The Vice President of Institutional Giving is a strategic, collaborative, and results-oriented executive responsible for leading the Epilepsy Foundation of America’s institutional fundraising strategy and diversified revenue portfolio. Reporting directly to the President & CEO and serving as a member of the Executive Leadership Team, this position provides vision, leadership, and oversight across corporate partnerships, foundation relations, government grants, direct response and digital fundraising, sponsorships, peer-to-peer and community fundraising, the National Epilepsy Walk, and Leadership Conference revenue generation.
The Vice President develops and executes comprehensive fundraising strategies designed to increase both unrestricted and restricted revenue while cultivating long-term corporate, foundation, government, and philanthropic partnerships that advance the Foundation’s mission.
This role leads a high-performing Institutional Giving team and is responsible for establishing revenue goals, monitoring performance, identifying new funding opportunities, and fostering a culture of accountability, innovation, collaboration, and donor-centered fundraising.
This position requires up to 50% domestic travel and availability during the Foundation’s core business hours, based on the U.S. Eastern Time Zone, regardless of location.
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10+ years of progressively responsible fundraising and development leadership experience.
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Develop and execute a comprehensive institutional giving strategy aligned with the Foundation’s strategic plan and organizational priorities.
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Establish annual fundraising goals, performance metrics, operating plans, budgets, and revenue forecasts.
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Lead strategies to increase unrestricted and restricted revenue across corporate partnerships, foundations, government grants, sponsorships, cause marketing, workplace giving, annual giving, digital fundraising, and peer-to-peer initiatives.
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Identify new institutional funding opportunities, philanthropic trends, partnerships, and revenue streams.
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Partner with the President & CEO and Executive Leadership Team to align fundraising priorities with organizational strategy and mission.
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Build and strengthen relationships with national corporate partners and secure multi-year corporate partnerships and sponsorships.
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Expand cause marketing, workplace giving, employee engagement, and corporate activation opportunities.
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Partner with the President & CEO on executive-level corporate, foundation, sponsor, and donor relationships.
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Oversee sponsor stewardship, activation, fulfillment, and relationship management.
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Develop and execute strategies to expand relationships with private, family, and corporate foundations.
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Oversee grant proposal development, submissions, reporting, compliance, and stewardship.
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Identify and pursue government funding opportunities that support organizational priorities.
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Provide strategic oversight of the Annual Fund, direct mail, online giving, monthly giving, Giving Tuesday, and year-end fundraising campaigns.
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Develop strategies to increase donor acquisition, engagement, retention, and lifetime value.
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Utilize fundraising analytics and performance data to optimize campaigns and improve return on investment.
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Provide executive leadership for the National Epilepsy Walk and its associated peer-to-peer fundraising strategy.
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Develop strategies to increase Walk participation, sponsorship revenue, fundraising performance, and nationwide affiliate engagement.
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Provide executive oversight of Leadership Conference sponsorship, exhibitor, registration, and revenue strategies.
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Collaborate across departments to ensure strong donor, sponsor, participant, and attendee experiences.
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Identify opportunities to expand community fundraising, third-party fundraising, and peer-to-peer engagement.
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Monitor fundraising performance and adjust strategies as needed to achieve annual revenue goals.
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Ensure strong CRM data integrity, revenue forecasting, donor stewardship, grant compliance, and fundraising operational practices.
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Manage departmental budgets and ensure effective allocation of fundraising resources.
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Lead, coach, develop, and retain a high-performing Institutional Giving team.
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Establish clear annual goals, performance expectations, and accountability measures.
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Conduct regular one-on-one meetings, coaching sessions, and performance evaluations.
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Foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement.
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Encourage cross-functional partnership across the Development Division and broader organization.
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Support professional development and growth opportunities for team members.
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Recruit and retain strong fundraising talent as organizational needs evolve.
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Director of Corporate Partnerships
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Foundation Relations & Grants Manager
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Direct Response Marketing & Digital Fundraising Manager
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National Walk & Peer-to-Peer Manager
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Corporate Partnerships Coordinator
The Vice President provides executive leadership and accountability across the following revenue streams:
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Corporate Partnerships
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Foundation Relations
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Government Grants
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Sponsorships
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Cause Marketing
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Workplace Giving
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Annual Fund
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Direct Mail
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Online Giving
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Monthly Giving
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Giving Tuesday
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Year-End Giving
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Digital Fundraising
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National Epilepsy Walk
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Leadership Conference Revenue
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Peer-to-Peer Fundraising
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Community Fundraising
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Third-Party Fundraising
Success in this role will be measured through:
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Achievement of annual institutional fundraising and departmental revenue goals.
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Growth in unrestricted revenue.
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Growth in corporate partnership and sponsorship revenue.
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Growth in foundation and government grant funding.
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Growth in Annual Fund and digital fundraising revenue.
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Growth in National Epilepsy Walk revenue and participation.
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Growth in Leadership Conference sponsorship, exhibitor, and registration revenue.
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Growth in peer-to-peer and community fundraising.
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Donor acquisition and retention.
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Proposal and grant success rates.
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Grant and sponsorship compliance.
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Sponsor and donor stewardship.
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Campaign performance and return on investment.
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Revenue forecast accuracy.
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CRM data integrity.
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Effective budget management.
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Staff engagement, development, and retention.
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Achievement of departmental and strategic goals.
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Cross-functional collaboration and execution of organizational initiatives.
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Bachelor’s degree required; master’s degree preferred.
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Minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible fundraising leadership experience.
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Demonstrated success securing six- and seven-figure institutional gifts, partnerships, grants, and sponsorships.
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Experience leading multidisciplinary fundraising teams and managing multiple revenue streams.
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Demonstrated success in corporate partnerships, foundation relations, annual giving, and digital fundraising.
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Strong strategic planning, budgeting, forecasting, and financial management skills.
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Exceptional executive communication, presentation, negotiation, and relationship-building skills.
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Demonstrated ability to cultivate and steward senior-level corporate, foundation, government, and philanthropic relationships.
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Strong analytical skills with the ability to use fundraising data and performance metrics to inform strategy and decision-making.
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Ability to lead collaboratively within a national, complex, and mission-driven organization.
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Strong executive presence, business development skills, and donor-centered approach to fundraising.
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Demonstrated ability to lead through change, drive innovation, and build high-performing teams.
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Experience within a national health, nonprofit, or patient advocacy organization preferred.
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Experience leading and developing remote teams preferred.
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Experience with peer-to-peer fundraising platforms preferred.
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Knowledge of event sponsorship strategy, fundraising analytics, and CRM best practices preferred.
Up to 50% domestic travel is required, including travel related to:
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National Epilepsy Walk
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Leadership Conference
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Board meetings
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Corporate partner and sponsor meetings
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Foundation and donor visits
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Affiliate meetings
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Industry conferences
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Other organizational and fundraising activities
The Vice President of Institutional Giving is expected to acknowledge and adhere to all Foundation policies, including the conflict-of-interest and media release consent policies, and be available to work during the Foundation’s established core hours based on the U.S. Eastern Time Zone.
