Philanthropy Advisor

Philanthropy Advisor

Reports to: Director, Philanthropy

Location: Kitchener, ON (Hybrid)

Position Type: Full-time, continuing (this is a new role)

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Are you a seasoned relationship manager who wants to inspire more philanthropy across Waterloo Region? Do you pride yourself on attention to detail and providing exemplary customer service? Do you approach things with heart, hustle and humility? If so, Waterloo Region Community Foundation is looking for you to join our team in the newly created role of Philanthropy Advisor.

Waterloo Region Community Foundation’s approach to Philanthropy:

Waterloo Region Community Foundation (WRCF) is a registered charity and one of over 200 Community Foundations in Canada. We work with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and charities to ensure our communities are equitable, connected, and sustainable; and people are thriving. As an endowment-based public foundation, gifts are invested and annual earnings are distributed back to the community. Together with our Fundholders, we have granted almost $100 million to organizations over 40+ years - $7.6 million in 2025 alone. We walk alongside philanthropists to help them navigate the complex local charitable sector, making it easy for them to match passions and resources with organizations, and to make an impact both today and well into the future. To learn more about WRCF, please visit wrcf.ca.

About the Role:

The Philanthropy Advisor will play a key role in sustaining the growth of WRCF’s philanthropic impact by cultivating relationships with prospective Fundholders and community champions. The Advisor will also be responsible for managing a portfolio of existing Fundholders, providing exceptional stewardship and service that leads to additional gifts. In addition, the Advisor will build relationships with professional advisors, in areas such as law, accounting, financial planning, family wealth, and insurance, to help them inspire more philanthropy in their clients.

Key Responsibilities:

Fundholder Growth and Development

• Grow overall lifetime and estate giving among current and new Fundholders.
• Deliver presentations on behalf of WRCF to future Fundholders, professional advisors, service clubs, and workplaces.
• Provide advice and support to Fundholders who are looking to run fundraising campaigns for their funds, ensuring necessary compliance is followed.
• Work with charities who have a fund at WRCF to increase the scale of their funds.
• Cultivate peer-to-peer referrals and ambassador relationships among Fundholders.
• Support the creation of marketing materials for professional advisors and prospects.

Compliance and Reporting

• Maintain and update database records as needed, in a timely and accurate fashion, with regards to Fundholders, donors, prospects, professional advisors, and others.
• Approach all fundraising activities in an ethical manner, while adhering to Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and other applicable charity guidelines and regulations.
• Ensure compliance with all fund agreements.
• Attend relevant workshops, conferences and training sessions to ensure WRCF remains knowledgeable on best practices for estate, tax, and gift planning.

Team and Operational Management

• Represent Fundholder perspectives in cross-departmental discussions and initiatives.
• Represent WRCF at community and sector gatherings, ensuring we are positioned as thought leaders in community philanthropy (occasional evenings/weekends required).
• Remain current on the issues that impact Waterloo Region.
• Assist in management of the Philanthropy budget.

About You:

• Post-secondary degree in fundraising, business, communications, or related experience.
• Minimum 3-5 years of experience in fundraising and/or relationship management.
• Ability to manage confidential, sensitive information with discretion.
• Operate with honesty, integrity, sound judgment, and high ethical standards.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to be clear, engaging, passionate and persuasive about the impact that is possible through philanthropy.
• Confidence understanding legal and financial documents.
• Self-starter with a high level of initiative and reliability.
• High degree of professionalism, sound judgment, and emotional intelligence.
• Pride in attention to detail and accuracy.
• Demonstrate cultural awareness and commitment to equity, inclusion, diversity, accessibility, and reconciliation principles in all aspects of your work.
• Comfort and familiarity using donor management databases, as well as an intermediate level knowledge of Microsoft Office.
• Valid driver’s license and access to reliable transportation for local external meetings.
• Bonus point for:
  • CFRE designation or working towards.
  • Membership with Canadian Association of Gift Planners.
  • Familiarity with the Financial Services industry.
  • Knowledge of the issues that impact Waterloo Region.

If you know you have what it takes to do the job, but your experience doesn’t exactly match the qualifications above, we encourage you to apply and provide us with more details about why you think you would be a great fit. We firmly believe in the potential for diverse perspectives, skills, and experience to enrich our team and contribute to WRCF’s overall success.

What We Offer:

• Full-time employment with an excellent compensation package that includes:
  • Salary range between $77,500 - $90,000 (based on a 37.5-hour work week)
  • 3 weeks of vacation per year, plus 10 personal days and additional float days
    • Vacation allotment grows as length of service increases
  • RRSP matching
  • Comprehensive benefits plan, including:
    • Family health and dental benefits
    • Health Care Spending Account
    • Lumino Health Virtual Care Employee Assistance Program
  • Hybrid and flexible work environment, with regular in-person team strategy sessions and a minimum of two days per week in the office to support collaboration and connection (Tuesdays and Wednesdays).
  • Laptop and mobile device.
  • Professional Development opportunities.
  • Meaningful and highly impactful work as part of a values-driven team.

A Commitment to Equity:

WRCF is an equity-conscious employer committed to barrier-free, anti-discriminatory, culturally competent working environments where employee wellbeing is at the core. We are an inclusive employer without regard to race, colour, religion, nationality, social or ethnic origin, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, or any other status that is representative of equity-denied & sovereign-seeking groups. We encourage candidates of all backgrounds to apply to join our team.

WRCF is committed to the principles of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). As such, we strive to make our recruitment, assessment, and selection processes as accessible as possible. If you are an applicant who requires accommodations, please let us know in advance so that we may arrange for their provision.

Application Details:

• In lieu of a standard cover letter, please respond to the following question in less than 750 words:
  • What experiences inform your philosophy on relationship management?
• Please submit, in confidence, your response to the above question along with your resume to Dan Robert at dan@wrcf.ca.
  • Please ensure both documents are attached in a single PDF file.
• The posting will close on March 29, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. EST.
• Applicants must be eligible to work in Canada at the time of application.
• Please note we do not currently use artificial intelligence (AI) in our recruitment process.
• While we appreciate the interest of all applicants, only those considered for further assessment will be contacted.