Trusts & Foundations Officer

Chance to Shine is a national children’s charity. We change young people’s lives through cricket giving them the opportunity to play, learn and develop through the sport. We keep them physically active, teach them vital skills like teamwork, communication and leadership. And above all, they have fun.  

Since 2005 our Chance to Shine Schools programme has helped reverse the decline of cricket in state schools with millions of boys and girls in over 13,000 state schools playing and learning through cricket. Chance to Shine Street supports young people in under-served communities to access and benefit from cricket in a free, inclusive, fun and fast-paced tape ball environment.  

The Fundraising Team is tasked with helping Chance to Shine achieve its ambition. Securing new funding partnerships and the stewardship of existing donors across a range of funding streams: Corporate Partnerships, Events, Trusts and Foundations, Individual giving, and statutory funding to support the delivery of Chance to Shine programmes.  

We are looking for an individual with experience of fundraising, ideally with Trusts and Foundations, with a motivation to drive real change for children and young people. The person in this role will have excellent writing and research skills and enjoy relationship building. The role does not require an understanding of cricket but does require an enthusiasm towards changing children and young people’s lives. 

This is an exciting time for growth within this highly motivated team and this role will play an integral part in our strategy building on our existing pipeline; working collaboratively to make a big impact. 

Purpose of the role  

The person in this role will work closely with the Trusts and Foundations Manager to develop tailored and compelling fundraising proposals to existing and new funders, matching donor interests with Chance to Shine programmes. They will carry out research to identify and prioritise new Trusts that align with our mission. They will support the Fundraising team in a number of ways including the maintaining of accurate records of applications, writing applications, reports, thank you letters, data input and analysis, and creating compelling cases for support.  

The role is based in the Chance to Shine office in London. We operate flexible working and as such team members currently work from the office on average about two days per week.  

The post holder will:  

• Lead on applications for grants up to £10,000 through effective research and cultivation, as well as through the creation of well-written and persuasive cases for support for Chance to Shine projects. 

• Develop and manage relationships with existing funders. 

• Have responsibility for an income target of c. £80-100k. 

Key responsibilities 

Fundraising 

• Apply to a range of Trusts and grant giving bodies who have the potential to give up to five figure annual grants, ensuring that applications are closely aligned to the objectives of the funder and that they meet Chance to Shine’s aims and objectives. 

• Develop and manage communications with a portfolio of existing supporters with a clear objective to renew support. 

• Liaise with operational colleagues to identify projects and priorities for funding, and in consultation with the Trusts & Foundations Manager develop them into compelling projects for funders. 

• Liaise with the operations and finance team to develop robust budgets for funding applications. 

• Manage a small grants programme seeking unrestricted funding from 4 figure grant funders. 

• Work collaboratively with the rest of the Fundraising Team to ensure fundraising income is maximised. 

• Assist with other fundraising tasks as required. 

Research 

• Research and identify prospective Trusts and other grant giving bodies whose aims and objectives are aligned with Chance to Shine and prepare a calendar of relevant and timely approaches. 

• Support in developing a strong trust funding and major grants pipeline, creating new Trust prospect recommendations and approaches. 

Relationship Building 

• Develop strong relationships with Trusts keeping supporters abreast of organisational priorities. 

• As required, plan and organise opportunities for Trust supporters to visit Chance to Shine projects and experience the programme first hand. 

• Be a representative for the charity at networking events where required. 

• Develop strong and effective internal relationships with colleagues in all teams, to support cross-team working. 

Monitoring and reporting 

• Work with the Operations team and Impact and Evaluation team to prepare reports as required by funders. 

• Regularly evaluate fundraising activity to ensure the pipeline is on track and take remedial action, if required. 

• Maintain effective records of key activities and contacts on Raiser's Edge. 

Key relationships 

The job holder will liaise with: 

• Fundraising team 

• Impact & Evaluation, Operations, Communications and Digital and Finance & Resources teams 

• Funders 

Skills, knowledge & personal competencies 

• Experience in fundraising and/or securing grants from Trusts and Foundations. 

• Experience of writing engaging copy and reports. Ideally, some experience of providing reports and updates for funders.  

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.  

• Initiative to plan and achieve targets with strong motivation to succeed. 

• Comfortable dealing with stakeholders at all levels. 

• Enthusiastic and tenacious. 

• Good influencing and negotiation skills.  

• Good team player.  

• Strong attention to detail.  

• Good time management skills and able to work to tight deadlines.  

• Good IT skills with experience of using MS Office Word, Excel. Desirable, but not essential, is experience working with Raisers Edge or an equivalent fundraising database.  

• Enthusiasm to embrace Chance to Shine values: Inspiring, ambitious, passionate, inclusive and fun.