The Philanthropy Fellowship offers an emerging professional a unique opportunity to make meaningful contributions to Michigan philanthropy and the larger philanthropic community. The Fellow will support the Fred and Barbara Erb Family Foundation. Fellows are exposed to philanthropy through meetings with grant partners, participating in internal meetings at their host foundation, assisting with grantmaking, and networking with foundation partners.
The Philanthropy Fellow role will support Erb Family Foundation grantmaking activities in the Great Lakes program area. The Fellow will support and contribute to work on the Great Lakes team through regular internal meetings with staff and leadership and external meetings with grant partners and peers; identifying themes and areas of support for the Foundation's grant partners; assisting in grantmaking, learning, and reporting; and engaging in research and convening around relevant topics and themes.
The Philanthropy Fellow for Great Lakes will work closely with the Foundation's Great Lakes team (a Senior Program Officer and Program Officer), leadership, and grant partners to support the grantmaking work of the Foundation.
The role is a full-time hybrid position, with 90 percent of the Fellow's time spent with Erb Family Foundation. This position will report to the Great Lakes Senior Program Officer, collaborate with Foundation staff across program areas, and engage with grant partners.
The Fellow will also benefit from being part of a larger cohort of Fellows from several area foundations, receiving ongoing support from the Council of Michigan Foundations (CMF) in targeted networking for career development, and learning about the field of philanthropy. This activity will represent 10% of the Fellow's time.
A full job description can be found here. Philanthropy Fellow - Great Lakes (2-Year-Fellowship) | Council of Michigan Foundations
Responsibilities
What You'll Do:
Support the grantmaking activities including reviewing proposal and report materials; developing, writing, and editing materials for grant review and meetings; and managing administrative grantmaking processes.
Work and learn with Foundation staff to help organize meetings, conduct site visits, manage and learn from grants and reports, and research topics related to the Foundation's grantmaking interests.
Provide project management and other support to the Great Lakes program team, helping to manage grant processes, timelines, and longer-term internal and external facing projects.
Build relationships with grant partners through meetings, regular communications, and attendance at relevant events in the region.
Proactively support and contribute to external communications to create content and share information that amplifies grant partners' missions, projects, and achievements.
Produce and present reports and thorough documentation for prospective grants.
Represent the Foundation at local and transnational conferences and meetings.
Research themes, topics, policies, issues, and areas of opportunity relevant to and/or impacting Great Lakes issues and communities.
Support the Great Lakes team in considering the lenses of climate resilience and environmental justice in its grantmaking.
Participate in full staff meetings and Great Lakes program team meetings.
Participate in professional development opportunities directed by the Fellow's interests and the Foundation's work. Attend CMF engagements as necessary.
Participate in Fellowship cohort events convened by CMF and attend the annual CMF conference.
What You'll Gain:
Hands-on experience in grantmaking and strategy development.
Exposure to a dynamic philanthropic environment committed to collaboration and innovation.
Develop skills and knowledge, supported by the CMF Fellowship Cohort learning opportunities and a generous professional development budget.
Receive tailored 1:1 networking support from CMF to explore potential career paths post-fellowship across the philanthropic sector and adjacent fields.
Attend local and national stakeholder meetings and conferences as staff with staff responsibilities, but also to learn and participate.
Qualifications
What We're Looking For:
Skills and Characteristics
Demonstrated commitment to the Erb Family Foundation's values: to make a lasting transformative difference; embrace possibility; work and learn in partnership; and pursue fairness and respect.
Passionate about issues relating to the Great Lakes, environmental policy, environmental justice, climate change and nonprofit capacity building with in interest in helping the Foundation advance its goals in this area.
Willingness to contribute to the Foundation's culture of communication and curiosity and participate in its efforts to cultivate inclusion and belonging in all its relationships.
Ability to be resilient in the face of challenges, rebound from disappointment, and manage conflict.
Demonstrated experience in building strong, positive, collaborative relationships-internally and externally-by being an active empathetic listener, maintaining openness to new ideas and perspectives, and encouraging dialogue.
Ability to analyze grantmaking requests in the context of complex organizational and community conditions-including historical, emerging, and potential future needs and challenges.
Ability to think creatively and maintain the highest levels of integrity, ethics, discernment, diplomacy, and strict confidentiality.
A collegial spirit in sharing and receiving ideas, information, and feedback.
Strong writing and verbal communication skills; attention to detail.
Proficient with Microsoft 365 including Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, etc. and ability to work in an online grants management system.
Lives in or has an affinity for Southeast Michigan and/or the Great Lakes region.
Qualifications
Early to mid-career professional with experience or interest in environmental policy or advocacy, the nonprofit sector and/or philanthropy.
What Else You Should Know:
In general, the Philanthropy Fellow will work onsite at the Fred and Barbara Erb Family Foundation located in Birmingham, Michigan. Full-time staff work a hybrid schedule three days a week in-person and will have the flexibility to work from home (or a remote location of their choice) the remainder of the week. On occasion, schedules will change and additional in-person days may be required. The Philanthropy Fellow will work with the CMF virtually but will attend periodic in-person staff gatherings as well as special CMF events, including the Annual Conference. The Fellow will also have regular in-person connections and training opportunities with a larger cohort of emerging fellows from several foundations for which CMF provides support. Attendance at grant partners' evening and weekend events and occasional regional travel should be anticipated.
The Fellowship is a two-year, full-time commitment requiring residence in Southeast Michigan during the term of engagement. Regular car travel is necessary throughout the Foundation's service areas. Valid driver's license and reliable auto with necessary insurance required. Periodic day and/or overnight travel within the state with the potential for additional required travel outside this core geography. This may require air travel.
While performing the duties of the job, the Philanthropy Fellow is regularly required to communicate effectively with internal and external partners. They will be frequently required to sit and to use their hands to handle or feel. They may occasionally need to stoop, kneel, or crouch, and to lift and/or move up to 50 lbs.
In the normal course of work, employees operate a laptop, iPad, telephone, cellular telephone, web conferencing equipment, and copier/printer. This position requires the employee to make decisions in a timely manner and anticipate all the potential ramifications of decisions made. The employee must be able to read and interpret documents, understand/follow complex written and oral instructions, be able to express themselves clearly/concisely, perform mathematical functions, and handle multiple, concurrent tasks.
Salary & Benefits
We value our people. In honoring a healthy workplace that offers competitive salaries, excellent benefits and a supportive working environment, for this position, the salary is $66,150. Benefits include a professional development allowance, health, dental and vision insurance, participation in a 403b plan with employer contribution and a contribution match, life insurance, short and long-term disability insurance, paid time off, technology reimbursement, and a generous holiday schedule.
How to Apply
To be considered for this position, please send the following two items to careers@michiganfoundations.org by Friday, April 4, 2025. Please note in the subject line which fellowship opportunity you are applying for. All correspondence will remain confidential.
A thoughtful cover letter that explains your interest in the role and our organization, how you qualify, and when you would be available to start.
A resume.
CMF is committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, both through our work and within our workforce. We believe that celebrating and actively welcoming diverse voices and perspectives is essential to moving our work forward.
CMF is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. Women, people of color, Indigenous people, LGBTQ individuals, veterans, people experiencing disabilities, and members of other underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply.