grant management practices and experience managing the full grant lifecycle.
• Understanding of prospect cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, and renewal processes.
• Strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills and a proven ability to create and foster meaningful connections between donors and the organization.
• Strong verbal communication skills and the ability to represent the organization’s mission, programs, goals, and impact to a diverse group of internal and external stakeholders.
• Strong project management, organization, attention to details, and problem solving abilities.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities, anticipate needs, meet deadlines, and maintain timely follow through in a fast-paced environment.
• Self-motivated with strong follow-through and task completion skills.
• Ability to work independently, collaborate across teams, and report to multiple stakeholders in a remote environment.
• Ability to adapt to different work styles, behaviors, and team dynamics while maintaining effective collaboration.
• Proactive, creative thinker who takes initiative.
• Familiarity with current issues and trends in education and youth programming, and with the philanthropic landscape supporting our work.
• Strong knowledge of Microsoft and Google Workspace.
• Experience with Salesforce, or similar donor database platforms.
• Willingness to work periodic evenings and weekends, as needed.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
The salary for this position is $80,000 annually. We offer a competitive benefits package to include paid time off, medical, dental, vision, 401K, disability and life insurance.
 

ABOUT OUR WORK
Mikva Challenge is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization whose mission is to develop youth to be empowered, informed, and active citizens and community members who will promote a just and equitable society.  We do this by engaging youth in our civic learning model, an authentic and transformative learning process built on youth voice and youth expertise. Youth in Mikva’s programming experience unique civic learning opportunities in the political process including: public policy advocacy, government internships, and youth activism programs. Our approaches include direct youth work, teacher support, and liaising with civic leaders and institutions. We believe strongly in the potential of youth and are committed to advancing youth power and voice.

Across the country, participants in Mikva Challenge programs consistently report meaningful growth and lasting impact. Young people express greater confidence in their ability to improve their schools and communities and to work with others to drive change. Educators describe feeling more energized and inspired in their roles, and community leaders increasingly value their partnership with youth as trusted collaborators in shaping policies and community solutions.

To learn more about the impact of Mikva Challenge, we invite you to explore our latest annual report, which highlights youth in action and features reflections from alumni, insights from educators, and perspectives from our community partners. 


EQUITY STATEMENT

Mikva Challenge is an equal opportunity employer committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. We provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity, and gender expression), sexual orientation, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, political affiliation, marital status, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit-based factors. We strongly encourage candidates from a wide range of backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences to apply.