VP, Foundation Relations

Overview

Since 1972, Covenant House has served and advocated for youth and young families experiencing homelessness, human trafficking, and exploitation. Our overarching goal is to end homelessness among youth and young families by helping them achieve housing stability, heal from trauma, tap into their innate resilience, and hone their interests and skills to forge new pathways to independence. This work is carried out across Covenant House sites in 34 cities in the US, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras.

About the Role

The Vice President, Foundation Relations is a strategic frontline fundraising professional responsible for securing transformational philanthropic investments from international, national, regional, family, and private foundations. Reporting to the Chief Philanthropy Officer, the Vice President will play a critical role in expanding Covenant House International's institutional funding portfolio by identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding foundation partners capable of making seven- and eight-figure commitments.

The Vice President will manage a portfolio consisting of both high-potential new foundation prospects and current foundation funders with significant capacity for growth. The successful candidate will develop and execute strategies that lead to substantial new revenue while deepening existing foundation partnerships through upgraded annual, multi-year, and strategic investments.

This position requires a highly entrepreneurial fundraiser with a demonstrated record of securing multiple multi-million-dollar grants and commitments from foundations. The Vice President must be a self-starter who is comfortable operating independently, managing complex donor strategies, and consistently achieving ambitious fundraising goals with minimal supervision.

As a key member of the broader revenue organization, the Vice President will help advance Covenant House's mission by building meaningful partnerships that generate transformative support for youth experiencing homelessness and human trafficking throughout the Americas.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Foundation Fundraising and Portfolio Management

• Develop and implement individualized cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies for a portfolio of foundations capable of making seven- and eight-figure commitments

• Identify and secure significant new foundation partnerships that align with Covenant House's mission, strategic priorities, and programmatic objectives

• Grow and upgrade an existing portfolio of foundation funders through expanded grants, multi-year commitments, and increased institutional investment

• Personally manage complex foundation relationships from qualification through solicitation and stewardship

• Develop and maintain a robust pipeline of high-capacity institutional prospects

• Lead foundation solicitations and funding discussions for major initiatives, strategic priorities, capital needs, research efforts, advocacy initiatives, and international programs

• Consistently meet or exceed annual fundraising goals for revenue, proposals submitted, proposals funded, and foundation engagement activities

• Monitor foundation funding trends and proactively identify opportunities to secure new support

Relationship Building and Stewardship

• Build strong relationships with foundation presidents, executive directors, trustees, family office representatives, program officers, and philanthropic advisors

• Develop customized engagement plans designed to deepen foundation investment and long-term commitment

• Coordinate site visits, funder briefings, impact discussions, and executive engagement opportunities

• Deliver exceptional stewardship that demonstrates impact, accountability, and alignment with funder priorities

• Position Covenant House as a trusted and high-impact philanthropic partner

Proposal Development and Grant Strategy

• Partner with grant writing colleagues to develop compelling proposals, letters of inquiry, reports, and other institutional fundraising materials

• Collaborate with program, finance, research, and affiliate leaders to gather information needed for competitive proposals and thoughtful stewardship reporting

• Translate complex organizational priorities into persuasive funding opportunities that resonate with foundation audiences

• Ensure proposals and reports are submitted accurately and on schedule

• Help develop funding frameworks, cases for support, and strategic investment opportunities tailored to foundation interests

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with colleagues across Donor Relations, Corporate Partnerships, Marketing and Communications, Strategy, Programs, and Finance to maximize funding opportunities

• Partner with corporate fundraising colleagues when opportunities involve corporate foundations or family foundations connected to corporate leaders

• Collaborate with senior leaders and subject matter experts to strengthen cultivation and solicitation efforts

• Coordinate involvement of executive leadership and board members when appropriate to advance foundation relationships

Strategic Leadership

• Serve as a key contributor to Covenant House's institutional fundraising strategy

• Share knowledge of philanthropy trends, foundation interests, and emerging funding opportunities

• Support efforts to strengthen systems, processes, and best practices within the Foundation Relations function

• Represent Covenant House professionally and effectively in external settings

• Demonstrate accountability, initiative, and ownership for fundraising outcomes
  

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Demonstrated expertise in foundation relations and institutional fundraising

• Proven ability to secure multi-million-dollar grants and commitments from private foundations

• Strong understanding of international, national, regional, family, and independent foundation landscapes

• Exceptional relationship-building skills with foundation executives, trustees, family office representatives, and program officers

• Strong understanding of proposal development, grant budgeting, stewardship, and reporting requirements

• Ability to navigate complex foundation decision-making processes and multi-stakeholder funding opportunities

• Excellent strategic thinking and donor management skills

• Strong proposal development, writing, editing, and presentation abilities

• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills

• Ability to manage multiple complex fundraising strategies simultaneously

• Strong project management, organizational, and analytical capabilities

• High degree of initiative, self-motivation, and personal accountability

• Ability to work independently and drive results with minimal oversight

• Strong collaboration and relationship management skills across organizational functions

• Sound judgment, professionalism, discretion, and attention to detail

• Passion for Covenant House's mission and a commitment to serving vulnerable youth

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of 7-10 years of progressively responsible fundraising experience, including significant experience in foundation relations and institutional giving

• Demonstrated track record of securing multiple grants and commitments of $1 million or more from private foundations

• Proven success managing and growing portfolios of foundation prospects and funders

• Experience securing both new foundation funding and expanded investments from existing partners

• Experience developing and executing complex cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies

• Experience identifying and developing new foundation funding opportunities

• Demonstrated success generating substantial new revenue from foundations

• Experience collaborating effectively with executive leaders, board members, program staff, and cross-functional fundraising teams

• Demonstrated ability to work independently, proactively identify opportunities, and consistently achieve ambitious fundraising goals with minimal management

• Willingness and ability to travel as needed
  

Expected Leadership Competencies

• Foundation Relations Expertise

• New Business Development

• Executive Presence

• Revenue Growth Mindset

• Talent Development and Coaching

• Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Innovation and Opportunity Creation

• Influence and Relationship Building

• Results Orientation

• Accountability and Ownership

• Financial Stewardship

• Sound Judgment and Decision-Making
  

Travel Requirements

• Expected to travel nationally up to 10%-20% for in-person meetings with partners and CHI team meetings as needed
  

Our Community

Our critical mission demands that we have all voices at the table. A team of diverse people, perspectives, and experiences is smarter, stronger, and more effective for our young people. At Covenant House, every team member is valued, respected, heard, and supported, and we welcome honest and courageous self-reflection on any aspects of our work that are based on biased or outdated viewpoints. We deliberately create opportunities for our staff to grow and thrive.

Covenant House International is an Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind: CHI is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all employees and to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions at CHI are based on business needs, job requirements, and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion, belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, family or parental status, disability status, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate. CHI will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics and encourages all qualified applicants to apply.

If you have a disability or medical condition and need a reasonable accommodation, such as an ASL interpreter or a different interview format, or if you have physical accessibility needs, let us know. Contact us at 1-929-502-2521, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Eastern Time or email us at chipeopleandculture@covenanthouse.org.