Description

Join us at Cinereach

If you believe storytelling is a tool for creating positive change, keep reading!

For two decades, Cinereach has been a home for visionary storytellers and groundbreaking ideas in independent film. Today we are evolving into a storytelling studio—a creative catalyst that seeds and amplifies stories when and where they matter most. We no longer just fund great stories; we're building the infrastructure that makes transformative storytelling possible. We are the bridge between creative vision and cultural change.

Join us on our mission to connect creators with the insights, movements, platforms, and resources they need to make and move culture through story.

The Opportunity

It is an exciting time to join Cinereach’s fund development work. The Director of Philanthropy will build on Cinereach’s legacy of championing diverse artists and compelling stories by helping to diversify our funding beyond our primary legacy funder. At Cinereach, we’re  building a blended capital model: a narrative change in entertainment practice funded by an engaged community of philanthropists, family offices, and impact-aware funders.who understand how philanthropic and investment capital can work together.

You will join an organization with strong fundraising partners in the COO,CEO and  Fund Development Coordinator, a carefully cultivated and focused list of prospects, partners across the organization in creating compelling communications and events, and strong program-centered asks. 

The Director of Philanthropy is the front-line relationship builderYou carry the major gifts portfolio, take the qualification and cultivation meetings that turn research into relationships, and bring people to a clear ask. You are as comfortable with a family office principal or an impact investor as with a traditional program officer, and you understand why a family with both a foundation and an investment arm is Cinereach's ideal partner. You work in partnership with the COO and CEO on  a focused and high valued  prospect portfolio and  building the pipeline that will make future funding partnerships possible.

In addition to focusing on fund development at Cinereach you will also partner with the COO in funder field building in the narrative change in pop culture space, working to bring greater and more diverse funding to the field of culture change.

Key Responsibilities

• Carry the major gifts portfolio. Manage 30-40 qualified prospects and donors at the $5K–$250K level. Own the moves management plan for each relationship in Cinereach’s CRM, EveryAction, and keep it current. Work from the FY27 Fund Development Plan's gift ladder and pacing calendar with the COO.
• Take the meetings. The Fund Development Coordinator is your partner behind the scenes, running the back end of qualification: research, lists, the outreach series, briefing notes, and CRM. You take the qualification and cultivation meetings and make the qualified / not ready / not a fit decisions.
• Make the asks. Build tailored solicitations using Cinereach's co funding cases for support: for co development and production of content, narrative initiatives and events, artists support and general operations. Frame institutional asks as multi-year where possible.
• Lead the family office and impact-aware funder strategy. Identify, qualify, and cultivate families and individuals with philanthropic and investment arms.
• Design blended conversations (philanthropic and impact investing) with the COO and Fund team. Represent Cinereach credibly in impact investing and catalytic capital networks such as , and know when to bring in the Leadership and Extended Leadership teams.
• Partner on six-figure institutional asks. Prepare briefings, draft concept notes, and manage follow-through for the COO and CEO on national institutional funder relationships.
• Wrap fund development around the Narrative Investment Lab (our funder peer learning community). Own the pre-session 1:1s, post-session follow-up, and curated introductions for Lab participants. Keep the Lab a valuable learning and sharing space..
• Co-lead a new Investor Cohort with the COO: participate in briefings, follow up with members, and convert interest into philanthropic gifts or Phase 2 expressions of interest.
• Partnership across the team. For meet-and-greets at industry convenings and Cinereach salons and events, you bring the prospects and the follow-up;
• Experience Design produces the event and the Coordinator supports with invite lists, bios, attendee research and onsite hosting. You supply Marketing & Communications with proof points and donor insight and work in partnership with them to create the materials necessary for fund development’s success.
• Steward and renew. With support from the Fund Development Coordinator, execute the stewardship cadence for your portfolio: prompt acknowledgment, impact updates, mid-year check-ins, and renewal conversations opened by month nine.
• Keep the system honest. Log every meaningful contact in EveryAction Participate in the biweekly pipeline review and the moves-management rhythm. Support public charity compliance tracking with the Coordinator and Finance.

What You Need To Thrive In This Role

• Relationships as foundation: You build trust with high-capacity people through curiosity and follow-through, not pressure. People take your second meeting.
• Excellent qualifier: You ask good questions, listen closely, and make clear decisions about fit. You are comfortable saying "not a fit" and documenting why.
• Comfort in UHNW and family office settings: You understand how families make philanthropic and investment decisions, who advises them, and how principals and staff differ.
• Impact and blended capital fluency: You can hold a first conversation about a PRI, a recoverable grant, explain why philanthropy funds what return-seeking capital will not, and know what you don't know.
• Closer's discipline: You move relationships to a dated ask and follow through. You are motivated by booked gifts, not by activity.
  Systems discipline: You believe the pipeline is only real if it is in the CRM, and you behave accordingly.
• Collaborative by default: You partner across departments, leaning on the strengths and skills of others to help you do your best work.
• Curiosity about culture and narrative: You can talk about why stories shape culture.
• Adaptive and optimistic mindset: You are building a pipeline that is still small, inside a model that is still new. You find that energizing.

What Success Looks Like

• First 90 days: Portfolio assigned and every relationship has a dated next move; Early qualification or cultivation meetings held; family office strategy reviewed and owned; introduced to all Narrative Investment Lab and Investor Cohort participants.
• End of FY27 (June 2027): Meaningful contribution to closing the FY27 gift ladder; 20+ qualification meetings taken; 5+ newly qualified family office or systems investor prospects with tailored materials in use; 3 blended family office conversations opened; stewardship cadence 100% current for your portfolio.
• End of FY27: Your portfolio raises ~$400K; you support the success of the CEO and COO portfolio goals; 20 qualified family office or UHNW prospects; 2 multi-year commitments secured; Phase 2 anchor prospects identified and in conversation.
• Relationship quality: Prospects take second and third meetings. Funders introduce you to peers because they see Cinereach as a valuable ecosystem partner.
• System health: The CRM reflects reality. The COO and CEO can see the pipeline without asking you.
• Collaboration: The Coordinator, Marketing & Communications, and Experience Design report that working with you is clear and reciprocal.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in fundraising with a personal track record of closing five- and six-figure gifts from individuals, foundations, or family offices.
• Demonstrated experience with, or fluency in, impact investing and blended-finance concepts; experience at an organization that combines philanthropy with investment capital is a strong plus.
• A history of building a portfolio from qualification through solicitation, not only managing inherited donors.
• Working knowledge of moves management and CRM systems (EveryAction or equivalent).
• Experience representing an organization in funder networks; existing relationships in New York, or Los Angeles philanthropic communities, or in networks such as Indie Film, Media Impact Funders, or The Impact Guild, are a plus.
• Familiarity with DAF and PRI mechanics, and gift acceptance practice, or the ability to learn them quickly with Finance and counsel.
• Interest in film, games, culture, or narrative change work; direct experience in entertainment or media philanthropy is welcome but not required.

Compensation, Benefits & Location

This is a full-time position on Cinereach’s remote, distributed team and requires regular collaboration across functions and locations.

The salary range for this role is $145 - 165k annually. Cinereach offers a comprehensive benefits package, including 401(k) matching, health insurance, generous holiday, vacation and sick leave, and professional development support. Cinereach is committed to an equitable and transparent compensation process.

How to Apply

Interested candidates are encouraged to send their resumes to jobs@cinereach.org with the subject line, “Director of Philanthropy”. Candidates who advance can expect a brief screening to initiate a potential 2 - 3 rounds of interviews.

Cinereach is an equal opportunity employer committed to creating an inclusive workplace. We consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Cinereach is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities throughout the application and hiring process.