Foundations Manager

Semilla Nueva; United States; On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

New Seed is seeking a Foundations Manager to build and steward our portfolio of foundation funders. You’ll identify new institutional prospects, lead cultivation and onboarding, and manage ongoing relationships to retain and grow support.

This is a relationship-driven, writing-heavy role that requires translating program outcomes into funder-facing narratives and coordinating with program and finance staff to ensure timely, accurate reporting.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in foundation/institutional fundraising or grant writing.
• Proven success securing multi-figure institutional gifts.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; translate program detail into funder narratives.
• Strong organization with multiple deadlines and stakeholders.
• Experience with donor CRM systems and prospect research tools.
• Willingness to travel domestically and internationally for relationships and conferences.

Responsibilities

• Research and prospect new foundation partners aligned with our mission.
• Lead cultivation and onboarding of new foundation funders from first contact to gift.
• Manage foundation portfolio with timely reporting.
• Write letters of inquiry, grant proposals, and funder reports with program and finance teams.
• Track deadlines and deliverables in the CRM.
• Present impact and evidence base to external partners.
• Collaborate with leadership to align funder interests with organizational needs.

Skills

Foundation fundraising

Grant writing

Communication

Organizational skills

CRM experience

Donor research

Travel willingness

Tools

Virtuous

Kindful

Salesforce

Neon

Job description

Reports to: Director of Development Location: Remote (United States)

Summary of the Organization

New Seed develops maize seeds that are proven to decrease malnutrition, improve farmer income, and withstand climate shocks. We develop partnerships with seed companies, governments, and social enterprises that make these seeds accessible to tens of thousands of farmers who produce enough nutritious maize to improve the nutrition of millions of consumers. Our goal is to improve the nutrition of the more than 1B people who eat maize daily in some of the world's most malnourished countries. Learn more at www.semillanueva.org .

Summary of the position

We're hiring a Foundations Manager to build and steward our portfolio of foundation funders. You'll be responsible for identifying new institutional prospects, leading them through cultivation and onboarding, and managing ongoing relationships to retain and grow support. This is a relationship-driven, writing-heavy role for someone who thrives on connecting a funder's priorities to concrete, measurable program outcomes.

Key Responsibilities:

• Research and prospect new foundation partners whose funding priorities align with New Seed's mission, building and maintaining a qualified pipeline.
• Lead cultivation and onboarding of new foundation funders, from first contact through first gift.
• Manage and steward an existing portfolio of foundation relationships, ensuring timely, high-quality communication and reporting.
• Write and coordinate compelling letters of inquiry, grant proposals, and funder reports in collaboration with program and finance staff.
• Track deadlines, deliverables, and reporting requirements across the portfolio using the organization's CRM.
• Represent New Seed to external partners and articulate our impact, model, and evidence base clearly and persuasively.
• Collaborate with leadership and program teams to align funder interests with organizational needs and accurately scope fundable work.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in foundation/institutional fundraising, grant writing, or a closely related field.
• Track record of securing five- and six-figure (or larger) institutional gifts.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; able to translate technical program detail into clear funder-facing narrative.
• Strong organizational skills and comfort managing multiple deadlines and stakeholders.
• Experience with donor CRM systems (Virtuous, Kindful, Salesforce, Neon, or similar CRMs) and prospect research tools.
• Willingness to travel domestically for relationship cultivation and internationally for large conferences. (~60-70 days annually)

Nice to have:

• Familiarity with international development or smallholder agriculture.
• Spanish language skills (given our Central America operations).
• Experience supporting organizational expansion into new geographies.
• Interest in global development, agriculture, nutrition, or related fields a plus.
• Established network within the Big Bang Philanthropy/Skoll community.
• Comfortable building relationships across a large, diverse network of funders
• Industrious, don't give up easy personality
• Ability to work well with a high-touch CEO and involved development team

New Seed is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to sustaining a diverse community with a work environment that is welcoming, respectful, and encouraging to all. We foster a culture of inclusion that celebrates and cultivates diversity along multiple dimensions, including race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, out of home care, age, national origin, socioeconomic status, religion, ability, culture, and experience.