Fundraising Manager

At KICK, we are motivated to respond to a sense of hopelessness in many young people today as 1/3 of young people aged 15 identify with a mental health condition, 2 million grow up without a father at home, and many are disconnected from local communities with 95% now not attending church. We aspire to see a generation of young people who will reach their God-given potential; where communities have been socially impacted; and where spiritual change has transformed a nation. Our mission is to transform young people’s lives, with God's love, through sport and support. We do this through values-driven physical education, street dance, mentoring, chaplaincy in schools, and community KICK Academies to impact a sense of hopelessness and give them hope for the future and joy in the present.

KICK works in Infant, Junior, Primary, Secondary, Pupil Referral Units, Private, and Special Schools to deliver the following services with Christian values embedded throughout every session:

• PE National Curriculum
• Transformational Street Dance
• Solutions Focused Mentoring
• Schools based Chaplaincy

In all that we do, we seek to live out our values to encourage young people to be aspirational, to be compassionate in all circumstances, to deliver excellent quality sessions, and to be intentional in building relationships and sharing the Gospel with young people every day while showing integrity in our decision-making at all times.

KICK is a growing charity currently working with over 100 schools and has established 30 KICK Academies across the UK. Our staff team has more than doubled over the last 3 years, with KICK now employing over 90 staff. As an organisation, we are engaging with over 30,000 young people every week and come closer to achieving our vision to reach a generation of young people within a generation of time.

Role Purpose

The purpose of this role is to help deliver KICK’s vision by securing new income streams through fundraising. The successful candidate will provide both strategic direction and guidance to ensure that KICK’s fundraising targets are met. The role will lead on the development of the KICK Fundraising Strategy, working with the CEO to seek new grant funding income and establish new fundraising streams such as monthly donors and legacy giving to impact KICK’s capacity for growth and diversify income. The role will also involve working closely with both the senior leadership team as well as the board of Trustees to maintain and grow a solid foundation for KICK to grow. The role will involve submission applications each month, as well as management of a team of bid writers. The successful candidate will also be committed to relationship managing active funders, working with KICK managers to implement new funded provision and ensuring reports are accurately collated.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities

• Grant Applications

• Developing Strategy: Develop and oversee the delivery of the KICK fundraising strategy, exploring diverse income sources, including individual donations, events, corporate sponsorships, and grant partners to meet short-term and long-term financial goals.
• Bid Writing: Responsible for bid writing for new fundraising applications for KICK as per agreed annual targets which align with the work of KICK.

• Seeking new strategic partners and new funder opportunities to build relationships and approach for funding.

• Managing a small team of bid writers to write new applications providing guidance where required and to embody our ACEII values when leading the team to enhance quality practice and standards across KICK.

• Donor Cultivation: Build and maintain relationships with a diverse range of donors, including major donors, individual givers, and corporate partners.
• Campaign Management: Create and manage integrated campaigns across multiple channels, including digital and traditional methods.
• Event Planning: Organise and execute various fundraising events, such as galas or auctions.
• Legacy Giving: Develop a long-term Legacy giving programme for Donors.
• Database Management: Maintain an accurate database of donors, recording their profiles and fundraising activity to analyse future plans.
• Compliance: Ensure all fundraising activities and materials are compliant with relevant legislation, including GDPR and the Fundraising Code of Practice.

• Monitoring: Responsible for monitoring performance, invoicing, reporting to funders on current agreements and contributing to the preparation of new application outcomes.
• Engagement: Stewardship to keep existing donors engaged and informed about the impact of their contributions to encourage long-term support.
• Collaboration: Timely and accurate internal reporting for managers, the board, and funders on progress towards fundraising goals.
• Impact Measures: Responsible for implementing and developing KICK's Impact Measurement process to prove KICK's work.

Person Specification

Proven Experience

• Proven experience within a management role.
• Experience of successful bid writing and relationship management of funders.
• Experience in leading teams, setting objectives, and overseeing projects.
• Experience of strategic planning and business development.
• Experience of communicating with senior leadership in matters of strategic importance.
• The applicant should have the ability to influence internal and external partners to understand and accept concepts, practices, and approaches of the job area.
• Experience of project and campaign management.
• Proven ability to build and nurture relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders, including major donors, corporate partners, and volunteers.

Skills and Abilities

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills for writing proposals, applications, and persuasive pitches.
• A good understanding of IT packages and systems.
• A forward thinker with the ability to be proactive in improving current activities and processes.
• Ability to empower, motivate, and lead others through supporting teams to succeed, investing in the capabilities of staff and providing clear feedback.
• Ability to show responsibility and accountability for quality outcomes whilst keeping a firm focus on priority management.

Personal Qualities

• The desire to own, guard, and deepen KICK’s Christian ethos, vision, mission, and values.
• Able to take the initiative and be a self-starter.
• Passionate to see young people and staff progress and achieve their full potential.
• Clear Enhanced DBS.