Foundation Relations Officer

Organization Overview
At Guiding Eyes for the Blind, we are passionate about connecting exceptional dogs with individuals seeking greater independence. We are dedicated to creating and supporting life-changing partnerships between people and dogs.
At our facilities, we breed, raise, and train exceptional guide dogs – and match them with individuals ready to embrace a life of greater freedom, confidence, and possibility. Together, they embark on incredible life adventures. Are you ready to play a role in that journey? Join us and help be a part of transforming lives.
Our incredible dogs make our mission possible – and working with them will inspire you! We put our clients first, striving to exceed their expectations by providing exceptional dogs trained to meet their unique needs and empower them to live the lives they choose.
We believe philanthropy is about more than fundraising. It's about building meaningful relationships with people who share our commitment to creating life-changing guide dog partnerships. Every gift represents a donor's belief in our mission, and every interaction is an opportunity to deepen that connection, demonstrate impact, and inspire lasting support. Working collaboratively across the organization, our Philanthropy team connects donors and funders with the people, programs, and stories that bring our mission to life.
Position Overview
The Foundation Relations Officer supports Guiding Eyes for the Blind's fundraising efforts by building and strengthening relationships with foundation partners and securing philanthropic support for the organization's mission and programs. As a member of the Philanthropy team, the Officer manages the full grant lifecycle, including prospect research, proposal development, reporting, stewardship, and donor communications.
Working collaboratively with colleagues across the organization, this position gathers and translates programmatic, financial, and organizational information into compelling funding opportunities that demonstrate impact and inspire investment. This role helps expand and sustain foundation support through effective grant management, stewardship, and donor communications.
The ideal candidate is an exceptional writer, organized project manager, and relationship builder who thrives in a collaborative environment and is passionate about connecting foundations to mission-driven work that changes lives.
At Guiding Eyes, you'll work alongside passionate, caring professionals who are united by a love of dogs and a shared commitment to our mission. Together, we help create life-changing partnerships between people and guide dogs while connecting donors to the extraordinary impact their generosity makes possible. If you're looking for meaningful work in a collaborative, mission-driven environment where your efforts directly support greater independence and opportunity for people with vision loss, we'd love to hear from you.
The Role
Foundation Fundraising & Relationship Management
Manage and steward an assigned portfolio of foundation donors and prospects, developing strategies to secure funding and strengthen long-term engagement.
Conduct prospect research to identify and evaluate private, family, community, and corporate foundation funding opportunities aligned with Guiding Eyes' programs and priorities.
Coordinate and host foundation donor meetings, site visits, and other engagement opportunities, including preparing materials and working with colleagues across the organization.
Grant Writing & Management
Prepare and submit grant proposals, letters of inquiry, grant reports, donor updates, stewardship materials, and other foundation communications.
Manage the full grant cycle, including opportunity research, proposal development, submission tracking, reporting, stewardship, compliance, and renewals.
Maintain and regularly update the grants calendar to ensure all proposal, reporting, stewardship, and renewal deadlines are met.
Monitor organizational statistics, program outcomes, and other information relevant to foundation fundraising and reporting.
Collaboration & Information Gathering
Partner with Finance and colleagues across departments to prepare grant budgets and gather accurate programmatic, financial, and impact information for proposals and reports.
Foster effective cross-functional partnerships to support donor engagement, information sharing, and fundraising success.
Donor Records & Gift Administration
Maintain accurate and detailed foundation donor and prospect records in Salesforce, including grant activity, deadlines, communications, relationship information, and other relevant documentation.
Process and enter gifts in Salesforce accurately and in a timely manner, ensuring appropriate coding, documentation, and donor information.
Prepare donor acknowledgements and related correspondence, ensuring gifts are recognized accurately, promptly, and appropriately.
Maintain detailed records and supporting documentation related to gifts, grants, donor communications, and stewardship activities.