Climate Central

About Climate Central

Climate Central is an independent group of scientists and science translators who research and report the facts about our changing climate and how it affects people’s lives. Using science and technology, we produce local climate storylines and visualizations that make climate change relevant and actionable. Our work covers climate science, sea level rise, extreme weather, energy, and related topics. We collaborate with journalists, TV meteorologists, and other trusted messengers to reach audiences in all 50 U.S. states and more than 150 countries. Our research and visuals appear in thousands of TV segments and tens of thousands of news stories each year.

About the Role

Reporting to the Chief Development Officer, the Director of Institutional Giving is a senior fundraising leader responsible for securing and expanding major institutional support for Climate Central.

This role represents a strategic evolution from a traditional foundation relations function to a broader institutional fundraising portfolio that includes foundations, corporate philanthropy, philanthropic collaboratives, and emerging funding streams such as sports philanthropy.

The Director manages a portfolio of high-value institutional donors while building a robust pipeline of new prospects—including funders beyond traditional climate philanthropy. The role leads the full lifecycle of institutional fundraising, from prospect identification and strategic cultivation through proposal development, grant management, and reporting.

Working closely with the Executive Leadership Team, development colleagues, and program staff, the Director ensures Climate Central delivers compelling proposals, clear impact reporting, and high-quality stewardship that strengthens long-term partnerships and expands the organization’s institutional donor base.

Key Responsibilities 

Institutional Fundraising Strategy

• Partner with the Chief Development Officer and Executive Leadership Team to develop and execute Climate Central’s institutional fundraising strategy.
• Build and manage a strategic portfolio of institutional funders and prospects, prioritizing relationships capable of significant, multi-year philanthropic commitments.
• Secure six- and seven-figure grants through strategic cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
• Expand the institutional funding pipeline by identifying and engaging new prospects both within and beyond the climate funding ecosystem.
• Develop targeted strategies to reach funders in adjacent sectors such as public health, media, democracy, education, resilience, and sports and entertainment-related philanthropy.
• Lead development of a corporate philanthropy strategy, including corporate foundations and mission-aligned corporate giving programs.
• Explore and build a sports philanthropy strategy, identifying opportunities to connect climate science and impacts to sports audiences, leagues, teams, and affiliated foundations.
• Design and execute complex funding strategies and high-level solicitations aligned with organizational priorities.
• Contribute to achieving annual institutional fundraising goals through portfolio management, pipeline growth, and strategic renewal of major grants.

Institutional Partnerships and Donor Management

• Serve as the primary relationship manager for key institutional funders.
• Build and maintain strong partnerships with senior leaders at foundations, corporations, and other institutional donors.
• Develop tailored cultivation and stewardship strategies to deepen relationships and sustain multi-year support.
• Identify and activate strategic networks, including board members, advisors, and partners, to strengthen engagement with prospective donors.
• Represent Climate Central in meetings, briefings, and events with funders and partners.

Institutional Proposals, Grants, and Reporting

• Lead the development of compelling proposals, concept notes, briefings, and presentations in collaboration with program, communications, and development colleagues.
• Manage the full lifecycle of institutional grants, including proposal submission, grant agreements, reporting, and renewals.
• Ensure timely, accurate, and high-quality reporting that clearly communicates impact and outcomes.
• Coordinate across teams to gather programmatic, financial, and impact data required for proposals and reports.
• Maintain systems and workflows to ensure all deadlines are met and deliverables are of consistently high quality.

Collaboration and Internal Coordination

• Partner with program teams to shape funding opportunities and align institutional funding with organizational priorities.
• Work closely with Finance to ensure accurate budgeting, compliance, and reporting.
• Support Executive Leadership Team and board engagement with institutional funders.
• Provide insight on institutional funding trends and emerging opportunities, including new sectors and cross-cutting funding approaches.
• Contribute to a strong culture of philanthropy across the organization.
• Track institutional fundraising activity, pipeline, and revenue projections in Salesforce.

Required Skills and Experience 

• 10+ years of institutional fundraising experience, with a strong track record securing major foundation and/or corporate grants.
• Demonstrated success securing and managing six- and seven-figure, multi-year funding commitments.
• Experience managing a portfolio of institutional donors and prospects, including cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
• Proven ability to grow and diversify an institutional funding base, including identifying new prospects beyond established networks.
• Strong strategic thinking and ability to translate organizational priorities into compelling funding opportunities.
• Exceptional writing and storytelling skills, with experience producing high-quality proposals, reports, and donor communications.
• Experience managing complex fundraising processes involving multiple internal stakeholders.
• Strong relationship management skills with senior leaders at foundations, corporations, or other institutional funders.
• Experience leading or contributing to corporate philanthropy or institutional partnership development.
• Excellent project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple deadlines and priorities.
• Proficiency with Salesforce or similar CRM systems.
• Ability to translate complex scientific or technical content into clear, compelling narratives for external audiences.
• High level of professionalism, discretion, and judgment in managing donor relationships.

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Experience with corporate philanthropy, corporate foundations, or corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs.
• Experience or interest in sports philanthropy, sports partnerships, or engagement with leagues, teams, athletes, or sports-affiliated foundations.
• Experience working in or with fast-paced, high-output environments (e.g., media, campaigns, advocacy organizations, or rapid-response communications teams).
• Familiarity with climate, environmental, science, or public interest communications.
• Experience identifying and engaging funders in adjacent sectors (e.g., health, media, resilience, education, democracy).
• Experience working with or supporting board members in fundraising.
• Familiarity with donor research tools (e.g., Foundation Directory, iWave, DonorSearch).
• Experience working in a remote or distributed team environment.

Compensation 

The expected base salary range for this position is $130,000-$145,000, depending on location, experience, and qualifications.

Climate Central offers generous benefits including:

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• More than 7 weeks of combined vacation and holidays annually
• 12 weeks of paid family leave
• 401(k) with up to 12% employer matching
• Partial college tuition support for children of eligible employees

Location and Eligibility

This position is primarily remote, in accordance with Climate Central policy. Periodic travel to headquarters in Princeton, NJ or other locations may be required for team meetings and events. 

Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Climate Central is not able to sponsor or transfer employment visas for this position.

Climate Central is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and promotes a diverse and inclusive workplace. We do not discriminate against any applicant for employment or employee on the basis of race, color, religious creed, gender, age, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, veteran status or any other classification protected by applicable discrimination laws.

How To Apply

Please apply via this link. The position will remain open through May 4, 2026 at 5:00 pm ET, or until we have identified a strong pool of candidates. We are reviewing applications on a rolling basis and may begin interviews before the deadline, so we encourage interested applicants to apply early.

Please note that our application process requires the submission of a resume and the completion of 3 questions tailored to the position. We are intentionally not asking for a cover letter, so please do not include one with your application. 

When including your education history in your resume, please remove the name of your school from your resume. You may leave your degree (e.g., “B.A. Communication”), but please remove any undergraduate or graduate school names. This is one part of our effort to assess candidates against the essential qualifications for this role and to mitigate bias in the decision making process.

Due to the volume of employment applications and queries received, Climate Central is unable to respond to each application individually. Applicants will be contacted directly if selected as a candidate.