Director of Corporate and Foundational Relations

About the role

The Director of Foundational & Corporate Partnerships is responsible for developing, cultivating, and expanding strategic partnerships that generate transformational philanthropic support for GiGi’s Playhouse.

Working closely with the Sr. Director of Development and the Grants team, this individual serves as the relationship lead for corporate and foundation funders across the country.

Responsibilities

• Identify, cultivate, and manage relationships with national corporations, private foundations, family foundations, and philanthropic organizations.
• Build and maintain a robust pipeline of prospective corporate and foundation funders.
• Develop customized engagement strategies that lead to long-term philanthropic partnerships.
• Represent GiGi’s Playhouse at networking events, conferences, philanthropic gatherings, and corporate functions.
• Position GiGi’s Playhouse as a premier Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) partner.
• Collaborate with the Grants team to qualify foundation opportunities before proposal development.
• Lead relationship cultivation with foundation staff and trustees.
• Collaborate throughout the grant lifecycle from cultivation through stewardship.
• Identify opportunities for multi-year investments and transformational funding.
• Develop national corporate partnerships aligned with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), employee engagement, volunteerism, sponsorship, workplace giving, and philanthropy.
• Build customized partnership opportunities that advance both corporate objectives and GiGi’s mission.
• Collaborate with companies on sponsorships, employee engagement opportunities, volunteer initiatives, and national campaigns.
• Expand strategic partnerships capable of scaling across the GiGi’s Playhouse network.
• Generate new qualified corporate and foundation prospects through networking, research, referrals, conferences, and board relationships.
• Build relationships with executive leadership and philanthropic decision-makers.
• Leverage board members, volunteers, and Playhouse leaders to identify new funding opportunities.
• Consistently expand GiGi’s national fundraising pipeline.
• Network with local Playhouses to identify opportunities that could expand into regional or national partnerships.
• Support Executive Directors with introductions and partnership strategy when appropriate.
• Serve as a resource for strengthening corporate relationships across the network.
• Maintain an accurate portfolio of prospects and partners within Salesforce.
• Track every stage of the cultivation process.
• Develop monthly revenue forecasts.
• Monitor fundraising metrics, pipeline movement, proposal activity, and partnership conversion.
• Regularly report progress against annual fundraising goals.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience.
• 7–10+ years of fundraising, corporate partnerships, business development, foundation relations, or nonprofit leadership.
• Demonstrated success securing six-figure philanthropic partnerships.
• Exceptional presentation, networking, and relationship-building skills.
• Strong strategic thinking and business development mindset.
• Experience managing complex fundraising pipelines.
• Experience using Salesforce or another CRM to manage donor relationships, opportunities, forecasting, and reporting.
• Comfortable presenting to executive leadership, foundation boards, and corporate partners.
• Ability to travel nationally.

Preferred Experience

• Corporate philanthropy
• Foundation relations
• Grant strategy
• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
• Sponsorship development
• Major gifts
• Strategic partnerships
• Salesforce reporting
• Forecasting
• Cross-functional leadership