Associate Philanthropic Advisor (SFF)

San Francisco Foundation - San Francisco, CA; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

San Francisco Foundation is seeking an Associate Philanthropic Advisor to deepen donor relationships and expand impact across the Bay Area. You will advise donors, coordinate giving strategies, and connect them with programmatic work across SFF.

The role emphasizes donor stewardship, portfolio management, and collaboration with a busy philanthropy team to deliver high‑quality advisory services and tailored donor experiences.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required in liberal arts, business, or related field.
• 2–4 years in fundraising and donor-relations.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; strong interpersonal skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide philanthropic advice to donors, including research and due diligence.
• Coordinate donor stewardship, events, and cultivation activities.
• Manage donor portfolios and respond to routine inquiries.
• Collaborate with colleagues to deliver advisory services.

Skills

Fundraising

Donor relations

Customer service

Communication

Education

Undergraduate degree

Job description

With more than $1.5 billion in assets, the San Francisco Foundation is one of the largest community foundations in the country. The foundation is committed to expanding opportunity and ensuring a more equitable future for all in the Bay Area. Together with its donors, the foundation distributed $154 million to nonprofit organizations last fiscal year. The San Francisco Foundation serves Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo Counties, as well as initiatives serving the nine-county Bay Area.

REPORTS TO: Director of Philanthropic Services

POSITION SCOPE and RESPONSIBILITIES

The Associate Philanthropic Advisor, as an integral member of the Philanthropy and Gift Planning Department, is responsible for providing exceptional philanthropic advice and customer service to deepen relationships with existing SFF donors.

The Associate Philanthropic Advisor assists donors in achieving their philanthropic goals by helping facilitate their giving and by providing services to enhance the impact of their current giving. In addition, the Associate Philanthropic Advisor engages donors in the work of SFF in order to encourage them to support and invest in the mission of SFF. The Associate Philanthropic Advisor also assists donors in making additional contributions of cash, stock, and other assets to their funds.

The Associate Philanthropic Advisor is a liaison between their portfolio of donors and the Foundation, and is a point of contact in connecting donors with the expertise available at SFF. To ensure that SFF is serving as a valuable philanthropic partner, the Associate Philanthropic Advisor must be knowledgeable about the breadth and depth of the programmatic work of SFF and can clearly communicate the major initiatives and their impact to donors in a manner that adds value to their grant making, and be able to ask for gifts to support this work when appropriate.

In partnership with the Director of Philanthropic Services and the Senior Philanthropic Advisors, the Associate Philanthropic Advisor plays a key role in helping the department organize its philanthropic advisory services and coordinating with other departments to deliver these services.

Duties Include:

Philanthropic Advising: The Associate Philanthropic Advisor will work closely with donors who are interested in advising services, as well as coordinate with other members of the team. Provide philanthropic advice including research, due diligence, scheduling site visits, and other services to support each donor’s goals for giving. Provide coordination along with Director of Philanthropic Services and Senior Philanthropic Advisors on major advising projects and support select corporate/business clients with advising services.

Donor Stewardship and Cultivation: Steward and cultivate current donors to meet their philanthropic goals, and to support SFF’s targeted fundraising goals. This will include developing a thorough understanding of donors’ needs and interests, looking for opportunities to deepen donors’ understanding and interests in SFF’s mission, and implementing strategies to encourage more giving into SFF’s work. Assist Senior Philanthropic Advisors with marketing content and event planning support to cultivate further donor engagement and development of a donor community.

Customer Service: Provide exceptional services to donors related to fund management, including management of the donor hotline, monitoring the donor email inbox, assisting donors making gifts and grants, and problem solving general requests.

Donor Relationship Management: Manage a portfolio of donors with the goal of furthering the donor’s philanthropic vision and supporting the Foundation’s mission. Respond to donors’ routine requests for information about grantee organizations and areas of philanthropic interest and track contacts between donors and SFF. Be able to identify opportunities aligned with SFF. This will include supporting donor events and educational forums, arranging site visits, coordinating fund reviews, and timely communications with assigned donors.

The Associate Philanthropic Advisor will also be responsible for using SFF’s donor database for tracking and recording relationships with donors, building profiles of donors, and researching donors’ interest areas. The Associate Philanthropic Advisor will also help advise on the creation and production of various marketing materials, events, and customized services for donors.

The Associate Philanthropic Advisor will serve as an externally facing representative for SFF.

On occasion, meet with prospective donors and their professional advisors interested in establishing donor relationships with SFF. Provide feedback and recommendations on updates to policies, procedures, and systems to improve donor services. Help with department scheduling, logistics, event support, and other tasks as needed. Other duties and projects as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Education: Undergraduate degree in a liberal arts, business, or other relevant discipline.
• Experience: Minimum two to four years of fundraising and relationship management experience including direct client contact with high net worth individuals and families.
• Knowledge, Skills, and Competencies: Knowledge of Bay Area philanthropic community and charitable organizations. Knowledge of basic planned giving concepts and donor advised funds. Skill in working with major donors, prospects, professional advisors, and business and community leaders. Excellent verbal and written communications. Exemplary ability to work collaboratively and to build and maintain interdepartmental relationships. Exceptional attention to detail. Comfortable with public speaking. Personal maturity and demonstrated good judgment. Patience with problem solving and trouble-shooting and the willingness and ability to prioritize on-the-fly. Passion for learning and sharing information.

General knowledge of investments and the financial services industry. Ability to understand and effectively communicate programmatic objectives and accomplishments. Exceptional project management skills. Knowledge of and familiarity with database systems and an understanding of how data is used in planning and evaluating project objectives and measuring impact.

Must be a critical thinker with ability to understand root causes of problems and envision systematic changes. Must be able to synthesize and translate technical content (financial, programmatic, and investment related) to donors, professional advisors and prospects.

COMPENSATION:

Commensurate with background and experience in addition to a competitive benefits package.

The San Francisco Foundation is an equal opportunity employer and encourages people of diverse backgrounds to apply.