The Opportunity

The YMCA of Three Rivers is seeking a results-driven and mission-focused Vice President, Philanthropy to contribute to the strategic leadership of the organization by directing all fundraising activities including capital and annual campaigns, community-based campaigns, planned giving, and sponsorship. Key to the role will be a focus on building major gift capacity with individuals and organizations.

The Vice President, Philanthropy will have oversight of the YMCA’s annual plan, researching trends and developments, and formulating proactive strategies aligned to further the impact of the association. Driven by a passion to see the diverse communities of the YMCA of Three Rivers healthier and more vibrant, the successful candidate will be an exceptional fundraiser who will build authentic internal and external relationships across the organization to increase the engagement of donors, prospects, volunteers and other key stakeholders. An expert navigating large, multi-faceted and complex organizations, the Vice President will provide collaborative, solutions-oriented leadership in mobilizing and generating the resources required to meet the strategic goals and grow our impact.

Reporting to the CEO and working closely with the senior leadership team, the Vice President will support the Board of Directors of the YMCA of Three Rivers and the Board of the YMCA of Three Rivers Charitable Foundation, recruiting, motivating volunteers and ensuring the members are actively engaged.

With a people-first lens and a deep commitment to justice, access, inclusion, diversity and equity, the Vice President will develop, mentor and coach a staff team, creating a cohesive and integrated approach to driving philanthropic revenue and enhancing our donor stewardship efforts. A natural champion and collaborator, the Vice President will effortlessly communicate YMCA of Three Rivers’ vision and need for philanthropic support to broaden our base of donors and provide our community with equitable access to programs and services.

About The YMCA of Three Rivers

The YMCA of Three Rivers is one of the community’s largest non-profit organizations. We are dedicated to the enrichment of our communities through the development of people and families. Through our work, we foster belonging and wellbeing, and dedicate ourselves to building a healthy and vibrant community every day.

For more than 150 years, we’ve demonstrated our commitment to our communities by showing up and delivering the programs, outreach, and services to our people need. This is the good stuff that we’re all about. And in unifying, we’re equipped with a re-commitment and a bold, new shared vision and purpose.

In October 2020, the YMCA of Three Rivers saw the official unification of the YMCAs of Cambridge and Kitchener-Waterloo, the YMCA-YWCA of Guelph, and the YMCA of Stratford-Perth as one regional entity. Through this process, we’re bringing together our strengths and expertise to better serve our communities, where and how they need us most.

Our goal? Keep showing up for our communities – where, when, and how they need us most.

Our Mission

Our purpose as a charity is to make our diverse communities healthier and more vibrant. With dignity and respect, our programs and services inspire individuals to reach their full potential.

Our Vision

We aspire to build connected and resilient communities. We are working to be a leader in challenging systemic bias and barriers by creating and providing equitable access to individuals and communities to support their emotional, mental and physical health, and overall well-being.

Guiding Principles

We are STRONG – strengthened by the diversity of our teams, we are committed to building communities where there is no place for stigmatization and intolerance.

We are SAFE – through a strengthened sense of community, we encourage personal growth through a commitment to listening, learning and continually working to create a safe and inclusive environment.

We are CONNECTED – through outreach we put our people and community first by listening, responding and adapting to their needs.

Our Values

Equity – we recognize that everyone has different experiences and needs and will work to provide the appropriate resources and/or support.

Inclusiveness – through a strengthened sense of community, we foster a safer environment in which we respect, encourage, and engage individuals of diverse perspectives and backgrounds. We appreciate the beauty that diversity brings to the YMCA of Three Rivers and our communities.

Advocacy – we stand up, speak out and defend individuals’ and communities’ rights to have their voices heard, in order to effect change to create a more equitable society.

Health & Wellness – we are committed to fostering the holistic health and well-being of all people at all ages and stages of life. We nurture people’s ability to attain better emotional, mental and physical health, and well-being, fostering personal growth and bringing enthusiasm and vitality to everyday life.

Accountability – we exhibit integrity, fairness and sincerity in both our words and actions. We are responsive to our communities through the relevance of our choices and the quality of our actions, commitments, and services.

Empathy – we treat all individuals with compassion and dignity.

Respect – we acknowledge our shared humanity and the inherent value and dignity of all individuals. We show respect by actively listening, hearing, and responding to individuals as they are. We take a people-first approach, wherein all individuals are respected as they are and for who they are.

Our Purpose

We’re here for good.

Programs and Services

The YMCA of Three Rivers employs nearly 1,300 employees and operates a diverse array of programming across our communities including licensed Child Care, before-and-after-school programs, Youth programs, Health & Wellness centres, Employment Services, Immigrant Services, Student Nutrition programs, data-driven employee well-being programs, EarlyON programs, summer day camps, and the largest YMCA overnight camping program in the country.

·       Youth Focused Programs ·       Health & Wellness Programs ·       Child Care ·       EarlyON

·       Overnight & Day Camps ·       Employment Services ·       Immigrant Services ·       YMCA WorkWell

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

In early June 2020, our YMCA faced a bit of reckoning as we watched and observed what happens when people of colour are oppressed for generations and deprived of the opportunity to belong. As an organization that prides itself on being inclusive to all people— regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, disability, citizenship and sexual orientation—we came together as a national and local team to deeply listen to our employees.

We heard members of our teams speak up and share their personal stories and experiences of racism within our YMCA communities. Our YMCA sits in discomfort as we acknowledge that racism is present in our teams, buildings, and programs and services. We know that our leadership does not adequately resemble the diversity of the community we serve. We acknowledge that we need to do better for those who continue to walk with the realities of racism, intolerance and ignorance.

In a community where 18% of the population are visible minorities, we recognize that we do not look like the community we serve, and this needs to change. We know we have intentional work that we must do to fulfill our vision to build connected and resilient communities and be a leader in challenging systemic bias and barriers so we can create and provide equitable access to individuals and our communities. We are listening and learning and are committed to honestly evaluating ourselves through the lens of racial equality, systemic racism and biases.

We are committed to establishing mechanisms to ensure we amplify the voices of those with lived experience to inform our programs, policies, and partnerships. Our first step was to create an advisory group, to guide our CEO and the new Board of Directors of the YMCA of Three Rivers in how our unified Mission, Vision, and Values can include the principles of Justice, Access, Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (JAIDE) to challenge biases, barriers and racism.

With the support of our Board of Directors, the commitment of our Senior Leadership team, and the leadership in our Employee Advisory Groups, we have continued our intentional Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and Anti-Racism work. We’ve committed to creating a more just, equitable, diverse and inclusive organization so that everyone can belong, and are doing the work to make this happen. We have committed to honestly evaluating ourselves through a JAIDE lens and acknowledge that we have much work to do on this journey.

2021 was a pivotal year in this intentional work to align to our Mission, Vision and Values, and we are looking forward to 2022 with the goal of creating our JAIDE Action Plan – which will include training our leaders, and doing the work to become the Y we know we can be for our employees, volunteers, members, and communities.

We are humbled by the magnitude of this critical work within our YMCA. We stand by our commitment to do good and to ensure our YMCAs are a safe and inclusive space for everyone.

We want to be a JAIDE organization where individuals and communities are able to access, participate in, and fully benefit from programs and employment at the YMCA of Three Rivers to reach their full potential. As our local communities grow and change, our responsiveness to JAIDE has never been more important.

Additional Information

YMCA of Three Rivers

YMCA of Three Rivers Unification Video

2020 Annual Report

2020 Financial Statements

Board of Directors

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Anti-Racism Action Plan

YMCA of Three Rivers Facebook

YMCA of Three Rivers Vaccination Policy

Key Duties & Responsibilities

• Provides leadership and direction for all fundraising activities including capital and annual campaigns, community-based campaigns, planned giving, and sponsorship, with a particular focus on building major gift capacity.
• Develops, mentors, coaches and leads a staff team to generate philanthropic revenue and enhance our donor stewardship efforts.
• Provides leadership and support to the Board of Directors of the YMCA of Three Rivers and the Board of the YMCA of Three Rivers Charitable Foundation, with a concentration on recruiting and motivating volunteers and ensuring that members are actively engaged.
• Develops policies and practices which reflect best practices in fundraising.
• Ensures that philanthropy and financial development align with YMCA’s mission and vision comply with Imagine Canada’s Ethical Fundraising Code.
• Develops and inculcates a professional, strategic and coordinated approach to cultivation, solicitation and stewardship activities.
• Partners with the Communications and Marketing Department and internal stakeholders to build awareness of philanthropic opportunities at the YMCA.
• Collaborates with senior leaders to ensure a coordinated and strategic approach with the YMCA’s various stakeholders.
• Contributes to the strategic leadership of the organization.
• Reporting to the President and CEO along with nine team members responsible for the oversight of the YMCA’s annual plan, the VP Philanthropy will research trends and developments and formulate proactive strategies to achieve the YMCA vision, embracing and enabling the highest potential of both the Association and its people.
• Collaborates with senior staff, policy and advisory volunteers, and external stakeholders to advance the interests of the YMCA, enable the key elements of our strategic plan and support operational excellence; ensuring that philanthropy assets are created as key enablers of the plan.
• Understands and integrates the value of philanthropy and volunteerism and imparts this knowledge and belief upon staff, volunteers and members.
• Models appropriate behaviours to staff in line with the YMCA Mission, Vision and Values.
• Establishes rapport and maintains effective relationship-building behaviours with staff and members, and represents the YMCA and the Association in a professional manner.

Qualifications & Key Competencies

• Significant progressive experience in a fundraising environment with demonstrated knowledge of the principles and practices of financial development.
• Relentless, driven, focused attitude to generate results, with a demonstrated track record in striving to meet and exceed extraordinary goals.
• Deep commitment to our JAIDE work (Justice, Access, Inclusion, Diversity & Equity).
• Well-developed network of relationships external to the organization.
• Demonstrated ability to align the philanthropic strategy to the vision of the Association, and make that strategy a reality.
• Track record in successful capital campaigns.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and implement successful strategies for the identification, cultivation, and solicitation of individuals and organizations.
• Proven track record in all aspects of revenue development, including pipeline development and the solicitation and management of gifts at the six and seven figure level and above.
• Experience recruiting, and supporting senior volunteers directly involved in major gift cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
• Demonstrated success engaging with senior volunteers, and non-fundraising staff to advance philanthropic goals.
• A proven leader, facilitator, and relationship builder, polished and persuasive, and able to operate comfortably at all levels.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively in a collaborative team culture.
• Proven leadership motivating, coaching, and empowering dedicated, high-performance teams with ability and willingness to be hands-on as required.
• Well-developed interpersonal and relationship-building skills, including the ability to establish rapport and excellent communication with members including participants, families, youth, children, external partners, staff, and volunteers, and to model these relationship-building skills for team members.
• Demonstrated strong analytical, planning and conceptual skills, especially within complex, matrixed organizations.
• Superior verbal and interpersonal communication skills, diplomacy, good judgment.
• Demonstrated ability to resolve conflicts creatively with multiple
• Post-secondary degree or equivalent experience along with knowledge of the philanthropic landscape in the communities we serve.

For More Information

KCI (Ketchum Canada Inc.) has been retained to conduct this leadership search on behalf of YMCA of Three Rivers. For more information about this opportunity, please contact Tara George, Partner, KCI Search + Talent, and Christine Cho, Senior Search Consultant, at YMCA3Rivers@kcitalent.com.

Interested candidates are invited to send a resume and letter of interest to the email address listed above by April 15, 2022.

To view the full Executive Brief, visit www.kcitalent.com

All inquiries and applications will be held in strict confidence.

The YMCA of Three Rivers embraces diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive workplace, welcoming applications from all qualified persons. In accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005, accommodation will be provided at any point throughout the hiring process, provided the candidate makes their accommodation need known to the YMCA. The YMCAs comply with the Employment Standards Act, Pay Equity Legislation and privacy laws.  In keeping with privacy laws, we are committed to protecting personal information by following responsible information handling practices.

For more information on the YMCAs commitment to privacy, please visit our web sites at www.ymcacambridgekw.ca, www.guelphy.org and www.ymcastratfordperth.ca.

Please note that the salary range for this position is $115,000 – $130,000 with an excellent benefits package.