Description

ABOUT FRASER ACADEMY 

Fraser Academy Association (FA) in Vancouver, BC was founded to serve a vital community need. Since 1982, it has become recognized as a leader in North America by leveling the playing field for students with dyslexia, primarily as an independent school (Fraser Academy). Today, FA has expanded its impact through an Outreach and Training Centre (FAx) reaching across BC, Canada and the world. Leading a pioneering initiative and Campaign to establish Canada’s first Centre for Dyslexia, it is now on an exciting journey to deepen its commitment to the community. 

As a non-profit and charity, we serve a gap in the system where approximately 20% of the general student population is under-served by mainstream education. While people with dyslexia have skills and strengths that are in demand in the 21st century, when unsupported, they are vulnerable to social and emotional risks such as mental health issues, substance abuse, homelessness, higher drop-out rates, and poverty/underemployment. 

We are proud to be at the forefront of educational and training practices with the most effective research-based methods. Our track record shows what’s possible in setting children and youth with dyslexia up to thrive in education and life. 

THE OPPORTUNITY

Fraser Academy is seeking a strategic and energetic fundraising professional to join its Advancement team as Director, Philanthropy. Reporting to the Chief Advancement Officer, the new Director will play a key leadership role in advancing the School’s philanthropic priorities at a pivotal moment of growth and momentum. 

This is an exciting time to join Fraser Academy (FA) as we continue to move forward with our bold aspiration to leave no child behind and our plans to establish Canada’s 1st Centre for Dyslexia. The new Director will be instrumental in realizing this strategic priority that will have real impact for children and their families across BC, Canada and the world and across various domains including education, and health. 

The role will primarily focus on major gift discovery, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship. The Director will manage and cultivate a diverse existing portfolio of donors and prospects, including alumni, current and former parents, grandparents, and external supporters including individuals, foundations and corporations, building meaningful relationships and securing philanthropic support aligned with the School’s campaign priorities. The new incumbent will drive strategic portfolio expansion by identifying and qualifying new prospects through day school enrollment, the FAx outreach program, and proactive data mining in collaboration with volunteers and prospect research support.

In addition, the Director will oversee the annual giving and alumni relations programs, ensuring the continued implementation of a strategic approach to donor engagement and stewardship, fostering strong stakeholder relationships and growing a sustainable donor pipeline.

The successful candidate will be a thoughtful, resilient and inspiring development professional, committed to strengthening a culture of philanthropy throughout the organization. They will bring exceptional relationship-building skills, a demonstrated track record of hands-on experience securing 6 figure gifts and more - ideally within Campaigns - and a broad background across key advancement functions, including Annual Giving, Donor Relations and Alumni Relations.

An effective communicator who will have strong skills in story-telling to champion the strengths and successes of our students and alumni, the Director will have highly developed writing abilities including demonstrated success in crafting compelling funding proposals and donor engagement materials. 

An entrepreneurial self-starter who thrives in a collaborative, mission-driven environment, the ideal candidate will have a passion for social impact and will inspire donors through authenticity, a strategic mindset, and deep commitment to their philanthropic journey. The successful candidate will build lasting relationships and steward donors with care and creativity, bringing professionalism to every interaction. 

This position offers a hybrid work model that includes 3 days per week at the Fraser Academy offices located in Kitsilano, West Vancouver, BC. As is typical with the nature of the role, it will require occasional work after-hours for weekend events and meetings as well as some travel within Greater Vancouver from time to time. 

About Canada’s first Centre for Dyslexia 

The Centre for Dyslexia is a non-profit centre of excellence, grounded in 40+ years of Fraser Academy's sought-after educators and evidence-based practices, dedicated to advancing education for people with dyslexia. The Board, leadership, faculty and staff’s passion for the learners we serve dominates our work culture and is driven by the ability to profoundly directly impact individuals challenged with dyslexia, the education system and society. With some of the most highly skilled educators in North America, we are committed to share that knowledge and expertise with the community. 

This Centre will unite educators, students, researchers, and community partners, offering specialized training, early literacy screening, targeted interventions, and outreach programs for underserved communities, including Indigenous and marginalized children and youth. It will be a community hub, accessible to children, families, and educators (including public educators and schools) as well as educational institutions and non-profits on a local, national and international scale. The Centre will augment education systems and work across levels of government as a partner to ensure effective change. We aim to level the playing field for children and youth with dyslexia by addressing system gaps through our core program pillars to boost literacy and numeracy outcomes: 

Early Literacy Screening & Intervention 

Deliver services and programs to identify young children (pre-K to Gr 3) at risk of reading failure and provide evidenced-based interventions in childcare centres, preschools, and primary schools across Canada. 

Training Institute 

In-person (onsite and in-community) and virtual programs designed to strengthen the capacity of educators and other professionals, leading to an exponential impact on children and youth across the public education system. 

Outreach Programs 

Virtual and in-person programs available across Canada to all young people with dyslexia and related learning differences. We offer family consulting and learner programs customized for Indigenous peoples, non-profits, and other communities in need. 

Knowledge Hub 

Advance education and significantly increase societal awareness and understanding of dyslexia through thought leadership, promoting of best practices, and convening dialogue for systemic improvement through summits and forums.

The comprehensive fundraising Campaign to establish Canada’s 1st Centre for Dyslexia is in the quiet phase with strong early engagement, including from philanthropists within the internal and wider community. The Chief Advancement Officer and the Advancement team are leading and executing the Campaign; they support the Executive Team in delivering on program expansion and completion of this Centre, targeted for 2030. In addition, the Advancement team is dedicated to growing Fraser Academy’s Annual Giving program to secure vital support for student bursaries and ongoing operational needs, while fueling annual priorities that directly enhance the student journey and campus experience. The Advancement team plays a key role ensuring youth living with dyslexia have the opportunity to thrive in education and life.

Up to 20% of the population has dyslexia, 80% go undiagnosed. Unfortunately, in education, the public system and other independent schools are not equipped to offer the type of program and effective instruction required. Expertise and services are scarce in B.C., Canada and across the world generally. In society, dyslexia is also an outlier, stigmatized and misunderstood. Without appropriate support, the ripple effect is devastating as the dyslexic population is also vulnerable to mental health difficulties, poverty, homelessness, addiction and other emotional and social risks. 

Fraser Academy:  Grounded in 40 years of leading experience.

Fraser Academy is proud to be at the forefront of education, providing the most effective research-based methods to optimize personalized learning, cognitive, social and emotional development, and post-secondary opportunities. 

Our programs attract families and educators from across Canada, the U.S., and other countries such as the Philippines, Nigeria, Australia, Singapore, and the U.K. Our faculty are sought out to share their expertise and our practices at conferences and summits. 

Our approach is student-focused, personalized, strengths-based, and holistic. We build self-esteem and pride in being dyslexic, and instill values such as acceptance and resilience. Our program equips students with skills of the future. 

At present, Fraser Academy stands as an inspiration for what is possible and a beacon of hope for day students, outreach learners, educators and families indirectly through system interventions. We are a leader in Canada, yet we turn away families every year as we cannot meet the demand for our services.

Over 3000 learners, who struggled within the school system prior to joining Fraser Academy, have gone on to thrive in education and life. FA ha                      s a post-secondary acceptance rate of over 95% with graduates going on to some of the most renowned universities across Canada and the globe. Many students return to the public system equipped with the skills and confidence to succeed. Alumni forge careers in professions such as entrepreneurism, law, medicine, technology, and engineering. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• Who We Are
• Centre for Dyslexia
• Our Strategic Path 2020-2025
• Annual Report 2024-2025
• Financial Statement 2023-2024
• Our Programs
• Family Resources
• Our Stories
• Accessibility Plan

KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Relationship Management & Solicitation 

• Develop and manage a personal portfolio of major gift donors and prospects, coordinating and making face-to-face visits and other strategic touch points for the purposes of discovery, cultivation and solicitation of prospects at the major gift level to meet/exceed campaign and other annual goals. 
• Collaborate with key stakeholders to design and implement personalized cultivation and stewardship plans. 
• Provide strategic oversight to the Annual Giving and Alumni Relations portfolio initiatives, ensuring alignment with the School’s broader fundraising priorities and donor engagement strategy.

Donor Acquisition 

• Drive strategic major gift portfolio expansion by identifying and qualifying new prospects through day school enrollment, the FAx outreach program, and proactive data mining in collaboration with volunteers and prospect research.
• Grow funding from private, public family and corporate foundations.
• Build and maintain a healthy pipeline of qualified leads, ensuring regular movement and tracking in CRM. 
• Identify donor suspects through CRM and external databases; gather relevant prospect research materials to inform fundraising strategies. 
• Collaborate with Annual Giving and Alumni Officer in qualifying and upgrading donors. 
• Develop compelling proposals and presentations tailored to donor interests and organizational priorities. 

Writing & Donor Engagement 

• Craft compelling cases for support, major gift funding proposals, presentations, letters of inquiry/intent, impact reports, as well as donor stories.
• Work with relationship managers and subject matter experts to create bespoke communication materials for major and transformational gift donors and prospects. Synthesize information from different sources and create accurate impact donor stewardship reports and updates.
• Ensure that appropriate and timely donor recognition, acknowledgment and stewardship take place. 

Tracking & Reporting 

• Maintain timely and accurate records of donor activity and revenue tracking using Raiser’s Edge NXT. Provide to CAO regular updates, projections, and reports on portfolio progress including solicitation outcomes and stewardship.
• Monitor and report to CAO on campaign specific revenue streams and fundraising metrics to track progress and identify areas for enhancement.
• Report on a weekly and quarterly basis on major gifts, grant applications and other funding streams to advise on challenges and shortfalls or surpluses expected in order to help with financial planning, mitigation and foresight.

Team Leadership & Collaboration 

• Provide leadership and mentorship to direct reports, including the Database Administrator, and the Annual Giving and Alumni Officer.
• Collaborate effectively with the rest of the Advancement Department to share relevant information and provide support, as needed.
• Participate in planning meetings, prospect strategy sessions, and cross-functional working groups as needed.
• Work effectively and efficiently with the CEO, Head of School, Executive and Leadership Teams and volunteers as well as other staff and faculty, always respecting the use of others’ time.
• Assist in the recruitment and management of leadership volunteers.
• Be a model ambassador and maintain proficient knowledge on FA (strategic plan, programming and impact, case for support, and campaign/ fundraising priorities).
• Maintain a high level of sector and best practice knowledge relevant to the role, and share this with the Department, to model a culture of continuous improvement.
• Attend and support applicable events.
• Support the CAO in other assigned duties that contribute to the successful operation of the Department.

MORE INFORMATION

KCI Search + Talent has been retained to conduct this search on behalf of the Fraser Academy. For more information about this opportunity, please contact Sylvie Battisti, Senior Vice President, KCI Search + Talent by email at FA@KCITalent.com. 

All inquiries and applications will be held in strict confidence. Interested candidates should send resume and letter of interest to the email address listed above by April 6, 2026.

To view full Position Brief, please visit www.kcitalent.com

The Fraser Academy (FA) offers a competitive compensation package including base salary, health benefits, and RRSP contribution. The hiring salary range for the position is $100,000 to $140,000 depending on major gift and campaign fundraising experience. Benefits include (but not limited to) extended health and dental coverage, access to Health Care Spending Account, group RRSP with significant employer matching contribution, individual annual meetings on retirement planning, generous vacation and other time-off, and tuition reduction for children of staff (who successfully apply and enroll at FA). Title flexibility available at the Director level for more senior applicants with demonstrated experience and expertise.

Fraser Academy is an equal opportunity employer that strives to develop an inclusive workforce that reflects our community. We encourage submissions from diverse applicants, including women and men, people from racialized communities, visible minorities, persons with disabilities, Indigenous persons and people who identify themselves as LGBTQ+.

This posting is for a current vacancy. Artificial intelligence will not be used to screen resumes or assess candidates in this search.

Requirements

QUALIFICATIONS AND COMPETENCIES 

QUALIFICATIONS: 

• 6+ years of progressive experience in fundraising and campaigns, along with a proven track record of meeting or exceeding revenue goals.
• Demonstrated success in identifying, qualifying, cultivating, soliciting and stewarding major gift donors at the six & seven figure level.
• Strong understanding of different giving vehicles, from annual giving to major gifts to legacy giving—and the ability to grow a sustainable donor pipeline.
• Persuasive communicator and active listener; able to quickly build trust and rapport with donors and stakeholders.
• Highly developed writing and editing skills along with a proven track record in proposal and impact report writing for major gift donors.
• Demonstrated ability to build and sustain trusting relationships with internal and external partners including senior volunteers, donors and staff. 
• Proficiency with CRMs (Raiser’s Edge NXT preferred) with the ability to run applicable reports.
• Experience leading and coaching direct or indirect reports will be considered an asset.
• University degree or equivalent combination of experience and education. CFRE certification is an asset.
   

COMPETENCIES & SKILLS: 

• Results-oriented personality with a collegial approach and a high level of integrity. Ability to manage up, down and across the organization with authenticity and professionalism.
• High degree of initiative and accountability; takes ownership and possesses a growth mindset.
• Flexible and adaptable; able to work independently, strategically and be “hands-on” as required
• Strong time management, planning, organizational and execution skills; capable of working in a fast paced, high functioning, goal driven environment, often managing competing priorities.
• Well-developed analytical and problem-solving skills combined with exceptional attention to detail and quality.
• Financial & analytical skills, including understanding of budgets and how to review, present and research data as well as identifying trends.
• Demonstrated discretion and professionalism in handling confidential or sensitive donor and organizational information with tact, diplomacy and sound judgment.