Job Board
YWCA Canada

Philanthropy Officer


Posted On: December 14, 2021
Closing On: January 4, 2022

Location: Toronto (temporarily remote)
Effective: Flexible
Employment Type: fulltime
Level: intermediate
Salary Range: $45,000 - $65,000


 YWCA Canada is looking for an innovative professional with exceptional stakeholder and donor relations, fundraising, grant writing, administrative, and organizational skills. The ideal candidate is comfortable leading interactions with external stakeholders, donors, third parties, etc. to maximize opportunities for awareness, education, fundraising, advocacy, and donor generation and relations. 

Are you: 

  • Highly self-motivated
  • A team player, yet able to work autonomously.
  • Detail-oriented with strong interpersonal communication, customer service, organization and planning skills?
  • Tired of superficial approaches to equity, diversity and inclusion in the non-profit sector and ready to disrupt traditional approaches to philanthropy?
  • Committed to mainstreaming an anti-oppression lens in philanthropy?
  • Motivated to co-create giving opportunities and engagement strategies that tap into the activist and changemaker in donors? 

Then please keep reading, this role may be your next opportunity! 

Learn more about YWCA Canada: 

YWCA Canada is a leading voice for women, girls, Two-Spirit and gender-diverse people. For 150 years, we’ve been at the forefront of a movement: to fight gender-based violence, build affordable housing and advocate for workplace equity. We work to advance gender equity by responding to urgent needs in communities, through national advocacy and grassroots initiatives. Local YWCAs invest over $258 million annually to support over 330,000 individuals across the nation. Today, we engage young leaders, diverse communities, and corporate partners to achieve our vision of a safe and equitable Canada for all. 

Position Summary: 

This position reports to the Director of Philanthropy and works collaboratively with other YWCA team members. The Philanthropy Officer is responsible for donor care, donation management, providing strategic support in planning initiatives, campaign and event management and capacity building. In this role, the incumbent will also write grants/funding proposals and compile and analyze donation reporting. 

Key Responsibilities: 

  • Work collaboratively with Director of Philanthropy and larger team to develop and deliver comprehensive donor engagement and recognition plans across donor groups (annual, monthly, legacy, and major individual donors, as well as corporate and foundation funders). 
  • Act as first point of contact for current and prospective donors, responding to donor requests and deliverables, including issuing charitable tax receipts in a timely manner, updating and maintaining donor information records, etc. 
  • Assist the Director of Philanthropy in the design and execution of short- and long-term strategies and measurement frameworks to guide the department. 
  • Collaborate with other departments in the design and delivery of capacity building supports and learning opportunities to the larger YWCA Canada movement, including but not limited to: planning learning events, compiling grant opportunity listings, and supporting a community of practice for fundraisers across the YWCA Canada federation. 
  • Research and identify new institutional funding sources and grant opportunities. 
  • Write and prepare funding proposals for submission. 
  • Work collaboratively with the Director of Philanthropy and Members Services Team to uncover in-kind donation requirements from local YWCAs and identify and solicit potential corporate partners as potential solutions. 
  • Accurately maintain donor databases, prospect listings, agreements, bequeaths, and records within CRM databases and filing systems. 
  • Assist and support in the development of compelling and values-based fundraising campaigns and appeals, cases for support and pitch decks. 
  • Support the Director of Philanthropy in the coordination and execution of fundraising campaigns and events logistics. 
  • Coordinate and/or assist the managing of online donor platforms, peer to peer, and corporate campaigns. 
  • Process and acknowledge various donations such as online giving, securities, insurance premium, in-kind, sponsorship, corporate matching gift and legacy following Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) Guidelines and YWCA Canada’s gift acceptance policy. 
  • Compile and analyze relevant monthly donation data to be reconciled and provided to YWCA Canada’s Financial team, ensure accurate financial reporting of all fundraising revenue. 
  • Coordinate year-end processes regarding tax receipting and handling of any donor inquiries. 
  • Compile and develop impact reports for individual, corporate and foundation donors. 
  • Gather and synthesize data to measure effectiveness of philanthropy campaigns and initiatives, identify opportunities and risks and support our ability to make data-driven decisions. 
  • Research and develop internal and external communications including presentations, speaking points, scripts, correspondence and other written materials. 
  • Coordinate activities supporting the campaign pipeline, donor and prospect activity. 

Qualifications: 

  • Post Secondary Degree related to Fundraising as a discipline. 
  • CFRE certification would be an asset. 
  • A minimum of 3 years of relevant experience in a similar position, non-profit environment preferred. 
  • Experienced with Microsoft Suite, CRM or database management (DonorPerfect, Salesforce), Canva, Jamboard, Trello. 
  • A strong understanding of financial data and accounting processes with experience preparing month-end financial reports of fundraising revenues. 
  • Experience researching, writing, and submitting grant applications from government and private foundations. 
  • Experience coordinating events and campaign logistics. 
  • A community-centric approach to building and maintaining relationships with donors and stakeholders. 
  • Advanced verbal and written communication skills and the ability to relay our mission and impacts to others through a diverse lens.
  • Strong problem solving, time management and organizational skills. 
  • Demonstrated experience in customer service with the ability to drive engagement. 
  • Knowledge of digital communications and marketing tools. E.g. Constant Contact, Facebook ads, google ads would be an asset. 
  • Ability to work independently and collaborate within a team. 
  • High degree of professionalism, sensitivity, and integrity. 
  • Deadline and results-oriented, with excellent attention to detail and accuracy. 
  • YWCA Canada is a national organization. As such, bilingual candidates fluent in both official languages (oral/written) are strongly encouraged to apply. 

Please submit your resume and cover letter quoting posting # YWCA-014-21 to Careers@ywcacanada.ca by January 4, 2022. We thank all candidates for applying, only those applicant’s moving forward in the recruitment process will be contacted.