Director of Philanthropy

Cultivation, Solicitation, and Stewardship

• Develop, plan, and execute comprehensive strategies to grow philanthropic revenue across national and state funding sources.
• Lead cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of major philanthropic partners, donor networks, and funders.
• Own key relationships across a portfolio of institutional and individual funders, ensuring thoughtful, personalized engagement.
• Engage directly with donors and prospects through meetings, events, and ongoing communication.
• Represent Activate at conferences, donor events, and other external engagements to build visibility among high-value audiences.
• Support the development of compelling proposals, presentations, and briefings tailored to donor interests and funding priorities.
• Curate and oversee donor engagement opportunities—including salons, donor dinners, site visits, and executive-level check-ins—to deepen relationships.

Relationship Management

• Oversee holistic, strategic relationship management across the philanthropy team to ensure high-quality stewardship and donor satisfaction.
• Develop and reinforce best practices in relationship management across the organization, promoting cross-team coordination and consistent donor engagement.
• Collaborate with the Brand team to develop donor visibility and engagement strategies that strengthen affinity and expand the funding pipeline.
• Partner with senior organizational leaders and board members to support high-priority donor cultivation and stewardship efforts when appropriate.

Strategy, Planning, and Team Leadership

• Develop and implement a multi-year philanthropic fundraising strategy aligned with organizational growth goals.
• Collaborate with Finance to support accurate forecasting, revenue tracking, and budget planning.
• Serve as an active CRM user, ensuring prompt, accurate data entry and partnering with development operations to maintain data quality and effective workflows.
• Support the implementation and continual improvement of HubSpot and Airtable systems for pipeline, award tracking, and donor communications.
• Use CRM data to identify trends, improve donor strategy, and contribute to long-term planning.
• Manage, coach, and grow philanthropy team members in a remote first organization, including setting goals, providing feedback, and shaping professional development pathways.
• Partner with internal stakeholders—including Community, Brand and Strategic Initiatives teams—to ensure aligned and coordinated fundraising efforts.
• Contribute to impact reporting efforts by collaborating across the organization to develop and distribute updates to funders.

This role ensures Activate has the resources needed to scale its impact by leading philanthropic fundraising efforts, which directly supports scientists and engineers in bringing their research to market and creating game-changing companies that generate jobs and define new market categories.

• 10+ years of experience in philanthropy, fundraising, or development, with a track record of securing and stewarding six and seven figure major gifts or institutional funding.
• Demonstrated experience building and managing high-performing teams.
• Proven ability to cultivate and maintain relationships with major donors, foundations, and institutional funders.
• Experience developing multi-year fundraising strategies and leading implementation across teams.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to tailor messaging for varied audiences.
• Strong analytical skills and familiarity with CRM systems (e.g., HubSpot, Airtable), including using data to inform decision-making.
• Ability to manage multiple initiatives simultaneously while maintaining strong organizational rigor and follow-through.

Competitive salary of $160,000 and a generous benefits package that includes professional development, $2,000 in annual wellness funds, flexible paid time off, healthcare coverage for employees and dependents, with 90–100% of premiums covered, and the opportunity to join a retirement plan with a 3% match beginning after 3 months at Activate.

Activate empowers scientists and engineers to reinvent our world by bringing their research to market through the Activate Fellowship, providing funding, community, mentorship, network, and time to help them become entrepreneurs.