Trusts and Foundations Officer

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Income Generation

•         Develop funding strategies for prospective trusts, identifying the strongest organisational and project matches and recommending the most effective approach.

•         Write and submit tailored and effective funding applications to meet agreed income targets.

•         Monitor application deadlines and ensure timely submission.

•         Work with colleagues to gather, interpret and present service data, outcomes and financial information to produce high-quality, evidence-based funding proposals and reports.

•         Contribute to the development of larger or more complex funding proposals, working alongside the Trusts and Foundations Manager and colleagues across the organisation.

•         Contribute ideas that help Back Up’s Fundraising team develop innovative approaches to trusts fundraising, stewardship and donor engagement.

Relationship Management and Stewardship

•         Ensure compliance with funder requirements by preparing and delivering high-quality impact reports and other agreed reporting, demonstrating how their contributions have been used.

•         Act as the primary point of contact for trusts and foundations within your portfolio, building trusted relationships.

•         Develop and deliver an engaging, year-round stewardship programme that goes beyond grant reporting, creating meaningful opportunities for funders to see the impact of their support through tailored communications, multi-media updates and personalised engagement.

Other

•         Use application outcomes, funder feedback and sector learning to continually improve proposal quality, stewardship and trusts fundraising performance.

•         Work collaboratively with colleagues across the organisation to gather information for compelling stewardship, cultivation, proposals and reports and maintain a deep understanding of the impact support provides to those with a spinal cord injury.

•         Monitor trends in grant-making and maintain an understanding of developments affecting people with spinal cord injury to strengthen funding proposals.

•         Contribute to Trusts processes for recording and sharing useful resources.

•         Maintain accurate records of trust and foundation activity, ensuring Salesforce CRM and pipeline information is up to date and supports effective relationship management, reporting and forecasting.

•         Use CRM, service data and organisational insight to support prospect research, develop compelling funding applications and identify opportunities for growth.

•         Be an ambassador for Back Up and be part of the team at occasional Back Up events.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Candidates must fulfil the following essential criteria:

Essential

·       Experience in trusts and foundations fundraising with the ability to identify funding opportunities and develop successful funding proposals.

·       Confident using technology, including CRM systems and AI-assisted tools and spreadsheets, to support research, prospecting and proposal development while maintaining high standards of accuracy and judgement.

·       Highly organised and able to manage multiple deadlines.

·       Excellent written communication skills, with the ability to translate complex information into clear, engaging and persuasive funding proposals and reports.

·       Able to balance attention to detail with strategic thinking.

·       Strong numeracy skills and confidence working with budgets and financial information.

·       Comfortable building relationships with senior volunteers, trustees and funders.

·       Resilient and motivated, with a proactive approach to the challenges of trust fundraising and achieving income targets.

·       A proactive approach to working towards targets.

·       A strong team working approach.

·       Willing and able to work occasional evenings/weekends and travel.

Desirable

·       Experience in major donor fundraising, philanthropy or corporate partnerships.

·       Understanding of spinal cord injury and/or disability issues

·       Understanding of charity finance and/ or project budgeting.

·       Experience supporting donor cultivation events

·       Experience producing supporter communications, presentations or impact reports.

·       Experience working with trustees, senior volunteers, ambassadors or high-net-worth individuals.