About the Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada

Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada is our country’s leading charity dedicated to improving the lives of children and youth growing up in the child welfare system. We raise and grant funds and deliver a wide range of high-impact programs and services in partnership with child- and youth-serving agencies across the country.

Our vision is to create a world where the children and youth we serve have the strength and resilience to forge a bright and positive future. Join us and together we will help empower children, youth and families involved with the child welfare system go from surviving to thriving. Last year we raised over $17.5M supporting 19,568 children, youth and families across Canada.

You picked an incredible moment to join the Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada! We are leading a bold and ambitious transformational strategy that will drive growth and awareness and ultimately lead to increased funds to better serve our three priority populations:

1) children and families at risk,

2) children and youth living in government care, and

3) youth transitioning out of care.

To learn more about us, please visit our website.

To better understand our impact, please watch our ‘Investing in the Future, Today’ video.

The Opportunity

Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada’s donor community has grown at a rapid pace through the current $100M Stand Up For Kids-Futures Transformed Campaign.  At this exciting time, we’re investing further in our development team’s stewardship and engagement capacity with the Officer, Stewardship and Engagement.

The Officer, Stewardship and Engagement plays a key role in planning, coordinating and executing donor engagement and stewardship activities. The Officer, Stewardship and Engagement will play a pivotal role in ensuring corporate and community partnerships feel valued and connected to CAFC’s mission.

To be successful in this position, the candidate must be results oriented and proactive, highly organized, and a creative thinker who enjoys being part of an entrepreneurial and growth-orientated environment. The ideal candidate is a team player, possessing exceptional relationship management skills to execute donor relations activities seamlessly and foster collaboration across teams; all to deliver to a high-standard to help achieve the Foundation’s goals. Experience/exposure to working with volunteers through the engagement cycle and a talent for composing compelling donor communications will set the ideal candidate up for success and professional growth.

Part of the Development team, the Officer, Stewardship and Engagement will enjoy a sound working relationship with our Senior Development Officer, Stewardship and Engagement who is responsible for creating and executing exceptional engagement and stewardship for the Foundation’s Individual – Foundation Major Gift donors.  If you are passionate about creating more resources for underserved children, youth and families in vulnerable situations and are motivated to contribute to strengthening best stewardship practices already in place, we invite you to apply.

Specific Accountabilities:

Donor Stewardship

• Report into the Senior Manager, Corporate and Community Partnerships to contribute to stewardship and engagement strategies by staying abreast of best practices and new opportunities
• Lead the execution of stewardship and recognition plans for Corporate and Community partners at major giving levels ($5,000+) and volunteers associated with key Foundation events and programs
  • Project manage stewardship deliverables for all major gift ($5,000+) Corporate and Community partners, including gift announcements, partnership summaries, impact reports, employee engagement initiatives, celebration events, associated communications/marketing deliverables and if required oversee award nominations (i.e. AFP Awards)
  • Plan, oversee and expand personalized donor stewardship touch points and larger gratitude initiatives to deepen Corporate and Community partnerships
  • Ensure stewardship and recognition offerings are compelling and meaningful to donors and complies with their gift agreement and the Foundation’s donor recognition policy
  • Collaborate with Donor Managers to prepare executable stewardship plans
  • Contribute to bi-weekly Development team stewardship meetings to drive activity and highlight opportunities
  • Work closely with the Finance Officer, Database to create annual and campaign donor listings for Foundation publications (i.e. annual reports, campaign newsletters, website) to capture all Corporate and Community partnerships accurately
  • Execute timely stewardship deliverables for sponsors post-event (i.e. Teddy Bear Affair Gala, Stand Up for Kids Night and Holiday Season Celebration)
  • Working with the Youth Engagement Officer, recruit, prepare and support Youth Ambassadors for donor stewardship and engagement appearances and activities
• Contribute to the development of how stewardship plans, and deliverables are tracked and coded in Raisers Edge

Donor Communication and Engagement :

• Maintain tracker/calendar of Impact Reports for the Corporate and Community Partnership team
• Lead the creation of customized donor impact reports and fundraising program reports; working closely with the Senior Development Officer, Stewardship and Engagement and Donor Managers
  • Project manage with Impact Team the availability of evaluation content and budget information to meet reporting deadlines and requirements
• Manage thank you letter process for Corporate & Community Partnerships, including drafting template letters for major fundraising initiatives and issuing timely acknowledgement letters to donors by mail as required
• Pull stewardship-related reports and data from Raisers Edge (ie. build donor mailing lists) in support donor retention and stewardship activities
• Liaise with Finance to coordinate Corporate/Community pledge reminders and collection
• Act as CAFC ambassador at all Development and Foundation events

Volunteer Management/Support

• Execute Volunteer Strategy to leverage corporate and community partnerships and explore opportunities to drive revenue
• Leverage CAFC Employee Workplace program and corporate partnerships to lead the recruitment, training and oversight of volunteers to support signature events and employee engagement initiatives
• Working with the Senior Manager, Corporate and Community Partnerships, provide support to select fundraising committees (i.e. Bike Challenge, Teddy Bear Adventure) and employee engagement initiatives (i.e. Stand Up and Move Challenge)

Performs Other Duties and Responsibilities as Assigned.

Qualifications

• Relevant post-secondary degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience
• Minimum of 2-3 years of relevant experience in the fundraising/advancement field or equivalent client-focused environment. Exposure to a non-profit fundraising environment and/or a fundraising campaign is an asset.

Required Competencies and Skills

• Commitment to providing an exceptional donor and volunteer experience
• Understanding of current best practices in stewardship and donor engagement, or equivalent client relationship best practices, with a demonstrated ability to develop and implement strategies that foster long-term relationships with major donors.
• Strong written and verbal communications skills that honor, retain and grow donor support
• Multi-tasker comfortable prioritizing competing demands to thrive in a fast paced and results-oriented environment
• Keen eye to detail and demonstrated ability for accuracy
• Excellent organization, planning and administrative skills, including proficiency with MS Office Suite
• Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues and partners at all levels, exercising sound judgement
• Working knowledge and experience in Raiser’s Edge (data entry, data maintenance, and database administration skills) would be considered an asset
• Familiarity with Community Investment/CSR strategies in Canada’s charitable sector is preferred
• French language would be considered an asset
• Alignment to organizational values: “VOICE”: Vital learning and innovation; Open Communications; Inclusion and diversity; Care and compassion; Empowering accountability

CAFC as an Employer

CAFC provides equal employment opportunities to employees regardless of their gender, race, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation or marital status. We welcome and strongly encourage applications from equity seeking groups, including members of communities that are overrepresented in the child welfare system. We offer a family-friendly environment that allows for flexible work arrangements in order to support staff diversity and ensure a healthy work-life balance.

Our Values:

• Vital Learning & Innovation
• Open Communication
• Inclusion & Diversity
• Care & Compassion
• Empowering Accountability

We offer: a generous vacation package, plus 3 float days, participation in the OMERS Defined Benefit Pension Plan with contributions matched 100% by the employer, a comprehensive benefits (including medical, dental, life and disability) package, Employee Assistance Program and a competitive salary.

CAFC staff are currently working in a hybrid work model, working remotely and in the downtown Toronto office at least 1 day a week.

We acknowledge that the Foundation’s main office is in Toronto, which is the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The area now known as Toronto is covered by Treaty 13. Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada is committed to supporting meaningful reconciliation between Indigenous peoples and others in these lands and across Canada.

How To Apply
To apply, please forward a current resume, with a covering letter in one single document, detailing how your qualifications match this opportunity, to enza@cafdn.org and include “Officer, Stewardship & Engagement – AFP” in the subject line of your email by April 12, 2024.  Applications will be reviewed as they are submitted.  You are encouraged to apply early as we are motivated to fill this role as soon as possible.

We thank all candidates for their interest in the work of Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada; but only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. No telephone inquiries please.