General Information
Position Title: Director, Philanthropy & Partnerships
Practice Area: 4As Foundation
Reports to: VP, Partnerships & Growth
Category: Exempt
Location: New York/Hybrid
Date: October 2025
Salary: $100,000 – $110,000
Position Overview
The Director of Philanthropy and Partnerships is a role designed to advance the mission of the 4As Foundation. This senior-level fundraising and relationship management role is responsible for driving new revenue and expanding the Foundation’s base of philanthropic, corporate, and industry support. This leader will proactively identify, cultivate, and secure major gifts, sponsorships, and grants from corporations, foundations, and high-net-worth individuals, leveraging existing networks and developing new relationships across the marketing, media, and advertising industries.
Working in close partnership with the VP, Partnerships & Growth, the Director will also guide the Foundation’s development strategy, marketing visibility, and partner engagement efforts, ensuring alignment with the organization’s growth goals and brand positioning. Limited travel within the tri-state area (and occasionally nationwide, 1–3x/year) is required.
The ideal candidate is a proven fundraiser and connector with a deep understanding of how to cultivate and close revenue-generating relationships. They are entrepreneurial, persuasive, and mission-driven, with a strong grasp of nonprofit fundraising, corporate giving, sponsorship development, and marketing strategy. They bring both strategic vision and hands-on deal-making, comfortable pitching funders, stewarding relationships, and turning opportunities into commitments.
Position Responsibilities
Core responsibilities and tasks include:
Fundraising & Partnership Development (Primary Focus):
- Lead strategy and execution for major gifts, sponsorships, and institutional fundraising, with annual revenue goals.
- This includes identifying, cultivating, and soliciting new funding partners; maintaining and expanding an active portfolio of funders and sponsors; partnering with leadership to design creative giving opportunities; developing and delivering compelling presentations, proposals, and pitch decks; representing the Foundation at key industry events; and overseeing stewardship efforts.
Grant & Institutional Development:
- Lead or support proposal development, letters of inquiry, reports, and renewals.
- Manage grant process, grant writing, grant tracking, pipelines, and deadlines in CRM (Salesforce preferred).
- Work with program teams to articulate impact stories and data-driven cases for support.
Marketing & Visibility:
- Collaborate with marketing and communications teams to position the Foundation as a premier partner in advancing diverse talent in the industry.
- Contribute to campaigns, events, and materials that elevate the Foundation’s visibility among funders, sponsors, and influencers.
- Ensure consistent, high-impact messaging demonstrating mission, outcomes, and social ROI.
Strategy Leadership & Growth:
- Partner with the EVP & VP and Foundation leadership on strategic planning and revenue forecasting.
- Use market insights and relationships to inform new initiatives, partnerships, and program opportunities. Support the integration of development and marketing strategies across the Foundation and the Learning Institute.
- Prepare donor communications, board updates, and partnership reports demonstrating impact and progress.
Position Requirements
- 8+ years of progressive experience in nonprofit fundraising, corporate partnerships, or related development roles.
- Proven track record of closing six- and seven-figure gifts, sponsorships, or grants.
- Strong network of corporate, foundation, and/or industry contacts, especially within advertising, marketing, or creative sectors.
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills; confident in public speaking and donor engagement.
- Strategic thinker with an entrepreneurial mindset; able to turn ideas into executable fundraising plans.
- Experience managing pipelines, CRM systems (Salesforce preferred), and donor stewardship cycles.
- Marketing and communications experience is a plus, particularly related to donor storytelling and brand alignment.
- Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree or CFRE certification preferred.
- Performance Metrics:
- Annual revenue raised (from new and renewed sources).
- Number and quality of new partnerships developed.
- Retention and growth of donor relationships.
- Increased visibility and engagement of the Foundation among key industry stakeholders.
About the 4As
A 501(c )(6) non-profit association
We focus on core values of Passion, Agility, Curiosity and Collaboration as we partner together to support and champion 4As members to help their business thrive as we also strive to move the industry forward.
- Great team with strong mission and energy
- Summer Fridays
- Week off between Christmas & New Year Holidays
- Enviable work/life integration
- Volunteer Days
What We Do:
Our mission is to empower and equip our members to confidently navigate the ever-changing ecosystem of the agency world. We ensure they remain relevant, are positioned to compete, and have the resources to thrive and grow. Our promise to our members? We aim to be an indispensable resource that is as accessible as their own agency team.
We are dedicated to, and vested in, our members’ success, just as they are dedicated to helping brands create, distribute, and measure effective and insightful advertising and marketing. And we champion the infinite power of creativity and value agencies bring in driving business growth and powerful cultural change. The 4As drives business. With a focus on advocacy, talent, and impact, we provide community, thought leadership, research, guidance and best-in-class training that enable agencies to innovate, evolve and grow.
The 4As was established in 1917 to promote, advance, and defend the interests of our member agencies, employees and the advertising and marketing industries overall. We empower and equip our members to confidently navigate the ever-changing ecosystem of the agency world. We ensure they remain relevant, are positioned to compete, and have the resources to thrive and grow. With a focus on advocacy, talent and creating impact, the organization serves 600+ member agencies across 1,200 offices, which help direct more than 85% of total U.S. advertising spend. The 4As includes the 4As Benefits division, which insures more than 160,000 employees; the government relations team, who advocate for policies to support the industry; and the 4As Foundation, which advocates for and connects rising talent to the marketing industry by fostering a culture of curiosity, creativity and craft to fuel a more equitable future for the industry.
4As Foundation: a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
Mission: Advocate for and connect diverse talent to the marketing industry. We celebrate a community that fosters a culture of curiosity, creativity, and craft to fuel a more equitable future. By investing in and developing them, we believe that possibilities are endless.
Established in 1997, the 4As Foundation is committed to identifying, developing, empowering, and ensuring the most diverse talent enters and succeeds in the marketing industry. We achieve this through programs aimed at discovering and cultivating talent through scholarships, education programs, and initiatives. This includes the Multicultural Advertising Intern Program (MAIP) fellowship (50th year) and Alumni communities. The MAIP Alumni with over 4,000 professionals is the largest diverse community in the industry. Other programs include Vanguard supporting Black and Latinx professionals and 365BLACKPRINT that includes several initiatives. We have provided over $3.5 million to deserving students studying advertising, marketing, media, creative arts, and public relations. Our Education Programs (high school initiatives) have prepared more than 1,000 diverse high school students for careers in marketing.
The 4As is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to a work environment that supports, inspires and respects all individuals and in which personnel policies are applied without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, age, disability, national or ethnic origin, military service status, citizenship or other protected characteristic.
