Manager, Fundraising

The Chicago Public Education Fund (The Fund) supports public schools by investing in the talented educators who lead them. As an independent nonprofit organization, we partner with Chicago Public Schools (CPS), the City of Chicago, the local philanthropic community, principals, and aspiring principals to build and sustain a culture of strong leadership. For more than two decades, our supportive program and policy efforts and our willingness to innovate alongside educators have made a measurable, positive impact on the quality of leadership in schools and helped educators support student learning. In our current campaign, Chicago Leads, we will raise and invest $50M to deepen and strengthen leadership in Chicago’s 636 public schools.

Organizational Values

We are solutions-oriented. We approach our work with a proactive and productive mindset. Challenges are part of the work; we aim for continuous improvement.

We are collaborative. We understand that each team member relies on others to achieve goals. We ask for help when we need it and provide help when asked. The organization, as a whole, is more significant than any one of us alone.

We act with integrity. We say what we will do, and we do what we say. We are honest about what we know and what we are learning; this helps us achieve the best possible outcomes. 

We prioritize equity. Our work prioritizes leaders who serve and represent communities most directly impacted by structural racism and systematic exclusion. On our team, we actively recruit and hire for diversity in all areas of identity. Our commitments are lived out loud.

The Chicago Public Education Fund is celebrating its 25th anniversary. We are strategically investing in our fundraising infrastructure to ensure we have the resources needed to drive educational equity and leadership development for the next quarter century. This role focuses on donor relations but is separate from meeting an annual fundraising goal. We recently completed a $40M fundraising round with a $2M endowment, and we have a solid and active funder base. We seek a Manager, Fundraising to help set and guide a strategy that expands our existing base with innovative, sustainable revenue approaches.

If you are energized by executing high-impact campaigns, enjoy creating systems that support long-term sustainability, and have ideas for generating sustainable revenue in the nonprofit sector, this role is for you.

In this position, you will focus on two core responsibilities: securing new revenue streams to fuel our mission and ensuring deep, ongoing engagement with our top donors. You will work closely with the CEO, COO, and senior leadership, giving you the unique opportunity to influence and shape the future of public education in Chicago. As the COO is also a new hire, you will have the opportunity to co-create a vision for sustainable resources at The Fund. By growing our donor base and strengthening relationships with key stakeholders; you will play a pivotal role in ensuring our supporters feel deeply connected to our mission and are aware of the tangible impact their contributions are making.

You will be primarily responsible for two key workstreams:

1. Securing and Expanding Revenue. In your first 90 days, you will focus on understanding The Fund’s existing donor landscape and our ambitious plans for the future. You will work with the COO to draft a three-year revenue generation strategy that includes philanthropic support from new individual, corporate, and foundation prospects, and you may help shape our pursuit of other revenue streams. 

Over time, your role will evolve to include:

• Partnering with the COO to identify and secure new funding sources, including an intentional effort to grow corporate and young professional engagement. By the end of 2026, we should be on track to raise $10M in new dollars.
• Leading the planning and execution of major fundraising or revenue campaigns, including year-long efforts to attract and secure new high-value donors and efforts to test other revenue-generation strategies.
• Expanding and maintaining a robust pipeline of new funding sources across individual, corporate, and foundation sectors.
• Collaborating with the CEO and leadership team to strategically engage new prospects at key organizational events and personal touchpoints.
• Leading the development and refinement of proposals, presentations, and materials for campaigns and donor meetings to secure long-term support.
• Collaborating with the communications team to ensure all fundraising messaging aligns with The Fund’s style and strategy.
• Analyzing the effectiveness of campaigns through post-campaign analysis, using data insights to inform future strategies and drive continuous improvement in fundraising efforts

2. Stewardship and Engagement of Existing Funders. In your first 90 days, you will learn about the existing stewardship calendar and work with the Executive Assistant, the Fundraising Associate, and senior team members to revise and strengthen our current approach to stewardship. By the end of this period, you will have improved our near-term stewardship approach and revised our plan for FY25. You will integrate these efforts into the broader organizational calendar with the engagement team. Additionally, you will work with the Associate, Team Support and the Associate, Fundraising to ensure all donor interactions are tracked accurately.

Over time, your role will evolve to include:

• Implementing and continuously refining a comprehensive stewardship system to ensure personalized, high-value engagement with key funders. Where possible, you will make donor engagement automatic, potentially using CRM and AI tools to suggest connection points and follow-up.
• Partnering with the engagement and strategy teams to align stewardship touchpoints with key events and organizational goals.
• Executing donor engagement in Principal Appreciation Week, including at least two donor events in October of 2025. You’ll coordinate with internal teams to handle logistics, communications, and donor relations and to raise at least $250,000 in sponsorships by 2026.
• Developing tailored donor materials, including personalized communications and impact reports, to maintain and deepen relationships.
• Managing and analyzing donor engagement data in Raiser’s Edge to improve the effectiveness of stewardship efforts.
• Leading donor recognition events and initiatives that contribute to long-term support and enhanced donor satisfaction.

As a member of The Fund team, your broader culture contributions will include:

• Offering ideas and supporting projects that help achieve The Fund’s main goals. Your input is crucial for our success.
• Participating in the Managers Cohort to work with colleagues, share knowledge, improve your leadership skills, and work on projects that involve different parts of the organization.
• Attending events and meetings to represent The Fund, showing our dedication to enhancing Chicago's education. Your efforts are key to strengthening our relationships and reputation.
• Helping with projects that involve multiple teams, showing your commitment to our values and helping our team work well together.
• Focusing on your professional growth by taking part in educational opportunities and keeping up with the latest in public education and school leadership.

 This isn’t a role for someone seeking a traditional, well-worn path—it’s for a dynamic, mission-driven fundraising professional who excels in both strategic vision and hands-on execution. If you’re excited to help a mission-focused organization elevate its impact while building a foundation for long-term growth, we’d love to meet you. 

You’ll thrive in this role if you’re a strategic executor—someone who enjoys creating systems and processes that not only work today but can scale as the organization grows. The ideal candidate will be focused on leading campaigns, be data-driven, and be collaborative, with the ability to work cross-functionally and turn insights into action. You are detail-oriented but also understand the big picture of fundraising for long-term sustainability.

Required qualifications include:

• Demonstrated success in managing and executing comprehensive fundraising or revenue generation campaigns, with a focus on high-impact events and donor or investor engagement.
• Strong experience in data-driven fundraising, with the ability to leverage CRM systems like Raiser’s Edge to inform campaign strategies and donor insights. Experience using AI tools to make funder relations and grant management more effective is a plus.
• Expertise in donor cultivation and stewardship, building and maintaining long-term relationships with high-value stakeholders.
• Strong project management skills, with the ability to oversee complex timelines, manage multiple priorities, and coordinate large-scale events.
• Excellent communication skills, with experience engaging and inspiring diverse stakeholders, including Board members, major donors, and sponsors.
• Familiarity with grants management, including prospecting, compliance, reporting, and ensuring alignment with organizational goals.

COMPENSATION

The salary band for a Manager at The Fund starts at $80,000, and there is room to grow to $95,000 over time, based on performance and market adjustments. The Fund offers a robust and highly competitive benefits package, including healthcare coverage, retirement contribution, generous paid time off for all team members, and paid short-term and family leave. Please note that The Fund team is an in-person organization that works in schools and out of our offices in downtown Chicago. We offer one work-from-home day weekly. The position requires some evening and weekend hours.

TO APPLY 

The position is available immediately, and we are actively seeking candidates. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis through December 6, 2024. Applying early increases your chances of being invited for an interview, with the interview process set to begin the week of January 6. 

Please visit https://thefundchicago.org/who-we-are/careers/ and follow the links to navigate to the “Manager, Data”  job description. Once there, use the "Apply" button to submit your application: resume and cover letter. Finalists for any role with The Fund must undergo a background check to be considered for employment.

If you have questions about the job application, please email Careers@thefundchicago.org. Please note that we are unable to respond to phone inquiries regarding this position. 

The Fund employs and values a diverse workforce. We are also an equal-opportunity employer committed to utilizing the skills and leadership of people of color, low-income people, LGBTQ+ people, differently-abled people, and others from diverse backgrounds. People from these and other historically marginalized backgrounds and communities are strongly encouraged to apply.