Director, Institutional Giving

Title: Director, Institutional Giving

Employment Status:  Exempt

Salary: $84,000-110,250, commensurate with experience

Supervisor Title: Vice President, Corporate and External Affairs

Date Revised:  January 2024

Summary of Position:

The Director, Institutional Giving is responsible for expanding Meridian’s foundation funding portfolio by conceiving the strategy, then identifying, designing, and winning new funding opportunities from foundations to support the important work of Meridian’s programmatic centers including Diplomatic Engagement, Global Leadership, Cultural Diplomacy, and Corporate Diplomacy. The Director will forge and deepen partnerships with these organizations to generate both restricted gifts and general operating support for Meridian. The Director oversees all aspects of the new business pipeline which includes competitive bids for grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, and programmatic proposals.

This position is located in Washington D.C. and Meridian requires MD, DC, or VA residence for all employees. The position may work partially remotely until further notice.

Position Responsibilities:

  • Works with the Meridian leadership team to develop and execute an ambitious and comprehensive foundation (private and corporate) funding strategy for the organization.
  • Develop and manage all aspects of the new business development pipeline including identifying, designing, writing and tracking proposals in response to donor funding opportunities across all of Meridian's Centers.
  • Works with teams across the organization to develop overall winning strategies through pre-application positioning, facilitating partner outreach and developing budget proposals in conjunction with team leads.
  • Writes and develops compelling pitches, capability statements and value propositions to market Meridian's global leadership exchange and training and cultural diplomacy programs.
  • Writes, edits and submits high quality concept notes, donor letters and grant applications for new funding opportunities.
  • Ensures that grant submissions are up to the highest standards of writing, formatting, and adherence to formal requirements.
  • Builds a network of contacts and relationships with foundation funders through networking activities.
  • Proactively identifies, cultivates and stewards prospective and current foundation philanthropic partners for themselves and Meridian executives.
  • Ensures proper stewardship for current partners including writing gift reports.
  • Articulates and presents Meridian's capabilities and strengths in foundation funder meetings and also listens to funder needs/requirements to conceptualize and design programs to integrate their needs.
  • Supports grant writing for both programmatic and unrestricted funding opportunities from corporations and foundations in partnership with the External Affairs team.
  • Streamlines work and information flow across the organization to coordinate new business development opportunities as well as application/grant writing work.
  • Manages all administrative and technical aspects of the new business pipeline including conducting prospect research, tracking grant deadlines and proposal calendars and managing records in Salesforce.
  • Responsible for completing all organizational administrative responsibilities in a timely manner and meeting all organizational administrative deadlines.
  • Other duties as assigned.

Education/Experience

  • Bachelor’s degree
  • A minimum of 10 years of experience in a role focused on foundation grant writing, fundraising and business development in a non-profit organization.
  • Or any equivalent combination of training, education, and experience that demonstrates the ability to perform the essential functions of the position.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

  • Demonstrated success in identifying and securing large ($250,000+) grants for multi-faceted, international organizations.
  • Experience in designing and writing winning proposals for donor organizations, including and private and corporate foundations.
  • Demonstrated network of funder relationships and ability to successfully build and steward new relationships.
  • Background in design, monitoring, and evaluation, and ability to bring this knowledge to bear in a variety of program formats.
  • Interest in global affairs, diplomacy, culture and international exchange and trainings.
  • Candidates will have a bias towards making ideas into concrete action plans and execution.
  • Demonstrated written communication skills, including comfort with deadline-driven writing.
  • Strong inter-cultural communication skills; maturity, cultural sensitivity, and tact suitable for working with individuals from around the world.

Technical Requirements:

  • Experience working with Salesforce to manage funding opportunities
  • Extensive knowledge of the technical components of private grant application and stewardship processes, including financial and compliance considerations
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams is necessary for this role
  • Experience with Canva is helpful.

Employer’s Statement

Meridian is committed to empowering global leaders and amplifying voices of a wide variety of backgrounds to create pathways for greater understanding, shared value and respect for all cultures as connecting people has been our foundation for over 60 years. If you share our values and enthusiasm to promote non-partisan collaboration to address global challenges and opportunities, you can find a home at Meridian.

As an equal opportunity employer, Meridian promotes equal employment opportunity to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, personal appearance, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical condition, family responsibilities, marital, veteran or military status, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, matriculation, political affiliation, or any other classification protected by federal, state, or local law. Equal employment opportunity will be offered and maintained to all persons at every stage and condition of employment, including recruiting, hiring, training, upgrading, promotion, transfer, discipline, layoff, recall, and termination.

How to Apply 

Applicants should submit a resume and cover letter. Qualified candidates should apply here. Only candidates being considered for this position will be contacted. NO PHONE CALLS in reference to this position will be accepted.