Associate, Institutional Fundraising

Core Spaces; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 100,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid flexible PTO

Health plan options

401(k) retirement plan

Paid volunteer time off

Job summary

Core Spaces, located in Chicago, IL, is looking for an Associate to support their institutional fundraising efforts. The role involves managing prospecting, coordinating investor engagement, and ensuring data accuracy. Ideal candidates will have a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field and 2 to 5 years of experience.

Responsibilities include maintaining pipeline data, preparing materials for investor meetings, and conducting market intelligence research. Core Spaces offers competitive compensation and a supportive workplace culture.

Qualifications

• 2 to 5 years of relevant experience in institutional fundraising or investor relations.
• Strong analytical and research skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Support execution of the institutional fundraising strategy.
• Maintain and refine investor pipeline data.
• Coordinate investor meetings and prepare related materials.

Skills

Analytical skills

Project management

Communication skills

Attention to detail

Education

Bachelor's degree in finance, real estate, business, or related field

Tools

Salesforce

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft PowerPoint

Job description

Who We Are

Core Spaces (Core) is more than a real estate company; it’s a people company. Where building relationships is just as important as building properties. From researchers and architects to designers and operators, Core is made up of risk takers and dreamers who are on a mission to invent the future of living. Our six cultural values guide us every day and we strive to live them in everything we do: PUSH (Invent Better Places to Live), GRIT (We Got This), LIFT (Help Each Other Win), SHINE (Bring Your Full Self), UPHOLD (Never Break Trust), GROW (Always Get Better). Everything Core does stem from this culture of collaboration and innovation, and the drive to constantly improve the resident experience. This unique approach has led to creating spaces and services that are redefining the way people live.

*Portfolio and pipeline numbers as of Q1 2026*

What We Do

Founded in 2010, Core is a vertically integrated real estate investment manager focused on acquiring, developing and managing across the student housing and build-to-rent ("BTR") sectors. Its residential communities feature world-class amenities, progressive design, and hospitality-driven service. Core’s student housing portfolio includes over 74,440 beds currently owned or managed, with a pipeline of over 53,860 beds in various stages of development. Core’s BTR division has over 3,000 homes under development, now leasing or in its pipeline in high-growth metros nationwide. For more information, visit www.corespaces.com.

Benefits That Matter

• A culture that provides you with a sense of belonging
• Competitive pay that values your contributions
• Incentives designed to reward your achievements
• Paid flexible PTO to disconnect or celebrate life milestones
• Paid 14+ holidays, including your birthday, to disconnect and celebrate
• Paid Parental Leave that begins after 90 days
• Paid volunteer time off to give back to your community
• Monthly workshop weeks; fewer meetings & more collaboration
• Robust health plan options that begin within at least 30 days of your employment
• Monthly phone reimbursement
• Wellness allowance and perks, including a yearly subscription to a meditation app
• An environment that provides you a voice to share your perspectives
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for access to confidential support services
• Company retirement options including 401(k) + matching & Roth account option

Position Overview

The Associate, Institutional Fundraising supports the execution of Core’s institutional capital formation strategy across private real estate funds, co‑investment opportunities, and separate account relationships. This role serves as a key operational and analytical partner to the fundraising function by helping drive prospecting efforts, maintaining pipeline discipline, coordinating investor engagement activity, supporting diligence and marketing deliverables, and ensuring the accuracy and integrity of investor‑related data, materials, and communications.

The Associate works closely with the Executive Managing Director, Managing Director, Director of Institutional Fundraising, Investor Relations, and Investment teams to help advance strategic fundraising initiatives and deliver a high level of responsiveness, organization, and professionalism throughout the investor lifecycle. This role requires strong project management capabilities, sound judgment, attention to detail, and the ability to manage multiple workstreams, deadlines, and stakeholders in a fast‑paced, high‑touch environment. The ideal candidate brings relevant experience in institutional fundraising, investor relations, private markets, real estate investment, or alternative asset management, along with a strong understanding of institutional investor expectations and fundraising processes.

What You Will Do

Fundraising Execution and Pipeline Management

• Support execution of the institutional fundraising strategy by managing day‑to‑day workflow across the prospecting, outreach, diligence, and follow‑up lifecycle for private real estate funds and separate account opportunities.
• Maintain and continuously refine investor pipeline data, capital tracking schedules, meeting logs, target lists, and follow‑up plans to ensure leadership has accurate visibility into fundraising activity, momentum, and priorities.
• Partner with senior fundraising leaders to track active conversations, identify pipeline gaps, organize next steps, and help ensure investor opportunities are advanced in a timely and coordinated manner.
• Monitor inbound and outbound fundraising activity, organize investor engagement records, and help ensure commitments, allocations, meeting outcomes, and related updates are accurately documented and communicated internally.
• Exercise sound judgment in escalating time‑sensitive items, reconciling inconsistencies in prospect or pipeline data, and identifying follow‑up actions needed to keep fundraising initiatives on track.
• Support internal reporting needs by preparing recurring and ad‑hoc pipeline updates, prospect summaries, activity reports, and meeting preparation materials for leadership review.

Investor Meetings, Roadshows, and Event Coordination

• Lead preparation and coordination of materials and logistics for investor meetings, due diligence sessions, conference participation, roadshows, annual meetings, and other fundraising‑related events.
• Develop tailored briefing materials for internal stakeholders, including investor background summaries, relationship history, portfolio context, strategic considerations, meeting objectives, and recommended discussion points.
• Coordinate meeting agendas, pre‑read materials, attendee preparation, logistics, and post‑meeting action items to ensure interactions are well‑organized, strategic, and executed to a high professional standard.
• Track follow‑up deliverables resulting from investor meetings and ensure requests, commitments, and next steps are clearly documented, assigned, and completed in a timely manner.
• Support the team in managing multiple concurrent investor outreach efforts while maintaining consistency, responsiveness, and strong attention to detail.

Investor Research and Market Intelligence

• Conduct detailed research on institutional investors, consultants, family offices, wealth platforms, strategic partners, and relevant market participants to support prospect identification, prioritization, and relationship development.
• Analyze investor preferences, product fit, allocation trends, portfolio activity, fundraising developments, and competitive positioning across relevant sectors, strategies, and geographies.
• Synthesize findings from databases, publications, internal records, and market sources — including Dakota, IREI, PERE, and other relevant resources — into concise, actionable insights that support fundraising strategy and decision‑making.
• Monitor competitor fundraises, product launches, capital flows, and broader private markets trends to help inform positioning, outreach strategy, and investor targeting efforts.
• Prepare research summaries, briefing notes, and strategic recommendations that help senior team members tailor messaging and prioritize institutional opportunities.

Marketing Materials, Diligence, and Investor Deliverables

• Coordinate the preparation, quality control, and distribution of fundraising and investor communication materials, including presentations, one‑pagers, data requests, briefing documents, and other investor‑facing content.
• Partner cross‑functionally with Investor Relations, Investment, Finance, Legal, and other internal teams to gather information, validate content, and ensure materials are accurate, current, and aligned with Core’s strategy, product positioning, and brand standards.
• Support the completion of investor inquiries, requests for proposals (RFPs), due diligence questionnaires (DDQs), and other diligence or information requests by organizing inputs, tracking deadlines, drafting responses where appropriate, and ensuring timely submission.
• Help maintain a high standard of consistency, accuracy, and version control across fundraising materials and investor responses.
• Identify recurring diligence themes, investor questions, and content gaps, and help improve internal processes, materials, and readiness for future fundraising activity.

CRM, Data Integrity, and Reporting

• Maintain and update Salesforce and other relevant systems used by the Fundraising and Investor Relations teams to ensure data quality, consistency, and reliable reporting across investor contacts, pipeline stages, meeting activity, and fundraising outcomes.
• Serve as a key steward of fundraising data integrity by reviewing records for completeness, resolving discrepancies, and ensuring information is entered in a timely and organized manner.
• Help establish and reinforce disciplined processes around data entry, tracking conventions, reporting cadences, and document management to support transparency, operational efficiency, and informed decision‑making.
• Generate reports, dashboards, and activity summaries for leadership and cross‑functional partners, translating underlying data into clear and useful business insights.
• Recommend process improvements to strengthen workflow efficiency, reporting accuracy, investor responsiveness, and overall execution across the fundraising platform.

Cross‑Functional Partnership and Operational Support

• Partner closely with fundraising, investor relations, investment, finance, legal, and operations stakeholders to support coordinated execution of capital formation priorities.
• Build strong internal working relationships and act as a reliable point of coordination across teams involved in investor communications, diligence support, and fundraising deliverables.
• Manage multiple priorities simultaneously while maintaining strong organization, follow‑through, and accountability for deadlines and quality of work product.
• Handle sensitive investor and business information with a high level of discretion, professionalism, and confidentiality.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of fundraising processes, tools, templates, and operating procedures to support scalability and execution excellence.
• Perform all other duties and tasks as assigned by management.
• Must be able to complete all physical requirements of this role with or without a reasonable accommodation.

Ideally, You’ll Have

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, real estate, business, economics, marketing, communications, or a related field.
• 2 to 5 years of relevant experience in institutional fundraising, investor relations, private equity, private real estate, asset management, investment banking, consulting, or a related field supporting institutional clients or capital raising efforts.
• Working knowledge of institutional investors, private funds, alternative investments, and/or commercial real estate investment structures and terminology.
• Experience supporting complex, deadline‑driven projects requiring coordination across multiple internal and external stakeholders.
• Strong analytical, research, writing, and organizational skills, with the ability to synthesize information into concise and actionable outputs.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities with strong attention to detail, follow‑through, and quality control.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to interact professionally with senior leaders, investors, and cross‑functional business partners.
• Proficiency in CRM systems such as Salesforce and advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel and PowerPoint.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment, handle confidential information responsibly, and work independently within a fast‑paced, high‑expectation environment.

You’ll crush it if you have experience with

• Experience within private real estate, private equity, or alternative asset management.
• Familiarity with fundraising databases and market intelligence platforms such as Dakota, IREI, PERE, Preqin, PitchBook, or similar tools.
• Experience supporting DDQs, RFPs, investor requests, or institutional diligence processes.
• Exposure to separate accounts, joint ventures, co‑investments, or commingled fund structures.
• Experience preparing investor briefing materials, pipeline reports, or senior leadership updates.

Organizational Structure

Reports to: Executive Managing Director, Institutional Capital Raising

Direct Reports: N/A

Disclaimer

Please note that job responsibilities, reporting lines, and duties outlined in this job description are subject to change to meet the evolving needs of the organization.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, Core Spaces celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an equitable and inclusive environment, which creates a sense of belonging for all employees. We do not discriminate and believe every individual should be proud of who they are and the community they represent

Pay Range

USD $100,000.00 - USD $120,000.00 /Yr.

Compensation Disclosure

The compensation range listed reflects the base salary or hourly rate that we reasonably and in good faith expect to offer for this role at the time of posting. Actual compensation may vary based on factors such as education, experience, skills, certifications, seniority, geographic location, and business needs.
This role may be eligible for additional forms of compensation, including bonuses, commissions, stipends, or non‑cash incentives, depending on position and performance. Benefits may include health insurance, retirement plans, paid time off, and other role‑based offerings, subject to eligibility requirements.
All compensation components are subject to change based on business needs or market conditions.