Organization Profile

Founded in 1980, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona (CFSA) has supported Southern Arizona with over $245 million in grants and scholarships, stewarding the philanthropic legacy of our community’s generous donors and increasing the breadth and depth of resources available to nonprofit organizations in our region. The impact we make is a collective one, with funds held by individuals, families, and businesses with unique interests, ideas, and passions. Our work touches every aspect of daily life, including animal welfare, arts and culture, community development, education, environment, health, and human services, and more. In addition to the support provided to Southern Arizona nonprofits through grantmaking, CFSA also partners with nonprofits through its Center for Healthy Nonprofits and offers beautiful and affordable office, meeting, and event space at its centrally located Community Foundation Campus.

Position Purpose & Overview

A member of CFSA’s senior leadership team reporting to the President & CEO, the Vice President of Community Impact plays a critical role in shaping and realizing CFSA’s strategic plan and strengthening the organization's impact across Southern Arizona. This position has primary responsibility for the foundation’s strategic community impact, including oversight of a portfolio of CFSA initiatives, grant programs, scholarships, and proactive relationship building with the Southern Arizona community. The Vice President advises and informs the CEO, leadership team, and volunteer trustees and advisory boards on impact strategies, trends, and tactics. This role contributes to leading and creating our culture of trust, generosity, savvy, adaptability, and community. The Vice President directly supervises 4-6 Community Impact staff, some of whom may be managers. This role is responsible for cultivating, engaging, and bringing out the best of a high-performing team.

Community Initiatives and Volunteers

This position leads strategy and management of CFSA’s initiatives, providing insights and recommendations on when, how, and with what tactics and resources CFSA engages in deep community work in specific areas. The Vice President leads Community Impact staff in the implementation and oversight of CFSA initiatives and supporting organizations such as the Center for Healthy Nonprofits, LGBTQ+ Alliance Fund, African American Legacy Fund, the Local News Initiative, the APIDA Fund, and others as assigned. This role ensures support to initiative advisory committees and volunteer grant reviewers and is responsible for CFSA’s overall advisory board and volunteer program.  

Programs 

• Grantmaking: This position oversees grant program design and implementation for discretionary, competitive, and initiative grant cycles in line with trust-based philanthropy principles. This person recommends the distribution of grant dollars within the Community Impact budget and works closely across departments in developing targeted strategic grants, field of interest grants, and programs that will actively engage donors, funders, and other key stakeholders in making a measurable impact. This person will also, with the CEO and the Philanthropy Department, support grantmaking for donor advised fund holders as needed, providing consultation and reporting.
• Education: CFSA supports the nonprofit community by offering opportunities for nonprofit professionals to connect and grow their skills through the Center for Healthy Nonprofits. The Vice President ensures regular assessments of the needs of nonprofits and, in partnership with other leaders and philanthropists, aligns capacity building efforts to support their success.  

Advocacy, Funder Collaborations, and Other Impact Strategies  

This position identifies, builds on, and executes opportunities for CFSA to leverage its influence through advocacy, funder collaborations, and other impact strategies. With CFSA’s recent investment in its technology stack, the Vice President expands the use of data and evaluation to better identify patterns, gaps, and solutions for short and long-term community impact. This position also builds knowledge related to the foundation’s strategic goals and priorities and the nonprofit sector, including best practices in grantmaking, collaborations, and the foundation’s role as a community leader.  

Relationship Building 

As part of a collaborative team, this position is both internally focused, working collaboratively with other foundation staff, as well as externally focused, working at building productive relationships with CFSA stakeholders that help advance existing and new programs. The Vice President and their team members represent CFSA in various funding collaboratives and at community meetings and events. 

Duties & Responsibilities

Community Impact Engagement and Leadership

• Lead development of strategies for community impact in alignment with CFSA’s Strategic Plan.
• Serve as staff liaison to Community Impact Committee of the Board of Trustees.
• Establish and manage, with the CEO, CFO, and Management Team, the department budget.
• Serve as a member of the CFSA Senior Leadership Team.
• Lead, supervise, and mentor Community Impact staff.
• Ensure applicable training and continuing education of department staff and the systematic monitoring and evaluation of their performance.
• Partner with Marketing and Communications on the development of Community Impact content.
• With other Community Impact and Philanthropy Department staff, develop and deliver programming to strengthen the capacity of the nonprofit community.

 Grantmaking and Administration

• Oversee the administration, management, and implementation of all competitive, responsive, and special fund grantmaking.
• Engage and communicate with community partners and collaborators to ensure effective strategy and relationships.
• Oversee relevant contracts and budget for the department.
• Incorporate and prioritize trust-based philanthropy framework in Community Impact activities.
• Lead the continued improvement of the applicant, grantee, reviewer, and staff experience of CFSA’s grant and scholarship management systems.

 Community Support and Networking

• Oversee staff support and coordination of all CFSA Initiatives and their strategic planning.
• Works with CEO and CIC in the development of cross-sector collaboratives that move the needle in alignment with CFSA’s strategic plan.
• Support the building of networks of nonprofit partners, assessing and analyzing needs and impact of educational opportunities on the nonprofit community.
• Employ detailed knowledge/experience on community needs to implement target solutions to effect change. 

Preferred Qualifications

• A bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in an appropriate field, including a minimum of seven years of related experience in grantmaking or philanthropic community impact.
• Understanding of regional, national, and statewide issues and the ability to help connect these trends with the foundation’s mission and strategic plan.
• Ability to create trust, convene, and mobilize groups of diverse stakeholders to address community issues.
• Energetic leader with strong relationship cultivation skills and cross-sector network-building skills with community leaders and organizations in the public & private sectors, donors, Board members, and colleagues.
• Experience working directly with people from various cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds and an understanding of how the Community Foundation’s work intersects with their experiences.
• Management skills; goal orientation; accountability; organizational and analytical skills.
• Strong decision-making and prioritization capabilities; ability to relate, encourage, collaborate, and enjoy spending time with colleagues and the Foundation’s external partners.
• An energetic, optimistic, and entrepreneurial approach and outlook.
• High ethical standards.
• Demonstrated experience in building collaborations and partnerships. Advanced verbal and written communication skills and the ability to present effectively to small and large audiences.
• Proven ability, and direct experience, managing people and developing a high-functioning team that meets and exceeds annual goals.
• Ability to facilitate meetings, synthesize ideas, and provide sensitive feedback.
• Detail-oriented with the ability to see the big picture and think comprehensively.
• Proven multi-tasking capabilities with a strong ability to plan prioritize and manage complex projects under aggressive deadlines.
• High level of computer proficiency (Microsoft environment).
• Experience with databases and other standard software to create complex documents and materials requiring the interpretation and manipulation of data.
• Commitment to creating an inclusive atmosphere where differences are understood, valued, and respected; an understanding and appreciation of the diversity found within southern Arizona including the ability to work with all individuals regardless of race, color, gender, sexual orientation, sexual identity, age, religion, marital status, disability, national origin, and military status.

Ancillary/Preferred Skills

• Proficiency in Spanish.
• Experience using philanthropic databases, scholarship, and grant management platforms.
• Knowledge of the communities, social issues, and political landscape of the Southern Arizona region.

To apply, submit a cover letter and resume to:  hr@cfsaz.org