Philanthropic Advisor

Orange County Community Foundation; Irvine (CA); Hybrid; USD 84,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Remote work 1 day per week

Competitive benefits

Job summary

Orange County Community Foundation seeks a Philanthropic Advisor to deliver high‑quality stewardship and advisory services to donors, managing donor-advised funds and grantmaking to deepen engagement with philanthropy and OCCF.

You will conduct donor meetings, coordinate family engagement, ensure accurate Salesforce records, review grant requests, and design grant programs while collaborating across departments.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field required.
• Four to six years of donor relations, community outreach, or related experience.
• Strong written and verbal communication; ability to engage diverse stakeholders.
• Proven donor stewardship skills and ability to work cross-functionally.

Responsibilities

• Manage a portfolio of donor-advised funds delivering proactive, personalized advisory services.
• Develop donor engagement and stewardship plans to meet short- and long-term goals.
• Facilitate donor meetings and multi-generational family engagement activities.
• Track donor engagement activities in Salesforce and maintain donor records.
• Review grant requests, process in Salesforce, and support grant programs and reporting.
• Conduct nonprofit research to support strategic philanthropic planning and granting inquiries.
• Educate donors on OCCF’s Community Impact work and donor education events.
• Plan and implement outreach programs and events; collaborate across teams.

Skills

Donor relations

Community outreach

Communication

Relationship building

Fundraising

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Salesforce

MS Office

Job description

Description

Orange County Community Foundation

The Orange County Community Foundation (OCCF) transforms our community’s heartfelt intention into greater impact for good by working with local donors and nonprofit partners as an expert advisor and innovator. We serve as a resource for individual and family philanthropists, facilitate grant and scholarship programs, and lead community-based initiatives. OCCF's Vision 2030, a five-year strategic plan, is designed to amplify giving and support donors’ philanthropic goals as well as address critical needs in Orange County. Since 1989, OCCF has granted more than $1.25 billion in Orange County, across the country, and around the world. Our success is driven by relationships of trust, respect, and partnership with both our donors and community partners, as well as among our dedicated board and staff. We are motivated by passion and committed to operational excellence in the fulfillment of our mission, ensuring that every action we take benefits those we serve.

At OCCF, we live by our core values:

• Community: We nourish our community, creating a welcoming and supportive environment for all. It feels good to be here.
• Understanding: We prioritize understanding through healthy, open communication, fostering an atmosphere of mutual respect and collaboration.
• Potential: We paint what's possible by providing exemplary service, always striving to envision and achieve the highest potential.
• Courage: We problem-solve with courage, approaching challenges with a unified and determined mindset.

By joining our team, you will be part of an organization that not only values your skills and contributions but also supports your personal and professional growth. We invite you to be part of a mission-driven community that makes a meaningful impact every day.

Overview of Position

Reporting to the Senior Director, Center for Engaged Philanthropy , the Philanthropic Advisor provides high-quality stewardship and advisory services to OCCF donors, managing relationships with a portfolio of donor-advised fund holders to facilitate their grantmaking and deepen their engagement with philanthropy and OCCF. This includes providing responsive grantmaking support and enriching learning opportunities and responding to special requests that help donors achieve their philanthropic goals. Services also include creating family giving plans, multi-generational family engagement activities, coordinating nonprofit site visits and donor meetings, and administration of custom grant programs.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Donor Engagement and Stewardship

• Manage a portfolio of donor-advised funds delivering high-quality, proactive, and personalized advising services while fostering trusted relationships with donor advisors.
• Develop donor engagement and stewardship plans to support donors when accomplishing their short-term objectives and long-term goals.
• Develop legacy guidelines for donor-advised funds.
• Identify donors’ philanthropic goals and priorities, provide timely and thoughtful responses to inquiries, and cultivate strong relationships through proactive engagement and support.
• Facilitate donor meetings and multi-generational family engagement activities.
• Track donor engagement activities in the Salesforce database.
• Facilitate responses to donor inquiries, concerns, and strengthen current donor relationships.
• Review donor-advised grant requests and enter them into Salesforce, approve once processed, while ensuring proper due diligence and necessary follow-up.
• Conduct nonprofit research to support strategic philanthropic planning and granting inquiries.
• Provide guidance and support on administration and design of grant programs for Signature Funds, including defining program goals and objectives, creating a request for proposals, soliciting eligible nonprofit applicants, reviewing proposals, facilitating grant review committees, notifying awardees, negotiating grant agreements, and coordinating distribution of grants to nonprofits. Oversee the reporting process, including tracking nonprofit progress and summarizing outcomes and impact for donors and OCCF.
• Educate donors on opportunities to become better engaged with OCCF’s Community Impact work, including contributing to pooled granting funds.
• Support the implementation of educational programs to enhance the donor stewardship model and increase awareness of important and emerging needs in the community, including donor education events, site visits and donor convenings.
• Support the planning and implementation for special outreach programs and events. This may include but is not limited to our Family Volunteer Program, Next Generation programs, Family Facilitation and any new opportunities for donor engagement.

Community Engagement

• Maintain a broad understanding of the Orange County community and use this knowledge to build and maintain relationships with donors and potential donors.
• Conduct research on issues or concerns of importance to OCCF through reviewing written materials, attending community meetings, and interviewing community stakeholders, and present those findings in written and/or oral formats.
• Conduct site visits to nonprofit organizations in Orange County to stay connected with the needs in the community and be able to communicate those needs to donors.
• Represent the Foundation at community events and activities, including making presentations on OCCF’s behalf.

Administrative

• Work cross-functionally with Philanthropic Strategy, Marketing and Communications, Finance and Administration Departments.
• Maintain detailed donor, fund, nonprofit, and grant records in OCCF Salesforce database.
• Assist the Director of Center for Engaged Philanthropy with special projects as requested.
• Work collaboratively across Donor & Community Engagement teams with special projects and programs as requested.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Compensation and Benefits

The opportunity to work for an organization with a phenomenal mission and a positive, team-oriented environment.

This exempt position offers a competitive salary $84,000 - $85,000, with placement within the range based on experience and qualifications. Our comprehensive benefits package includes Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage; a 403(b) retirement plan with an automatic employer contribution; two weeks of vacation; two weeks of paid sick leave; 10 paid holidays per year; and the opportunity to work a 9/80 schedule.

This position is eligible to work from home one day per week.

Review of applications, nominations, and expressions of interest will begin immediately and continue on a confidential basis until an appointment is made. The deadline to apply is September 7, 2026. However, the position may close when an adequate number of qualified applications are received.

We aim to fill this role thoughtfully and may adjust or conclude the process as our needs evolve. We may also contact you regarding future opportunities that align with your experience and our mission.

Orange County Community Foundation provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

Reasonable Accommodation

We provide reasonable accommodations to applicants and employees with disabilities. This is separate from the general application process described above — applicants with questions about access, or who require a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process, should contact us at 949-553-4202. We will work with you to identify an appropriate accommodation in a timely manner.

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications:

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in related field required

Experience

• Four to six years of experience in donor relations, community outreach, or a related field.
• Effective and persuasive verbal and written communication style.
• Ability to develop and maintain positive interpersonal relationships.
• Superior organization and time management skills.
• Strong donor stewardship skills and commitment to quality and results.
• Ability to work successfully with diverse individuals with a variety of work and communication styles, both internally and externally.
• Strong presentation skills, with demonstrated ability to facilitate discussion across multiple audiences.
• Strong customer service skills with the ability to handle sensitive and confidential information appropriately.
• Strong interpersonal skills to foster a collaborative work environment, facilitate open communication, and support cross-departmental coordination.
• Responsiveness and ability to prioritize and work accurately to meet multiple deadlines in a fast-paced environment and adjust to changing and/or tight deadlines.
• Team player who is also a self-starter needing minimum supervision.
• Business technology skills, including the ability to operate business machines and adeptness with a number of computer software applications, including MS Office products. Experience with constituent database systems a plus.
• Demonstrated success working with multi-generational families leading and facilitating discussions about values, charitable giving, and community impact a plus.
• Ability to think strategically.
• Creative problem-solving skills.