Vice President, Philanthropic Partnerships

FUSE is a national nonprofit that increases the effectiveness of local governments to build more equitable communities. We embed private sector executives in city and county agencies to lead projects that narrow racial disparities, improve public services, and accelerate systems change.

About the Organization

Since 2012, FUSE has led over 400 projects in partnership with 58 cities and counties across 26 states. Working locally in communities throughout the country, FUSE is impacting a total population equivalent to more than 1 in 10 Americans.

FUSE endeavors to innovate and accelerate change management across an array of challenges facing today's cities, including affordable housing, economic mobility, public health, climate resilience, public safety, and much more.

FUSE's place-based approach breaks down barriers between governments and the people they serve, helping to unite and strengthen communities. Through a proven executive fellowship model, FUSE's dedicated team of 30 staff members hires experienced local leaders and embeds them in government agencies to help deliver more equitable and impactful public services.

This work is propelled by a combination of fee-for-service contracts with local governments and national philanthropic investments from funders like Ford, Rockefeller, Kresge, Kauffman, Ballmer, Omidyar, Waverley Street, and Living Cities.

You can learn more about FUSE at our website.

About the Role

What You'll Do

FUSE seeks a Vice President of Philanthropic Partnerships to develop the relationships and collaborative ventures that will help enable the organization to double program scale and annual revenue over the next three years. Working closely with the CEO and serving as a key member of the leadership team, the VP will enable FUSE to establish and maintain relationships with high-net-worth families and some of the country's largest philanthropic institutions, continuing FUSE's track record of securing average investments of $5M to $10M over the course of multi-year commitments.

Approaching the role with an entrepreneurial mindset, the VP will hire and manage FUSE's inaugural philanthropy team while also building associated systems and tools needed to reliably achieve progress toward goals. This is an ideal opportunity for a skilled and agile relationship builder who understands the potential of local government to positively impact people's lives, and who believes that local governments should be essential partners whenever major philanthropists engage in place-based systems change.

Key Responsibilities

Organizational Leadership

• Serve as a key member of FUSE's six-person Leadership Team, supporting organizational management with a particular focus on facilitating cross-departmental integration of this new function.
• Participate in organization-wide strategic visioning, planning, and budgeting, working closely with the other Vice Presidents to ensure effective collaboration, alignment, and cohesion throughout the organization.
• Work closely with the Leadership Team to ensure that programmatic results exceed investor expectations. Lead internal communications to ensure that all staff members clearly understand grant commitments.
• Prepare regular presentations for the Board, represent the organization externally at conferences and events, and serve as an effective ambassador for the brand and mission.

Revenue Generation

• Hire and manage FUSE's first philanthropy team, consisting of 2-3 new staff members and contractors.
• Lead every aspect of analysis and subsequent action to identify, prospect, pursue, and secure major funding relationships that align FUSE's mission with stated local needs and national philanthropic priorities.
• Leverage various engagement and communication strategies to help FUSE cultivate high-touch, trust-based, personal relationships with both current and prospective investors.
• Partner with the Marketing & Communications team to develop proposals, pitch decks, social media, multi-media, and other content needed to inspire and inform investor communities.

Systems and Processes

• Enhance the organization's ability to conduct research, manage pipelines, and pursue outreach campaigns by building on existing systems (e.g., Salesforce, Asana) and utilizing new tools as needed.
• Develop and maintain systems that accurately anticipate philanthropic revenue at least 2-3 years in advance; ensuring that status toward goals is transparently visible across the organization and ensuring that goals are reliably achieved.
• Create systems for coordinating multiple concurrent partnership initiatives with a wide array of funding-based collaborators, including other nonprofits, research institutions, think tanks, coalitions, associations, and others.
• Map and monitor the broad fields in which FUSE operates, identifying opportunities for creative connections between people, institutions, local events, and national news.

Who You'll Work With

• Report to the CEO and maintain a robust partnership with both the CEO and the President & COO.
• Work closely with a peer group of three other Vice Presidents who respectively manage Strategic Government Partnerships, Executive Fellow Recruitment, and Program & Evaluation.
• Build and lead a 2-3 person philanthropic partnerships team
• Manage relationships with and between leading philanthropists and senior government officials.
• Lead networking with Board members and their contacts, including FUSE's partnership with John Legend.

Required Skills and Experience

• 15+ years of professional experience, with demonstrated success in building strong partnerships with external partners in a mission-driven context.
• Experience working with/for high-net-worth families, philanthropic institutions, and/or institutional investors.
• Leadership and management experience, having worked collaboratively with a diverse group of peers and colleagues within a fast-moving, dynamic, and entrepreneurial organizational culture.
• A demonstrated ability to build high-level strategic initiatives encompassing multiple internal and external stakeholders, and to keep those initiatives moving forward in pursuit of specific goals.
• An orientation to connecting people, finding common interests, and building partnerships, with the ability to build, refine, and leverage systems and processes to develop and maintain those relationships.
• A relational, high-touch approach to building relationships, and a demonstrated track record of working effectively with executive-level stakeholders.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to develop messages that inform and inspire.
• A passion for civic innovation; a belief that local government can affect change in people's lives; and an understanding of the history and dynamics of socioeconomic disparities in communities.

Benefits at FUSE

FUSE contributes to health insurance for employees and dependents

FUSE contributes to vision & dental insurance for employees and dependents

Staff accrue up to 15 days of paid time off, plus 13 paid company holidays

Staff accrue up to 10 days of paid sick leave

Staff may contribute to a 401k retirement account

Staff eligible for four weeks of paid leave after four years with FUSE

Additional benefits include commuter benefits, life/AD&D insurance, EAP access

Initial support and ongoing stipend for remote work costs

Additional Details

Location: FUSE is a fully virtual organization and this position can be based remotely from anywhere in the United States.

Travel: We anticipate 10-15% travel for this role to attend conferences and team retreats. The Vice President will have flexibility and autonomy over how often and to which conferences they travel.

Equal Employment Opportunity

FUSE is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without unlawful discrimination based on race, color, creed, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, military status, prior record of arrest or conviction, or current employment status.

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