Community Relations & Corporate Giving Manager

The Opportunity

Mesirow is an independent, employee-owned financial services firm founded in 1937. Headquartered in Chicago, with offices across the country, Mesirow serves clients through capabilities spanning Private Capital & Currency, Capital Markets and Investment Banking, and Advisory Services. 

The Community Relations & Corporate Giving Manager is responsible for developing and executing the organization’s community engagement, philanthropic giving, and corporate citizenship initiatives. This role serves as a key liaison between the organization and the communities it serves, managing nonprofit partnerships, charitable contributions, sponsorships, employee volunteer programs, and outreach activities that strengthen the organization’s reputation and community impact.

The ideal candidate is relationship-oriented, strategic, highly organized, and passionate about building meaningful partnerships that align with the organization’s culture, values, and business objectives.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and manage the organization’s community relations and corporate giving strategy.
• Build and maintain relationships with nonprofit organizations, schools, chambers of commerce, civic leaders, and community stakeholders.
• Evaluate and administer charitable donation requests, sponsorship opportunities, and nonprofit partnerships.
• Coordinate employee volunteer initiatives, matching gift programs, and workplace giving campaigns.
• Plan and execute community outreach events, volunteer activities, sponsorship activations, and philanthropic initiatives.
• Represent the organization at community events, charitable functions, and networking activities.
• Collaborate with leadership, marketing, human resources, and business units to align community engagement efforts with organizational priorities and culture.
• Manage community relations and charitable giving budgets, sponsorship allocations, and contribution tracking.
• Develop reporting and metrics to measure the effectiveness and impact of community engagement and philanthropic initiatives.
• Draft communications, presentations, and reports related to corporate giving, sponsorships, and community partnerships.
• Maintain databases, calendars, partnership records, and program documentation.
• Ensure compliance with internal policies and applicable regulations related to charitable giving and sponsorship activities.
• Identify opportunities to enhance the organization’s visibility, reputation, and impact within the community.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, public relations, nonprofit management, business, marketing, or a related field preferred.
• 4–7 years of experience in community relations, corporate philanthropy, nonprofit management, public relations, CSR/ESG programs, or related fields.
• Strong relationship-building and stakeholder management skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication abilities.
• Demonstrated experience managing sponsorships, charitable programs, community partnerships, or volunteer initiatives.
• Strong organizational and project management skills with attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and work collaboratively across departments.
• Professional presence with the ability to represent the organization externally.
• Experience coordinating events and community engagement activities preferred.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and CRM/database systems preferred.

In accordance with the Illinois Transparency Law the anticipated hiring base salary for the role will be between $100,000 and $120,000 per year. However, base pay if hired will be determined on an individualized basis and is only part of the total compensation package, which, also provides the opportunity for a commission and discretionary performance bonus and the Mesirow benefit program.

EOE