Philanthropic Partnerships Strategy Consultant – Fundraising & Strategic Partnerships | Freelance | Institutional Fundraising Experience

Overview

We are seeking an experienced freelance fundraising and partnerships strategist to support public-facing prize competitions and open innovation challenges. This short-term, project-based engagement focuses on building the groundwork to co-fund future challenges with philanthropic, corporate, and institutional partners.

Key Responsibilities

• Design a Philanthropic Engagement Strategy & Roadmap with a targeted approach for securing co-resourcing partners, including an assessment of current partner relationships and a blueprint for moving from cold outreach to value-driven engagement

• Develop an Ecosystem Matrix & Target Prospect Pipeline with prioritized industry conferences, executive forums, and professional networks, plus a researched, actionable list of philanthropic and non-philanthropic prospects aligned to innovation goals

• Conduct current partner assessment by mapping and documenting the philanthropic organizations, consortia, and partners already engaging with the client

• Perform ecosystem mapping to identify conferences, high-level meetings, working groups, and professional listservs where target funders actively participate

• Build an alternative funding pipeline by scouting non-philanthropic partners — corporate, institutional, and venture-backed — with the capital and strategic alignment to co-fund collaborative competitions

Required Qualifications

• Demonstrated track record in institutional fundraising: corporate and philanthropic engagement strategy, donor pipeline design, and funder ecosystem mapping

• Strong donor prospecting and strategic intelligence skills, including the ability to diagnose funder motivations and translate complex technical or innovation goals into tailored value propositions

• Experience navigating diverse funding streams — traditional foundations, corporate social responsibility programs, industry consortia, and non-philanthropic capital partners

• Skill in identifying high-value affinity spaces (specialized conferences, executive forums, professional networks) that enable warm, relationship-based outreach

• Excellent written and verbal communication

Preferred Qualifications

• Working knowledge of public-private partnership mechanisms used to structure co-funded prizes and open innovation challenges, including federal authorities such as the COMPETES Act

• Prior experience in science, technology, aerospace, or research-driven philanthropy

Work Location & Requirements

• U.S. citizen or U.S. resident

• Must perform all work while physically located in the United States

• Must be able to pass a background check and complete client onboarding and required training

• Available for a project-based engagement running through Q1 2027

• Full-time remote (U.S. only)

• Independent contractor, short-term contract

To Apply

Submit your resume along with:

• A brief note on a funder ecosystem map, prospect pipeline, or engagement strategy you personally built (a redacted work sample is strongly preferred)

• Confirmation that you are a U.S. citizen or U.S. resident and will perform all work from within the United States

• Confirmation that you are able to pass a background check