Caltech · 1 week ago
Director of Foundation Relations
Pasadena, CA
Full-time
Onsite
Director/Executive
$132K/yr - $174K/yrCaltech is a world-renowned science and engineering institute that marshals some of the world's brightest minds and most innovative tools to address fundamental scientific questions. The Director of Foundation Relations will be responsible for securing major and principal gifts and grants from foundations to support Caltech’s research and educational initiatives, while managing a portfolio of funders and collaborating with faculty and leadership to develop tailored proposals.
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Responsibilities
Develop strategies to direct and manage a comprehensive foundation gifts and grants portfolio to support Caltech. Responsible for raising $3 million+ annually
Identify, qualify, cultivate, solicit and steward foundation prospects and secure gifts and grants at the $100,000 - >$5,000,000 level to support Caltech's research and educational priorities
Develop and implement strategies for a portfolio of approximately 50 prospects
Represent Caltech in cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship visits with foundations
Facilitate relationships between foundations and Caltech's faculty and academic leadership
Develop and refine prospect strategies; meet regularly with the Assistant Vice President for Foundation Relations to coordinate on these strategies
Work closely with Foundation Relations staff on reporting and stewardship to donors
Work closely and collaboratively with individual fundraisers in Academic Divisions and Regions to align activities and identify, qualify, cultivate and solicit foundation prospects to help support Division priorities
When appropriate, work in concert with the AVP and AAR leadership on prospects
Ideate and coordinate proposal strategy and development:
Work with key internal and external constituents to identify strategic funding objectives
Test objectives with foundation contacts
Gather and synthesize information to inform proposal content
Write detailed and persuasive foundation proposals for a variety of audiences
Provide framing and editing support for faculty or academic leadership-derived proposals, letters of support, and other donor-facing documents
Guide the preparation and delivery of proposals and presentations to funders
Other duties as assigned
Qualification
Required
A bachelor's degree
Knowledge of the foundation grant making landscape, and proven ability to critically evaluate foundation interests and their alignment with organizational initiatives
Ability to work effectively with both development/advancement leadership and program leadership
Appreciation and understanding of the academic enterprise and the ability to articulate academic values internally and externally
Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including experience with writing proposals on technical subjects or analogous documents to private funding entities
Well organized, focused and goal-oriented
Proven ability to work both independently and as a team member on projects
Ability to travel to meet with funders
Proficiency with MS Office Suite and with constituent relationship management (CRM) software
Preferred
Bachelor's or advanced degree in the natural sciences or engineering
Foundation fundraising experience in higher education, including a broad knowledge of the principles and practices of foundation fundraising within a major research university or academic medical center
Proficiency with Adobe Creative Suite
Benefits
Health, dental, and vision insurance
Retirement savings plans
Generous paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick time, parental leave, bereavement, etc.)
Tuition reimbursement
Onsite counseling
Sick time
Company
Caltech
Caltech is a science and engineering research and education institution.
Founded in 1891
1001-5000 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Caltech has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (156)
2024 (95)
2023 (105)
2022 (83)
2021 (30)
2020 (22)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$86.51MKey Investors
US Department of EnergyAlfred P. Sloan Foundation
2024-07-17Grant· $10M
2019-09-27Grant· $75M
2019-01-01Grant· $1.51M
Leadership Team
Frances Arnold
Linus Pauling Professor
John Preskill
Professor of Theoretical Physics
Recent News
2025-12-17
PhysOrg.com
2025-12-03
Company data provided by crunchbase