Philanthropy Manager, Prospect Research and Relationship
Description
Job Title: Prospect Research and Relationship Manager
Location: Remote
Terms: Full Time
Reports to: Director of Philanthropy, Corporate Giving and Impact Partnerships
Posting End Date: Monday, July 6, 2026
About Us
The American Forest Foundation (AFF) unlocks the power of family forests as a climate solution while helping thousands of landowners care for their land and improve forest health. Through its Family Forest Carbon Program, AFF expands access to the voluntary carbon market for family forest owners from all walks of life while producing high quality forest carbon credits to help companies reach their net zero goals. The organization’s strategic direction seeks to enable family forests to capture and store one billion tonnes of carbon by 2050.
We do not do this alone. AFF works across a broad coalition of conservation partners, corporations, and policymakers to equip family forest owners with financial and technical support to implement sustainable forest management practices on their lands and activate their forests as a critical tool in the fight against climate change.
AFF is in a mode of complex problem solving and rapid iteration. All teams at AFF are working to discover solutions to the planet’s most pressing climate issues through developing and iterating viable and scalable models for impact. AFF is driven by values of our shared purpose, measurable and verifiable results, and learning for continuous improvement to tackle big conservation challenges.
About The Role
The Prospect Research and Relationships Manager plays a key role in supporting the American Forest Foundation’s fundraising efforts by helping to identify and assess new and existing prospects, including collecting and verifying biographical, professional, financial and philanthropic information, as well as relationship mapping. This key role then ensures the department can utilize the research to provide insights and recommendations which will guide how prospects are approached and engaged, strengthening overall fundraising efforts. The Prospect Research and Relationships Manager will be responsible for helping to execute an events strategy related to managing corporate, foundation and government funders and provide recommendations for moves management and engaging with those audiences at key events. This is a remote position that reports to the Director of Corporate Giving and Impact Philanthropy. The manager works closely with all members of the philanthropy team and climate funding team and coordinates closely with the marketing and communications team to maintain and advance high-quality funder relationships.
Requirements
Responsibilities:
https://www.forestfoundation.org/who-we-are/careers/
We are committed to creating a diverse work environment and proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status or any other basis protected by law.
Job Title: Prospect Research and Relationship Manager
Location: Remote
Terms: Full Time
Reports to: Director of Philanthropy, Corporate Giving and Impact Partnerships
Posting End Date: Monday, July 6, 2026
About Us
The American Forest Foundation (AFF) unlocks the power of family forests as a climate solution while helping thousands of landowners care for their land and improve forest health. Through its Family Forest Carbon Program, AFF expands access to the voluntary carbon market for family forest owners from all walks of life while producing high quality forest carbon credits to help companies reach their net zero goals. The organization’s strategic direction seeks to enable family forests to capture and store one billion tonnes of carbon by 2050.
We do not do this alone. AFF works across a broad coalition of conservation partners, corporations, and policymakers to equip family forest owners with financial and technical support to implement sustainable forest management practices on their lands and activate their forests as a critical tool in the fight against climate change.
AFF is in a mode of complex problem solving and rapid iteration. All teams at AFF are working to discover solutions to the planet’s most pressing climate issues through developing and iterating viable and scalable models for impact. AFF is driven by values of our shared purpose, measurable and verifiable results, and learning for continuous improvement to tackle big conservation challenges.
About The Role
The Prospect Research and Relationships Manager plays a key role in supporting the American Forest Foundation’s fundraising efforts by helping to identify and assess new and existing prospects, including collecting and verifying biographical, professional, financial and philanthropic information, as well as relationship mapping. This key role then ensures the department can utilize the research to provide insights and recommendations which will guide how prospects are approached and engaged, strengthening overall fundraising efforts. The Prospect Research and Relationships Manager will be responsible for helping to execute an events strategy related to managing corporate, foundation and government funders and provide recommendations for moves management and engaging with those audiences at key events. This is a remote position that reports to the Director of Corporate Giving and Impact Philanthropy. The manager works closely with all members of the philanthropy team and climate funding team and coordinates closely with the marketing and communications team to maintain and advance high-quality funder relationships.
Requirements
Responsibilities:
- Manage prospect research process for the philanthropy team, working closely with the Philanthropy Coordinator, Senior Director, Directors and across other members of the AFF team.
- Produces in-depth profiles on corporate, foundation and other philanthropy prospects with accuracy, timeliness and attention to detail, accompanied by a relationship strategy.
- Proactively collaborates with AFF and external stakeholders to identify the best events for our staff to engage new corporate and foundation audiences and helps to facilitate those engagement strategies, including preparing for the events and attending events.
- Provide research, materials, and administrative support for fundraising efforts across individual, corporate, and institutional giving.
- Build and maintain technical skills by staying current with fundraising tools and trends and serving as a proficient user of key software platforms (e.g., HubSpot, Microsoft Office, SharePoint, Zoom, Favro, Adobe Acrobat).
- Highly skilled in gathering, analyzing and interpreting data from diverse sources; writing clear, concise, and accurate reports and briefings; preparing complex event strategies and prioritizing effectively; synthesize business, government and legal documents which relate prospects (IRS form 990, SEC filings, 10K filings, etc); and utilizing strong attention to detail and accuracy.
- Excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage a wide range of stakeholders including partners, donors, volunteers, community leaders, and colleagues.
- Database management competency and systems-level thinking.
- Donor-centered orientation, with the ability to prioritize organizational goals above personal preferences when needed.
- Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university and at least 3-5 years of experience in prospect research, networking, fundraising, nonprofit administration with a preference for a background in ESG, CSR and/or experience in data analysis.
- Experience working with CRM systems such as Blackbaud RENXT or Hubspot and raising funds for conservation, wildlife, or environmental causes strongly preferred.
- Strong working knowledge of philanthropy principles and fundraising best practices.
- Experience with events strategies strongly desired.
- Ability to function successfully in a highly independent role and remote-first work environment. Must be self-directed and self-motivated to accomplish goals.
- Strong skills using Microsoft Office Suite, Microsoft SharePoint, HubSpot, Favro, Adobe Acrobat, and other relevant platforms.
- Data Synthesis skills in distilling large, complex sets of information into concise, actionable profiles and briefings for frontline fundraisers. Database management competency and systems-level thinking.
- Cross-Departmental Collaboration: Working seamlessly with marketing, program staff and philanthropy staff to align research insights with compelling engagement and modern communication strategies.
- Strategic Curiosity: Possessing the intellectual curiosity to dig deep into biographical data to find unique, human connections between the prospect and the non-profit's mission.
- Fundraising Ethics: Maintaining strict data privacy and adhering to the ethical guidelines and legal frameworks when gathering competitive intelligence to maintain total confidentiality regarding sensitive donor financial information.
- Agility (Level 2)- Thriving in volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environments by anticipating and responding to changes with swift, focused and flexible actions.
- Collaborating with Others (Level 3) - Working together with others in a cooperative and supportive manner to achieve shared goals.
- Ensuring Accountability (Level 3)- Holding yourself and others to high standards of accountability, creating an infrastructure and transparent organization culture that supports and measures personal and organizational responsibility and accountability.
- Problem Solving (Level 2) - Identifying problems and the solutions to them. Your contributions and leadership will be appreciated. Our staff is passionate, dedicated and good at what they do, and will be deeply grateful for your efforts to create and preserve an environment that is both fun and fair.
- Database Administration (Level 2) - Applying methods, practices, and policies to the design and management of databases.
- Event Management (Level 1) - Planning, coordinating, and managing events to achieve specific business objectives.
- Digital Literacy (Level 2) - Engaging with digital technologies to accomplish goals and solve challenges in the workplace.
- You have the unique and exciting opportunity to work with amazing colleagues, partners and landowners to help connect forest landowners with technical and financial assistance to better steward their land and achieve vital landscape-scale conservation impacts.
- Your contributions and leadership will be appreciated. Our staff is passionate, dedicated and good at what they do, and will be deeply grateful for your efforts to create and preserve an environment that is both fun and fair.
- We offer a flexible work environment that respects your life outside of work.
- Salary is commensurate with experience.
- AFF offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package.
https://www.forestfoundation.org/who-we-are/careers/
We are committed to creating a diverse work environment and proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status or any other basis protected by law.