Is This You?

You are a result oriented driven major gifts fundraiser who is looking to make your mark. You’ve spent time in the sector, you’ve learned the ropes, have been part of making significant asks and are now ready to step into a more senior role where you oversee your prospects. You’ve been successful to-date because of your exceptional relationship building ability. You genuinely care about the people you work with, the donors who come across your path, and the organizations that you passionately represent. You are the furthest thing from transactional. You put integrity and ‘doing right’ first and that translates into your earnest and hardworking approach.

You are known to take a donor relationship that may be stagnant and turn it around. You are excellent at listening, uncovering a donors ‘why’ and finding a match. You are fearless in your pursuit of the gift and have no problem making the ask, with or without senior representation alongside you. You consider yourself to be creative, highly entrepreneurial, a self starter with a positive and realistic attitude. You are comfortable navigating difficult conversations and manage these interactions with poise and maturity.

You would be excited to support one of Canada’s most beloved and necessary causes working alongside a dedicated and passionate national team.

If this sounds like you, keep reading!

Executive Summary

Heart & Stroke’s mission is to promote health, save lives, and enhance recovery as it relates to heart disease and stroke. They are committed to a culture that exemplifies their core values: CHAMPION Health, PRACTISE Humility, EMBRACE Change, DRIVE impact, LEARN and GROW, and BE HEARTFELT.

Heart & Stroke is a leading funder of life-saving research, which has led to breakthroughs such as heart transplant surgery and a revolutionary stroke treatment that cuts the death rate by 50%.

They empower Canadians to live healthier lives — from preventing and controlling high blood pressure to getting more physical activity. And they fight for change that will create better health for all, such as reducing salt in the food supply and improving access to stroke rehabilitation.

But there’s a lot more to do. Much more.

The threat is urgent.

Heart disease, stroke, and related conditions take one life every five minutes in Canada. An estimated 1.6 million more Canadians are living with the devastating effects of these diseases. An astounding 9 in 10 Canadians have at least one risk factor, such as high blood pressure, obesity, tobacco use, lack of physical activity, and diabetes.

The threat of heart disease and stroke has never been more urgent. And it’s amplified by our aging population, sedentary lifestyles, poor diets, and more.

Life. We don’t want you to miss it. ™

For more than 60 years, Heart & Stroke have been dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. Their work has saved thousands of lives and improved the lives of millions of others. They have invested more than $1.52 billion in heart and stroke research, making them the largest contributor in Canada after the federal government. In that time, the death rate from heart disease and stroke has declined by more than 75 per cent. The health promotion and advocacy programs across the country are saving lives every day. Working together, employees, volunteers, donors, and world-class researchers have made Heart & Stroke Canada’s most widely recognized and trusted authority on cardiovascular health.

Big challenge, ambitious goals

To tackle these challenges, Heart & Stroke focuses efforts on areas where they can make the biggest impact. They are working to beat heart disease and stroke with innovative programs such as:

Heart-Brain Connection: Seeking to gain better understanding of the critical connections between the heart and the brain, in January 2021, Heart & Stroke & Brain Canada announced a partnership resulting in a research award in the amount of $6M – the Heart-Brain Connection IMPACT Award. This research will investigate and unravel the heart-brain connection to improve knowledge and treatments.

Closing the Gap on Health Inequities: Prioritize closing the gap in Women and Indigenous health. All research applications must integrate Sex- and Gender-Based Analysis and Reporting (SGBAR) to be considered for funding and to create and sustain meaningful change. They are working on a framework to apply the principles of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) to be integrated across all research programs, in the way that it is for IMPACT Award.

Heart & Stroke currently funds two research Chairs in Women’s Indigenous Heart and Brain Health in partnership with the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR). In late 2021, H&S is also hosting the third annual Canadian Women’s Heart Health Summit in partnership with the Canadian Women’s Heart Health Centre at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute.

Heart Failure: Working to lessen the burden of heart failure, which afflicts over 600 thousand people in Canada, in collaboration with World Heart Federation and other Canadian health partners. The first order of business is to collect data to better understand current resources and services throughout all health care institutions in the country.

Advocating for Healthy Policies: Pushing for a national pharmacare program to provide the access to medically necessary medication that everyone in Canada deserves and reduce the burden on the health care system. Working to restrict youth vaping and cap nicotine levels in vapes, as well as restrict the marketing of unhealthy products such as sugary drinks to children.

Increasing Cardiac Arrest Survival Rates: Looking at new ways to increase the survival of out-of- hospital cardiac arrest. They support a vast network of Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation training across Canada and have been instrumental in placing Automated External Defibrillators in public places. Looking for innovative ways and partnerships to drive the survival rate up.

The Position

In this newly elevated role, our Senior Philanthropy Officer will work closely with the philanthropy team to achieve the highest priority funding needs of the Foundation while managing a portfolio of individual prospects, organizations, and family foundations.  Reporting to the Vice President, Philanthropy Ontario & Nunavut, our successful candidate will be an accomplished fundraiser, with a proven track record of closing gifts at the $25,000+ level. They will be responsible for identification and solicitation of gifts as well as cultivation and stewardship. We are looking for a creative relationship builder who can take a list of cool leads and develop meaningful and deep relationships quickly and effectively, based on trust and integrity. Our candidate will develop and execute established strategies to increase revenue in their portfolio which will contribute to the overall fundraising goals of the organization.

Responsibilities include developing and implementing comprehensive annual plans for identifying, qualifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding prospects and donors, developing, and managing a portfolio of approximately 125 prospects, with a revenue goal of $750,000 (and growing) plus per year. We are seeking a seasoned and comfortable networker who has a track record in bringing groups together and would thrive interacting with various diverse groups ranging from the medical community to subject matter experts, to fundraisers and other internal groups. Our candidate will be an able and natural relationship builder who works daily to build connection and establish trust between themselves and those they interact with.

Primary Accountabilities

This role will be accountable for an agreed-upon annual fundraising target sourced from individual donors. Our candidate will have a list of roughly 125 prospects and will have an annual fundraising goal of $750,000.

Prospect and Donor Management

• Develop annual and multi-year plans for major gifts and family foundations
• Lead and create personalized prospecting plans for assigned prospects/donors (~125)
• Work collaboratively on the research and identification of new prospects, as well on the process of prospect management and clearance
• Proactively research, solicit staff/volunteer for referrals within their networks, enhance the existing pipeline and develop new relationships with potential major donors
• Actively manage an assigned portfolio with an expectation of 5+ face to face strategic contacts per month
• Utilize effective systems for tracking and cultivating donors, and prospective donors through CRM

Solicitation and Stewardship

• Submit a minimum of 10 major gift proposals per year
• Collaborate closely with internal teams to develop and deliver high quality, highly customized proposals and solicitations
• Effectively and successfully integrate the Foundation’s mission, strategic plan, annual priorities and case for support with philanthropy in achieving organizational goals with prospects/supporters
• Using networks, research staff and volunteer referrals enhance the existing pipeline of interested philanthropists and partners
• Finalize gift terms and bring solicitations to closure with or independent of volunteer leadership, as appropriate
• Deliver prompt, personal and meaningful gift acknowledgment correspondence

Revenue Accountability

• Provide input into the development of the annual business plan and budget for the Ontario Development Team and monthly review of progress against plan
• Create and monitor personal business plan and budget, and suggest modifications, when necessary, in order to meet personal targets
• Take an active role in learning about and keeping current with the Foundation’s priority funding opportunities

The Ideal Candidate

The successful candidate will possess a passion for health philanthropy and be a consummate professional and role model, with excellent communication skills, professionalism, and interpersonal skills.

The ideal candidate will possess/be able to:

• 3+ years direct major gifts/campaign level experience
• Demonstrated track record of independently closing individual major gifts of $25,000+
• Experience working in a results-oriented institution with multiple internal and external stakeholders
• Experience participating in an integrated moves management and prospect clearing process
• Strong verbal, communication and writing skills along with polished presenting skills
• Strong understanding of charity sector and not-for-profit organizations
• Ability to work well with diverse groups of people and build strong relationships
• Ability to effectively manage and prioritize multiple projects and deadlines simultaneously
• Consistently demonstrates the highest standards of professionalism, confidentiality, integrity and sensitivity
• Demonstrated initiative and confidence in making first contact calls, to promote partnerships at every opportunity
• Able to seek out opportunities and anticipate challenges, and identify strategies for successful implementation
• Driver’s license and use of vehicle
• Our candidate will spend a significant amount of time out of the office in meetings with prospects and volunteers. There will be occasional travel as well as occasional evening and weekend work

Application Instructions

Send your application to robin@phcap.ca. Please include your cover letter and CV by no later than 5 p.m. Friday September 8^th, 2023.

Heart & Stroke employees also enjoy a flexible hybrid working model and reimbursement for mobile phones and home office setup, as well as opportunities for professional development.

Heart & Stroke is committed to fostering an inclusive, barrier-free, and accessible environment.  If you are contacted for an interview and require accommodation to participate in the recruitment and selection process, please advise and we will work with you to meet your needs.

At Heart & Stroke, we believe in equity, diversity, and inclusion; it’s embedded in our values and core mission work to support all people in Canada to lead healthier lives. We are committed to applying this principle to cultivate a welcoming environment that embraces diversity among our employees.  Candidates from diverse backgrounds, including but not limited to, Indigenous peoples, racialized and LGBTQ2+ communities, women, and people with disabilities, are encouraged to apply.

We thank you for your interest in this opportunity. Please note that only qualified respondents will be contacted.