Fundraising Officer

About Chapter One

Chapter One is a growing charity dedicated to ensuring every child has access to one-to-one reading support at the time they need it most. 

We support children at every stage of their primary reading journey through three programmes - Early Literacy Intervention, Online Reading Volunteers, and Book Clubs - helping them build both the will and the skill to read. Our innovative Online Reading Volunteers Programme aims to support 3,500 children facing disadvantage during the 2025-26 academic year, pairing five to eight-year-old children with reading support volunteers from over 180 local and national businesses. Our unique approach requires volunteers to commit just 30 minutes a week for an entire academic year, using our bespoke digital platform. The results are transformative, significantly boosting children's reading confidence and ability. 

For more information about our programmes please visit our website. Please also take some time to visit our social media channels and watch our videos.  

About the role

With ambitious targets to support thousands more children by 2029, Chapter One is seeking a passionate, energetic Fundraising Officer to be an integral part of our Fundraising team. Reporting to our Fundraising Manager, you’ll generate income from a range of existing and new trusts and foundations, along with individual fundraising activities, to contribute towards the 2025-26 fundraising target. The fundraising budget in 2026-27 will be £356,000, when you’ll have an individual target.

This role is ideal for an early career professional who can write creative, compelling proposals and build impactful relationships to make your mark in a fast-growing charity which is flexible and agile. You’ll be a proactive, determined self-starter and have high standards for yourself and others. You’ll develop and manage a funding pipeline by investing in thorough research and relationship cultivation, and you will thrive in working with funders, partners and supporters on a day-to-day basis. 

Key responsibilities

Deliver the fundraising plan 

• Work collaboratively with the Fundraising Manager to grow Chapter One’s fundraising portfolio and meet agreed income targets from trusts and foundations. 

• Maintain a portfolio of existing trusts and foundations, ensuring an excellent cultivation and stewardship journey​ in order to build relationships and maximise income. 

• Proactively identify and research new prospective trust funders, finding creative ways to engage with them to secure support.

• Create compelling and tailored fundraising applications and reports, ensuring there is a strong emotional case for support and accuracy, to inspire prospects and supporters across trusts and foundations. 

• Contribute to the highest levels of donor care for supporters, including creative stewardship, adhering to all grant conditions and responding in a timely manner to all enquiries from supporters and prospects. 

• Research, interpret and present data about literacy and impact that makes a compelling case for Chapter One’s programmes. 

• Contribute to internal planning and budget setting for restricted and unrestricted activities, setting out clear plans and a pipeline for income generation from trusts and foundations.

• Work with the Fundraising Manager, Corporate Partnerships team and Communications team to support the development of strategies and campaigns to grow individual giving from existing volunteers and supporters.

• Undertake administrative duties to support the delivery of individual fundraising initiatives including matched-giving campaigns and Payroll Giving. 

• Work closely with the Fundraising Manager, Corporate Partnerships team and Communications team to ensure a cohesive approach and maximise all fundraising opportunities.  

General

• Oversee and maintain specific fundraising administrative processes, including recording of activity on the Salesforce CRM and internal databases.

• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of fundraising regulations, networks, and developments across the sector. 

• Adherence to Chapter One’s Donation Acceptance Policy.

• Contribute to forecasting and regular reporting, producing verbal and written reports for senior management as required.

We are looking for some of the following attributes, though you might be more experienced in some areas than others:

• A commitment to Chapter One’s mission and values.

• Experience of fundraising, ideally from trusts and foundations. 

• A demonstrable track record of successfully generating income and achieving targets. 

• An ability to create compelling and successful fundraising applications and proposals. 

• Excellent written communication skills, with an understanding of how to tailor communications for different audiences/contexts.

• Strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to build and manage relationships with a range of stakeholders, both internally and externally. 

• Evidence of effective prospect research, growing and managing a pipeline, planning for your portfolio and increasing income​.

• Good financial acumen and proven ability to present complex financial information accurately.

• Excellent organisational skills, attention to detail and high levels of accuracy.

• Ability to effectively work under pressure and manage conflicting priorities.

You’ll be more successful in the role if you have:

• Experience of individual giving or employee fundraising.

• Experience of working in a charity that has a strong corporate volunteering offer.​

• Experience using the Salesforce CRM.

How to Apply

Please send your CV (maximum 2 A4 sides) and a covering letter via Charity Jobs. Your covering letter (maximum 1 side of A4) should:

1) Detail your relevant experience, including clear examples.

2) Tell us the story of a successful fundraising relationship that you have been involved in, how much you raised and what you did to make it succeed.

3) Tell us about how our organisational mission is in line with your values.

Applications that fail to meet these criteria will automatically be discounted. We understand that you may use AI to help craft your application, but do remember that we will be looking for individuals who write a letter that stands out. We want you to have every opportunity to shine and to show us your talents - please let us know if there is anything we can do to make sure the assessment process works for you.

As a charity that values and celebrates people's diversity and champions opportunities for all young people, we are keen to receive applications from people who have experienced disadvantage and from those who are of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities who are currently underrepresented in the organisation. We believe that a diverse organisation is one that is more innovative, more creative and gets better results.

Chapter One is committed to safeguarding children and young people. All post holders are subject to a satisfactory enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service disclosure. Copies of our Safeguarding Policy and Safer Recruitment Policy are available on request.