Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Chief Philanthropy Officer

🎯 Role Definition

The Chief Philanthropy Officer (CPO) leads an organization’s philanthropic vision and execution—designing funding strategies, managing major donor and corporate relationships, overseeing grantmaking and programmatic partnerships, and measuring social impact. The CPO partners with the CEO, board, program leaders, and external stakeholders to ensure philanthropic investments accelerate mission outcomes, meet compliance and stewardship obligations, and strengthen the organization's reputation and sustainability. This role requires strategic leadership, senior-level fundraising acumen, executive communication, and the ability to translate mission goals into measurable philanthropic outcomes.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Vice President / Director of Philanthropy or Foundation Giving
Head of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) / VP CSR
Director of Development or Major Gifts

Advancement To:

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or Executive Director
Chief Impact Officer / Chief Strategy Officer
Board member or Senior Advisor for Philanthropic Strategy

Lateral Moves:

Chief Development Officer
Head of Strategic Partnerships or Corporate Partnerships
Senior Advisor / Consultant in Philanthropy and Social Impact

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Develop and execute a multi-year strategic philanthropy plan that aligns philanthropic investments with the organization’s mission, strategic priorities, and measurable impact goals, including setting targets, KPIs, and reporting cadence for outcomes and ROI.
Lead high-value fundraising and major gift strategies, personally cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major donors, foundations, and corporate partners to secure multi-year commitments and transformational gifts.
Design and oversee grantmaking policies, processes, and governance, including grant criteria, application and review workflows, risk assessment, due diligence, contracting, and compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.
Build and manage a high-performing philanthropy and development team: recruit, coach, set performance goals, allocate resources, and develop professional development pathways to scale capacity and results.
Serve as primary liaison to the Board of Directors and board committees on philanthropy matters—prepare briefing materials, present fundraising performance, partner on cultivation strategies, and engage board members in donor conversations.
Lead cross-functional partnership with program, finance, legal, communications, and impact teams to design philanthropic initiatives and ensure alignment between funding, program delivery, budgeting, and evaluation plans.
Create and manage annual and multi-year philanthropy budgets, including forecasting revenue, monitoring fund allocations, ensuring proper fund accounting, and collaborating with finance to ensure accurate financial controls and audit readiness.
Oversee donor stewardship, recognition, and reporting frameworks to deliver exceptional donor experiences, retention, and transparency—develop tailored stewardship plans for major donors, foundations, and institutional funders.
Establish and operationalize robust impact measurement frameworks and learning agendas, defining indicators, baselines, data collection methodologies, and communicating evidence of outcomes to funders and stakeholders.
Negotiate and structure complex philanthropic agreements, program-related investments (PRIs), impact investments, and partnering arrangements with corporate entities and foundations to optimize legal, tax, and philanthropic outcomes.
Lead corporate partnership strategy and employee engagement programs, including cause marketing, matching gift programs, employee volunteering, and sponsorships that increase revenue and amplify mission visibility.
Design innovative philanthropic products and vehicles—donor-advised funds, pooled funds, matching challenges, catalytic grants, and multi-stakeholder funds—to diversify revenue streams and enable strategic leverage.
Drive inclusive philanthropic practices and community-centered grantmaking—engage grassroots organizations, support participatory grantmaking, and integrate equity and DEI principles into funding decisions and partner selection.
Direct crisis philanthropy and rapid-response funding strategies during emergencies or priority opportunities, ensuring rapid decision-making, compliance, and alignment with strategic goals.
Oversee compliance with philanthropy-related legal, tax, and regulatory obligations across jurisdictions; ensure philanthropic activities adhere to charity law, grant reporting requirements, and donor restrictions.
Develop and execute communications and thought leadership strategies that raise the organization’s visibility in philanthropy networks—lead public-facing narratives, award submissions, op-eds, and conference participation.
Monitor philanthropic trends, philanthropic capital flows, and sector innovations—identify and pilot new funding models, technology platforms (CRM, grant management systems), and partnerships that accelerate impact.
Lead stewardship of restricted and endowed funds—ensure proper administration, reporting, and alignment with donor intent while balancing organizational priorities and fiscal sustainability.
Implement CRM and grant-management best practices—optimize donor databases, prospect research, pipeline management, and data-driven fundraising operations to increase efficiency and revenue.
Foster collaborative relationships with external stakeholders: community leaders, nonprofit partners, government agencies, and philanthropic networks to co-create initiatives and leverage complementary resources.
Serve as an internal advisor on philanthropy-related ethics, reputational risk, and conflict-of-interest matters—establish policies and training to uphold high standards of philanthropic integrity.
Set performance metrics and deliver quarterly and annual reports on fundraising performance, impact outcomes, donor retention, and strategic progress for executive leadership and funders.

Secondary Functions

Support development of strategic communications and storytelling to ensure philanthropic investments are visible and tied to measurable impact and beneficiary narratives.
Assist in preparing executive presentations, board materials, and donor-facing reports that clearly articulate program results, strategic need, and funding impact.
Participate in organizational strategy sessions to advocate for philanthropic priorities, resource allocation, and integration of philanthropy into enterprise-wide initiatives.
Mentor and cross-train development staff to build a resilient fundraising pipeline and reduce single-point dependencies in donor relationships.
Oversee vendor relationships for CRM, grant management software, impact evaluation consultants, and external fundraising counsel to ensure contracts and deliverables meet objectives.
Contribute to institutional learning by documenting lessons from funded programs and sharing best practices across teams and external partners.
Lead or participate in cross-sector coalitions and convenings to position the organization as a collaborative funder in priority issue areas.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Strategic Philanthropy & Grantmaking: expertise designing grant portfolios, setting donor criteria, and managing endowments and restricted funds.
Major Gifts Fundraising: proven track record of securing six- and seven-figure gifts and stewarding high-net-worth individuals and foundations.
Corporate Partnership Development: experience structuring sponsorships, cause marketing, PRIs, and employee-engagement programs with corporate partners.
Impact Measurement & Evaluation: familiarity with logic models, theory of change, KPIs, mixed-methods evaluation, and translating outcomes into funder-ready reports.
Financial Acumen & Budget Management: ability to create multi-year philanthropy budgets, forecast revenue, and ensure fund accounting and audit readiness.
Legal & Compliance Knowledge: understanding of nonprofit law, charitable gift agreements, donor restrictions, tax implications, and cross-border philanthropy rules.
CRM & Grant Management Systems: experience with Salesforce (NPSP), Blackbaud, Fluxx, Foundant, or similar systems for donor and grant lifecycle management.
Data-driven Fundraising: competency in prospect research, pipeline analytics, segmentation, and using analytics to prioritize leads and personalize asks.
Contract Negotiation & Structuring: skill in drafting and negotiating grant agreements, MOUs, contracts, and partnership terms that protect mission and donor intent.
Program Design & Portfolio Management: ability to design scalable philanthropic programs, pilot innovations, and steward multi-grantee portfolios.

Soft Skills

Executive Leadership: strong C-suite presence, board engagement experience, and the ability to inspire cross-functional teams.
Relationship Building & Influence: exceptional interpersonal skills to cultivate trust with donors, partners, government, and community leaders.
Strategic Thinking & Visioning: capacity to translate mission into a clear, actionable philanthropic strategy aligned with long-term organizational goals.
Communication & Storytelling: excellent written and verbal communication to craft compelling cases for support and public-facing thought leadership.
Equity & Cultural Competency: commitment to inclusive philanthropy practices and skill engaging diverse communities with cultural humility.
Change Management: ability to lead organizational change, scale teams, and adapt processes in a rapidly evolving philanthropic landscape.
Problem Solving & Judgment: strong analytical judgment to prioritize opportunities, assess risks, and make high-stakes funding decisions.
Collaboration & Stakeholder Management: experience facilitating partnerships across sectors and negotiating divergent stakeholder interests.
Resilience & Adaptability: capacity to manage competing priorities, tight timelines, and high-pressure fundraising cycles.
Mentorship & Talent Development: commitment to coaching staff, developing internal capacity, and building diverse leadership pipelines.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Nonprofit Management, Public Policy, Business Administration, Social Work, International Development, or related field.

Preferred Education:

Master's degree (e.g., MPP, MBA, MPA) or advanced certification in Philanthropy, Fundraising (CFRE), or Nonprofit Leadership.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Nonprofit Management
Public Policy / Public Administration
Business Administration / Management
International Development
Social Work
Law (focused on nonprofit/charity law)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 10–15+ years of progressive experience in philanthropy, development, corporate social responsibility, or foundation leadership with increasing responsibility.

Preferred:

12+ years of leadership experience with demonstrated success in major gift fundraising, corporate partnerships, or foundation grantmaking.
Experience managing multi-million-dollar philanthropy budgets and multi-disciplinary teams.
Proven track record working with boards, senior executives, and external stakeholders in high-performing organizations.
Experience implementing CRM and grant-management systems, and using data to drive fundraising decisions.
Demonstrated commitment to equity-centered and community-informed philanthropy practices.