Chief Impact Officer

Job Specifications

Education:                              Bachelor’s Degree in a related field

Related Experience:               Minimum 5 (preferred 10) plus years’ experience in nonprofit management, donor development, community impact through grantmaking and community involvement, and/or other public relations activities; 5+ years of experience in the community foundation field preferred

Supervision Given:                 Grants and Scholarship Specialist

Supervision Received:           President & CEO of CommunityGiving

Job Summary: The Chief Impact Officer (CIO) oversees all CommunityGiving (CG) community impact and organizational growth work. This role is the lead staff person responsible for empowering and supporting the work of each CG foundation and community fund. This includes supporting each entity’s growth and development efforts while overseeing and monitoring the organization’s grants and scholarships programs to ensure maximum community impact with the greatest efficiency.

The Chief Impact Officer maintains a strong customer service focus while establishing, building, and maintaining effective working relationships with CommunityGiving staff, partner executive directors, organizational committees, grantees, volunteers, and other community stakeholders in alignment with the organization’s mission and values. The CIO will be an experienced change maker and be a leader within CG and in the philanthropic, nonprofit, civic, and social sectors of the communities we serve.

Job Duties

The Chief Impact Officer responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Visioning/Strategic Planning:  
   • In conjunction with CG President & CEO and staff, develop, lead, and implement long-term goals and short-term strategies to increase and strengthen the overall impact of each partner foundation within the communities we serve.
   • In conjunction with CG President & CEO and staff, develop, lead, and implement long-term goals and short-term strategies to grow CG and support the growth of each partner Foundation.
   • In conjunction with CG President & CEO and staff, lead in creating, building, and maintaining mutually beneficial collaborative efforts across CG to advance the work of building better communities for all.
2. Community Impact:
   • In collaboration with local Executive Directors, leads overall community impact as it relates to community leadership and donor engagement in all CG foundations and community funds.
   • Oversees, maintains, and continuously strives to improve the policies, procedures and systems which initiate, evaluate, and monitor grants, scholarship, and programmatic activities funded by CG foundations and community funds.
   • Provides guidance and monitors all CommunityGiving grantmaking and community program initiatives including special projects and collaborative efforts with other foundations, organizations, and corporations.
   • Maintains a strong working knowledge of the community needs and programmatic work of nonprofits within the communities served by CommunityGiving foundations and community funds.
   • Reviews, oversees, and coordinates all grant applications to other funders. Leads and lends expertise in grant writing and grant evaluation processes and systems to affiliate partners as appropriate.
   • Oversees and supervises the Foundation Center’s Resource Collections throughout CG as the primary contact with Candid.
   • Leads on the promotion and support of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging and provides support and guidance to all CG foundations and community funds.
   • Works with the CommunityGiving finance team to provide responsible reporting on community impact efforts and strategic outcomes as appropriate to the Board and other pertinent stakeholders.
3. Personnel Management:
   • In conjunction with President & CEO and staff, motivates all staff to work at the highest level of excellence by fostering a supportive, trusting and growth orientated culture.
   • Supports opportunities, both internal and external, for staff and volunteers to continue to learn in their respective roles to grow and be motivated, satisfied, and challenged in their positions.
   • In conjunction with the President & CEO and staff, creates and supports a highly professional, outcome-orientated work environment.
4. Community Relations and Marketing:  
   • Works with local Executive Directors and Donor Engagement staff to facilitate collaboration and learning across CG’s footprint to strengthen community impact across all foundations and maintain organizational knowledge of relevant local and regional information and trends.
   • As appropriate, shares information about CG services to the community, donors, nonprofits, and staff.
   • Develops and fosters positive relationships with community stakeholders including nonprofits, philanthropic peers, and the public sector.
   • Knowledgeable and involved in the philanthropic and nonprofit community.
   • In collaboration with the CG Marketing team, strategizes to clearly communicate philanthropic information and highlight the impact of local community foundations and community funds.
   • Supports the alignment of communication messages across the organization.
5. CommunityGiving and Community Foundation Field:  
   • Serves as a member of the overall CommunityGiving leadership team.
   • Leads, supports, and encourages building of collaborative and efficient systems to support all CG community foundations and community funds.
   • Oversees accreditation and recertification process for meeting National Standards for US Community Foundations
   • Supports and encourages educational opportunities for all CG community foundations and community funds.
   • Knowledgeable and involved in regional, state, and national philanthropic and community foundation field as requested including the Council on Foundations, Minnesota Council on Foundations, and others.
   • Represents CommunityGiving as requested in providing peer and technical assistance, within advisory and affinity groups and as part of specialized sector efforts.
   • Keeps abreast of developments in philanthropy and fund development.
6. Other Duties
   • Performs other duties as required through the policies and procedures of CommunityGiving.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Desired

1. Familiarity and understanding of the National Standards for Community Foundations.
2. Understanding of community issues and how community foundations can play a role in addressing and impacting local communities in a collaborative way with multiple community stakeholders.
3. Unwavering commitment and dedication to concierge level customer service.
4. Ability to identify impact opportunities within the organization and community.
5. Understanding and working knowledge of financial and accounting functions for nonprofits including working knowledge of nonprofit budgeting processes.
6. Understanding and working knowledge of computerized database systems and CRM software.
7. Ability to prioritize, organize and move between multiple tasks.
8. Willingness to learn new things and take on new tasks.
9. Ability to analyze various types of data to identify key issues and support conclusions.
10. Excellent facilitation skills for small and large groups.
11. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both oral and written.
12. Excellent analytical, organizational, and creative problem-solving skills.
13. Accuracy and attention to detail.
14. Ability to lead and manage volunteers and staff and function in a team relationship.
15. Demonstrated ability and flexibility to work in a fast-paced environment.

Interpersonal Skills/Values               Every staff member employed by CommunityGiving is expected to possess and embrace the values as adopted by the Board of Directors.

We believe in…

• Capturing and preserving the legacy of our donors … Forever
• Our duty to provide unparalleled, personalized service to our donors
• Inspiring philanthropy across generations
• Utilizing financial resources as a tool to bring about lasting, positive change
• Our responsibility to serve as a trusted local leader and community catalyst, building connections between people who share a common geography

We value…

• Community

We bring people together to leave our world better than we found it. Everyone is welcome at the Community Foundation table.

• Integrity

We recognize that our assets are our people, capital, and reputation. If any of these is ever diminished, the last is the most difficult to restore.

• Commitment

We possess an authentic and genuine dedication to the communities and people we serve.

• Innovation

We are committed to being flexible and improving what we do and how we do it, each and every day.

• Optimism

We have a “can-do” attitude that inspires creative solutions.

• Diversity

We integrate the diversity of our local communities in our discussions and actions.

• Generosity

We nurture “a pay-it-forward” approach that supports community-based philanthropy to grow and serve local communities.