Major Donor Philanthropic Partnerships Officer

Global Greengrants Fund (GGF) is a public charity registered in Boulder, Colorado, and London, UK, that supports grassroots activists and civil society organizations around the world working to address environmental and social justice in over 160 countries. GGF applies a participatory and decentralized model in making grants to grassroots groups through regional and thematic boards of advisors, global partner networks, and partner funds, to support grassroots environmental and social justice action. Global Greengrants Fund believes solutions to environmental harm and social injustice come from people whose lives are most impacted. Every day, our global network of people on the frontlines and donors comes together to support communities to protect their way of life and our planet. Because when local people have a say in the health of their food, water, and resources, they are forces for change.

Global Greengrants Fund mobilizes resources for a decentralized, Global South–led advisory network and thousands of grassroots movement partners advancing environmental and climate justice in over 160 countries. In a stark funding climate,  marked by shrinking civic space, institutional risk aversion, and climate finance flowing primarily to large-scale and technocratic solutions, grassroots movements remain both underfunded and essential. GGF’s role extends beyond fundraising for our own grantmaking. We serve as a bridge between movements and philanthropy, influencing the broader climate justice funding ecosystem while channeling flexible resources to communities often excluded from mainstream funding.

In this moment, individual donors have a critical role to play, collectively and in solidarity, to sustain the movements building long-term democratic and climate resilience. This role focuses on cultivating that leadership, stewarding major donors as strategic partners in advancing movement-led climate justice.

• Manage and grow a strategic portfolio of 100-150 high-capacity individual donors and prospects (five- to seven-figure potential), developing tailored cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship. 
• Serve as a trusted partner to major donors and HNWIs — deepening engagement through thoughtful relationship management, high-quality proposals and updates, and alignment with donors’ philanthropic goals.
• Develop and implement individualized engagement plans that grow multi-year, unrestricted support aligned with the priorities of the Global Greengrants Fund network and movements advancing environmental, climate and social justice solutions.
• Provide comprehensive support to key leadership team and Board members to build relationships, including developing engagement plans, background and prospect briefs, communication drafts, and accompanying and documenting meetings.
• Support forecasting and budgetary planning informed by relationships, year-over-year analysis, pledge tracking, and proactive portfolio strategy
• Contribute to the development and implementation of of DAF and legacy giving strategies; support cultivation of planned giving prospects (preferred experience).

• Support opportunities to cultivate big bets and transformative gifts, balanced with cultivation and expansion of our base of major donors who are critical to the long-term sustainability of our movement-support infrastructure.
• Help conceptualize and host intimate donor gatherings and HNWI engagement spaces — including drafting event concepts, speaker notes, curated invitation lists, coordinating in-person and webinar logistics, and strategic follow-up plans.
• Engage and track actively HNWI networks and relevant climate, feminist, and philanthropic spaces to expand GGF’s visibility and donor pipeline.
• Periodically represent GGF at key events and convenings relevant to major donor audiences.
• Translate GGF’s movement-led work into compelling, accessible narratives tailored for high-capacity donors, bridging grassroots realities with strategic philanthropic opportunity.
• Support the broader individual giving strategy by contributing to appeals, curated donor updates, lapsed donor plans, and cultivation experiences that elevate major donor engagement while reinforcing mass-based fundraising efforts.

• Use data and feedback to refine donor strategy and engagement approaches. Monitor progress toward fundraising and engagement goals through CRM dashboards and regular portfolio reporting.
• Leverage internal data and third-party platforms to identify new prospects, growth opportunities, and trends in individual philanthropy.
• Maintain a sharp analysis of individual giving trends, progressive wealth movements, emerging funding vehicles (e.g., DAFs, LLCs, next-generation philanthropy), and shifts in climate and environmental funding landscapes — translating insights into actionable strategy and occasional briefing materials or slide decks for the team.
• Contribute to a culture of learning and experimentation within the Philanthropic Partnerships team, including participation in sector trainings and peer learning spaces.
• Support and mentor other team members in major donor stewardship and engagement strategy as needed.

• Collaborate closely with Communications, Programs, and grant writers to ensure donor materials, proposals, and reporting reflect GGF’s strategic priorities and value proposition.
• Translate monitoring and evaluation data from our work into evidence-based impact updates that demonstrate the effectiveness of climate justice movements; combine with stories of impact to inspire deeper support for  
• Ensure timely, accurate documentation of donor engagement in our CRM and contribute to team-wide portfolio tracking and planning processes.

Essential Values and Competencies

• Commitment to the guiding principles, mission, and values of the Global Greengrants Fund.
• Commitment to a value-based intersectional framework and its implications for organizational practices and principles of anti-oppression.
• Transparency and accountability.
• Critical thinking and analysis.
• Strategic risk management.
• Build strong interpersonal relations from the role – across both organizations (up, down, across, and externally).
• Influencing and resolving differences across boundaries.
• Self-awareness and insight.
• Collaborative, proactive, and solution-oriented approach towards team members and the wider organization. 

Essential Experience & Skills

• Significant relevant experience in similar roles in fundraising for not-for-profit development, environmental, feminist, gender, Indigenous, human rights organizations, and/or funding organizations.
• Significant experience in major donor or individual giving fundraising, with demonstrated success securing and stewarding five- and six-figure gifts (seven-figure experience preferred).
• Proven ability to manage and grow a portfolio of high-capacity donors through strategic cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
• Strong strategic acumen — able to move between relationship-building and data-informed planning, including forecasting and portfolio analysis.
• Experience engaging high-net-worth individuals in climate, environmental justice, feminist, and/or social justice philanthropy.
• Excellent writing and communication skills, with experience drafting proposals, donor briefings, concept notes, and personalized communications.
• Comfort using CRM systems (Raiser’s Edge preferred) and leveraging data dashboards to track performance and inform strategy.
• Ability to analyze philanthropic trends and translate them into strategic insights for team planning.
• Experience supporting or curating donor events and high-level engagement spaces.
• Strong interpersonal skills, judgement and emotional intelligence; ability to build trust with sophisticated donors while centering GGF’s values and movement-led approach.
• Ability to work collaboratively in a virtual, global, and multicultural environment.
• Commitment to Global Greengrants Fund’s mission and values, including a strong grounding in equity, feminist analysis, and movement-led climate justice.
• Strong expertise in the use of various software and a high level of computer literacy (MS Office Suite, Google Apps, instant messaging, and virtual team collaboration software such as Trello, Zoom, Slack, Asana, Raiser’s Edge, Smart Simple, Salesforce, or other donor management systems).
• Fluency in English; proficiency in other languages preferred.

Desirable Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Experience

• Relevant lived experiences related to GGF’s work and community.
• Experience with donor-advised funds (DAFs), legacy/planned giving cultivation, or next-generation wealth engagement.
• Existing networks within climate philanthropy, feminist philanthropy, or progressive wealth communities.
• Experience mentoring colleagues or contributing to team-level fundraising strategy.
• Experience working within global social justice, feminist, climate, or movement-led organizations, with a strong understanding of power, equity, and justice-centered ways of working.