FreeHire

Arthan

Senior Manager Fundraising - Donor Acquisition (CSR, Family Foundations, HNI)

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THE ROLE

  • You'll own new donor acquisition at the organization. Your job is to identify, cultivate, and close partnerships with donors. You'll split your time roughly 60/40:
  • 60% of your time: CSR partnerships, family foundations, and high net-worth individuals. These are relationship-driven, shorter fundraising cycles where your ability to build rapport, navigate corporate decision-making, and close deals matters most.
  • 40% of your time: International institutional donors (foundations, grant-making organizations). These are proposal-driven, longer fundraising cycles where your ability to research prospects, write compelling applications, and articulate impact through MEL frameworks matters most.
  • This isn't a donor management role. We have that covered. This is pure business development in the social sector.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

Build the new donor pipeline

  • Research and Map CSR budgets
  • Identify family foundations and HNIs with philanthropic interests in child welfare and social impact
  • Research international foundations and institutional donors with India programs or global child protection portfolios
  • Identify decision-makers and warm introductions through your network or ours
  • Qualify prospects and prioritize based on funding capacity, mission alignment, and likelihood to close
  • Maintain a pipeline of 40-50 active prospects across all donor segments at any given time

Lead the pitch and close

For CSR, family foundations, and HNIs:

  • Develop compelling proposals within corporate priorities (child welfare, women's safety, education, community health)
  • Lead meetings and presentations with CSR heads, foundation trustees, and philanthropists, often alongside our CEO or Director
  • Navigate corporate decision-making processes, follow-ups, and negotiations
  • Close partnerships ranging from 25 lakhs to 2+ crores annually

For international institutional donors:

  • Write full grant proposals independently, including program narratives, budgets, logical frameworks, and MEL plans
  • Translate programs into compelling cases for support that align with foundation priorities
  • Build relationships with program officers and foundation staff through calls, virtual meetings, and in-person visits when possible
  • Manage long proposal cycles and follow-up processes

Target: Secure 6-8 new CSR/family foundation/HNI partnerships and 2-3 international grants in Year 1, scaling in Year 2

Execute with precision

  • Coordinate with program teams to develop partnership proposals that showcase impact and align with funder interests
  • Manage proposal timelines, documentation requirements, and compliance processes (FCRA, due diligence, etc.)
  • Support onboarding of new partners and transition to stewardship team
  • Track all activities, meetings, and pipeline movement in our CRM (Monday.com)

Think strategically

  • Spot patterns in what's working and what's not. Adjust approach accordingly.
  • Stay on top of CSR trends, Section 135 changes, foundation giving patterns, and international donor priorities
  • Explore innovative partnership models beyond traditional grants (cause marketing, employee engagement, skills-based volunteering)
  • Work with Director and CEO to refine messaging and positioning for different donor segments

WHO YOU ARE

You have 7-9 years of experience in one or more of these areas:

  • Fundraising in the development sector (NGOs, social enterprises) with a track record of bringing in new money from diverse donor segments
  • Business development, sales, or client acquisition in consulting, professional services, or B2B environments
  • Corporate partnerships, CSR management, foundation relations, or institutional giving where you've built relationships from scratch

You're comfortable with the numbers:

  • You can build and manage a sales pipeline across multiple donor segments
  • You think in terms of conversion rates, average deal size, and fundraising ROI
  • Excel and CRM tools are second nature to you
  • You can create a quarterly forecast and actually hit it

You're a relationship builder:

  • You can walk into a room with a stranger and walk out with a next step
  • You know how to listen for what matters to the other person and adjust your pitch
  • You're persistent without being pushy
  • You can handle rejection (because there will be a lot of it) and keep going

You can tell a story and write proposals:

  • You can take complex program details and turn them into compelling cases for support
  • You can write full grant proposals independently, including program narratives, budgets, and MEL frameworks
  • Your proposals don't sound like every other NGO proposal
  • You can adapt your communication style for different audiences

You understand the fundraising landscape:

  • You know how CSR decisions get made in Indian corporates and understand Section 135 compliance
  • You're familiar with international foundation processes, application requirements, and timelines
  • You understand how to navigate FCRA regulations and international funding compliance

You're entrepreneurial:

  • You don't wait for someone to tell you what to do
  • You see a problem and figure out how to solve it
  • You're comfortable with ambiguity and building things as you go
  • You take ownership of outcomes, not just activities

Originally posted on Himalayas