Full-Time

Senior Philanthropy Relationship Manager

Midwest/Mountain Territories

Updated on 9/9/2026

The Michael J. Fox Foundation

The Michael J. Fox Foundation

201-500 employees

Funds and accelerates Parkinson's disease research

Compensation Overview

$90k - $110k/yr

+ Discretionary annual bonus + 401(k) 6% employer contribution

Chicago, IL, USA

Remote

Remote within the Midwest/Mountain regions of the United States, with approximately 25% travel and occasional weekend travel or work.

Category
Sales & Account Management (1)
Required Skills
Microsoft Office
Public Speaking
CRM
Salesforce

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Requirements
  • Relevant experience and demonstrated success as a frontline major gifts fundraiser who has independently secured multiple five- to six-figure gifts.
  • Relevant experience securing and conducting personal, face-to-face visits to engage, solicit, and steward major donors and prospects.
  • Ability to digest complex material and present it in an empathetic and compelling manner, communicate science and business models to donors with a high level of proficiency, and teach and mentor others to do the same.
  • Demonstrated success writing a donor-centric, clear, and compelling case for support.
  • Ability to independently prioritize needs with competing timelines and stakeholders and support direct reports in doing the same.
  • Strong time management skills and ability to pivot effectively to manage shifting priorities.
  • Familiarity with Salesforce customer relationship management software or equivalent software.
  • Excellent Microsoft Office skills.
  • Must have a valid driver's license.
  • Willingness to travel and work evenings and weekends as needed.
Responsibilities
  • Develop strategy and manage a portfolio of donors giving in the mid- to high-six- and seven-figure range annually, including donors with the potential to give six- to seven-figure gifts annually.
  • Collaborate with senior leaders across the Foundation to provide a donor-centric approach.
  • Lead by example to promote a collaborative working environment.
  • Build strong and lasting relationships with constituents through multiple meaningful points of contact.
  • Proactively coordinate outreach, conduct prospect research, track revenue, manage stewardship, and identify opportunities for increased revenue and donor engagement within the portfolio.
  • Serve as a key Foundation spokesperson and frontline fundraiser, articulating a clear and compelling case for support focused on major gifts.
  • Perform administrative activities including high-end stewardship and solicitation mailings, curated communications, revenue tracking, updating donor and prospect records, tracking and recording action items, updating notes in the customer relationship management system, and supporting internal strategic projects.
  • Identify and compile timely, relevant updates and articles of interest to share with key constituents.
  • Serve as a positive example, thought partner, and strategic consultant for other team members; support colleagues in strategy development and encourage relationship managers to develop their personal fundraising styles.
The Michael J. Fox Foundation

The Michael J. Fox Foundation

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What does the Michael J. Fox Foundation do? It funds Parkinson's disease research with a focus on speed and scale, to move science toward a cure and better treatments. How does its work operate? It provides grants and resources to scientists, supports collaborations, and helps advance therapies from discovery to clinical testing, so new drugs and treatments reach patients sooner. How is it different from others? It concentrates only on Parkinson's research, targets aggressive funding and practical translation of findings into therapies, and works across the research community to accelerate progress. What is its goal? To find a cure for Parkinson's disease and to ensure improved therapies are available for people living with it today.

Company Size

201-500

Company Stage

N/A

Total Funding

N/A

Headquarters

New York City, New York

Founded

2000

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • September 2026's Ford-Fox campaign broadens awareness before the $2.5 billion All Grit. No Quit. launch.
  • July 2026's $5 million ADDF partnership expands biomarker leadership into Alzheimer's co-pathologies.
  • Thermo Fisher's August 2026 proteomics delivery makes PPMI data more valuable to researchers.

What critics are saying

  • Dependence on donor capital is severe; 2024 revenue came 63% from three donors.
  • No cure exists, so if PPMI fails to translate, MJFF's flagship thesis weakens.
  • A donor shock or campaign miss would immediately constrain grantmaking and scientific influence.

What makes The Michael J. Fox Foundation unique

  • PPMI, renamed in May 2026, anchors MJFF's unmatched Parkinson's biomarker dataset.
  • MJFF paired open science with grants, funding $3 billion+ and 142 awards since 2025.
  • Its network spans industry, academia, and patients, including ASAP's $261 million CRN expansion.

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Benefits

Health Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

401(k) Retirement Plan

Flexible Spending Accounts

Life Insurance

Disability Insurance

Paid Vacation

Paid Sick Leave

Hybrid Work Options

Flexible Work Hours

Company News

JubileeCast
Sep 3rd, 2026
Michael J. Fox and Harrison Ford team up with one message: 'keep showing up.

Michael J. Fox and Harrison Ford team up with one message: 'keep showing up. Published: Sep 03, 2026 07:15 PM EDT Michael J. Fox and Harrison Ford are teaming up again - this time off-screen - for a new public service video aimed at helping people support a friend or loved one diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. The video, titled "So... Your Friend Has Parkinson's," was released Sept. 2 by The Michael J. Fox Foundation in partnership with Maximum Effort, the entertainment company founded by foundation board member Ryan Reynolds. In it, Fox offers Ford - playfully cast as the "friend" learning the ropes - a simple set of guidelines for how to show up for someone facing the disease. "People worry so much about saying the wrong thing that they stop saying anything," Fox says in the video. By the end, Ford repeats the advice back: "Don't make it weird. Start simple. Help, don't fix. Keep showing up." Fox then jokingly declares Ford "officially qualified to be a friend." The pairing builds on the real-life bond the two actors formed filming Apple TV+'s "Shrinking," where Ford plays a therapist living with Parkinson's and Fox guest stars as a fellow patient who becomes his mentor and friend. Fox, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 1991 at age 29, has spent over two decades turning his own diagnosis into a platform for hope, raising billions of dollars for research through his foundation. At its heart, the video's message reflects a truth worth remembering far beyond Parkinson's: love isn't complicated, and presence matters more than perfect words. Sometimes the most faithful thing a person can do for someone hurting is simply not leave.

AZoM.com Limited
Aug 26th, 2026
FDA endorses alpha-synuclein biomarker for Parkinson's clinical trials.

FDA endorses alpha-synuclein biomarker for Parkinson's clinical trials. Critical Path Institute(R)(C-Path) today announced the publication of "Regulatory endorsement for the application of alpha-synuclein seed amplification assay (αSyn-SAA) as a susceptibility and risk biomarker for clinical trials targeting synucleinopathies" in the Journal of Parkinson's Disease, marking a significant milestone for its Critical Path for Parkinson's consortium. Published findings detail scientific, regulatory, and collaborative efforts culminating in a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) biomarker Letter of Support for this work. This consensus publication demonstrates how cross-sector collaboration among patients, academic investigators, regulators, industry partners, and nonprofit organizations accelerates biomarker development and regulatory endorsement. This biomarker initiative was enabled by C-Path's long-standing partnership with The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) for Parkinson's Research. Consensus and data-driven strategies represent a clear model for advancing future biomarkers, improving clinical trial efficiency, and supporting the development of therapies for Parkinson's disease with a focus on early intervention. "Building on more than a decade of collaborative regulatory science at Critical Path for Parkinson's, we are dedicated to pushing forward with new biomarker milestones for neurodegenerative diseases," said Diane Stephenson, Ph.D., Vice President of Neurology and Executive Director of Critical Path for Parkinson's. "Powered by rigorous cross-sector partnership, αSyn-SAA enables greater precision in identifying trial participants to ultimately accelerate our path toward effective treatments focused on the underlying biology of disease." The FDA Letter of Support stems from significant evidence collected as part of MJFF's flagship Parkinson's Precision Medicine Initiative (PPMI), a flagship observational study that first reported the αSyn-SAA biomarker results in April 2023. The αSyn-SAA, for the first time, provides a way to detect the earliest biological signs of Parkinson's in living people. This could enable earlier testing of new treatments, when there may be the greatest opportunity to delay or prevent disease onset and progression. "This milestone reflects the power of collaboration, open science, and the unwavering commitment of the Parkinson's community led by C-Path and multiple stakeholders," said Kevin Kwok, a member of both the C-Path's Parkinson's patient advisory council and MJFF Patient Council, and a former PPMI Community Advisory Board member. "The letter of support for the α-synuclein seeding assay as a susceptibility and risk biomarker brings News Medical closer to biological staging and a future of precision medicine, where people at risk can be identified and treated earlier. Biochemical Assays for Efficient Hit Prioritization After Screening eBook Compilation of the top interviews, articles, and news in the last year. Download the latest edition Most importantly, this achievement would not have been possible without the thousands of research participants who generously donated their cerebrospinal fluid and participated in clinical studies. Their extraordinary contributions are advancing science today and creating hope for future generations affected by Parkinson's disease." Appearing in the Journal of Parkinson's Disease, the manuscript arrives more than a decade after the same journal published the original Parkinson's consortium roadmap upon its launch in 2015. Today's updated roadmap demonstrates how a collaborative vision achieved meaningful regulatory progress, culminating in the FDA Letter of Support for αSyn-SAA. Together, the 2015 and 2026 publications chart a decade of advancements, spanning from establishing a collaborative framework for regulatory science to achieving a significant biomarker milestone for Parkinson's disease. Sustained collaboration consistently proves valuable in driving development of new therapies. Journal reference: Be the first to rate this article

Boston Cambridge Biotech Networks
Aug 11th, 2026
Thermo Fisher Scientific collaborates with The Michael J. Fox Foundation to advance proteomics-enabled Parkinson's Precision Medicine.

Thermo Fisher Scientific collaborates with The Michael J. Fox Foundation to advance proteomics-enabled Parkinson's Precision Medicine. August 11, 2026 BCBN news, syndication comments off on thermo Fisher Scientific collaborates with The Michael J. Fox Foundation to advance proteomics-enabled Parkinson's Precision Medicine. WALTHAM, Mass.-(BUSINESS WIRE)-Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science, today announced the completion of Olink Explore HT proteomic analysis of approximately 5,500 research samples from The Michael J. Fox Foundation's (MJFF) landmark study, the Parkinson's Precision Medicine Initiative (PPMI). The resulting data are now in PPMI's data repository, where they are available to the global research community. The project creates a large-scale proteomics resource designe Click here to view original post

Associated Press
Jul 29th, 2026
Shape Therapeutics gets MJFF grant to advance SHP-201 gene therapy for Parkinson's disease

Shape Therapeutics has received a research grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research to advance SHP-201, a one-time gene therapy for Parkinson's disease. The grant will support preclinical studies examining the pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, and safety of SHP-201 ahead of an investigational new drug submission for clinical trials. SHP-201 combines Shape's blood-brain barrier-crossing AAV capsid with an RNA-editing payload that targets the SNCA transcript to reduce alpha-synuclein protein production. The therapy is designed to be delivered as a single intravenous infusion, providing durable brain-wide alpha-synuclein reduction. The grant was awarded through the foundation's Parkinson's Disease Therapeutics Pipeline Program, which supports preclinical and translational research for promising therapeutic approaches.

GlobeNewswire
Jul 29th, 2026
Shape Therapeutics Receives Research Grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research to Advance SHP-201, a One-Time Gene Therapy to Treat Parkinson’s Disease

Grant supports IND-enabling studies of an intravenously delivered, disease-modifying gene therapy designed to reduce alpha-synuclein in the brain regions...