The Once Upon a Time Foundation (“OUAT”) is a private foundation based in Fort Worth, Texas. OUAT currently has about $250 million in assets and has made contributions and commitments exceeding $100 million since 1998 in support of numerous entities and projects. To learn more about the Foundation and its programs, please see the attached pages.
Be part of a dynamic foundation team that forms lasting partnerships with leading organizations locally and nationwide, supports transformational research in multiple medical fields, and instills the value of giving back in the next generation of leaders.
Responsibilities
A Philanthropy Lab Program Director at the Foundation will work alongside the Foundation’s current Senior Program Director to help manage The Philanthropy Lab’s current programs and future expansion. The role entails a wide range of responsibilities, is dynamic and evolving, and involves coordination across a broad group of stakeholders including the Foundation’s funder, administrators and educators, partner universities, and current and former students who are part of the Foundation’s Philanthropy Lab program.
The Program Director will be joining a team of 6-7 people who are ultimately responsible for supporting the Funder of OUAT with the broader work of the Foundation. Standard office hours are Monday through Friday from 8am to 6pm. This is an in-office, full-time position for an average of 45 hours a week, with busier event and travel seasons requiring 50 or more hours per week, and 40 hours per week during slower times of the year.
This role will, on occasion, include travel or events in the evenings and/or on weekends. Flexibility in schedule is important.
Specific responsibilities may include, but are not limited to:
• Managing the implementation and administration of all of the Philanthropy Lab’s current programs and initiatives, with a focus on maximum impact, continuous improvement, and comprehensive and detailed updates to OUAT’s Funder.
• Building relationships with non-profit leaders, university professors, development officers, and administrators, and assisting in the vetting process for developing new university partnerships.
• Overseeing all University grants to ensure proper compliance with grant reporting requirements.
• Coordinating and facilitating collaboration amongst Philanthropy Lab professors and students.
• Facilitating the organization of multiple conferences and events hosted in conjunction with Philanthropy Lab programming, including but not limited to the Annual Leadership Summit for professors and Annual Ambassadors Conference for students.
• Ideation and implementation of Philanthropy Lab program growth opportunities, including identifying and onboarding new partner universities, overseeing and expanding the program’s online presence, and launching alumni engagement initiatives.
Qualifications
• Bachelor’s and/or Master’s degree with strong academics and a minimum 3.5 GPA.
• 5 years of relevant work experience, with a strong preference for candidates currently working in the nonprofit or philanthropy space.
• Ability work an average of 45 hours per week in our Fort Worth, TX based office.
• Exceptional ability to balance multiple projects and tasks.
• Experience in managing multiple team members in their day-to-day activities.
• Willingness and ability to travel up to 15% of the time.
• Willingness to make a minimum two/three-year commitment to the position.
• Candidate with Texas Ties strongly preferred.
Compensation
Compensation will be increased up to 10% over current, depending on experience, plus full benefits. Benefits include the opportunity to personally direct
each year $2,500 grants per year of service to any 501(c)3 of your choice, up
to a maximum of $25,000/year after 10 years of service. For example, a
Foundation employee with three years of service gets to award $7,500 in grants
to one or more non-profits of his/her choice (the award amount can be directed
to a single non-profit or split between up to four non-profits). This is
a personal benefit to direct grant funding to organizations the employee
personally cares about, separate and apart from grants managed on behalf of the
Foundation’s activities.
To Apply
If you are interested in applying for this position, please send a cover letter and resume to
careers@onceuponatime.org or apply at:
http://www.talentarchitects.com/careers/?jobid=B8041235000)Q%3DGC3Bri
BACKGROUND ON THE FOUNDATION
OUAT’s strategic and funding priorities are informed by the Funder’s life experiences and circumstances and have evolved and will continue to further evolve over time. Consistent focus areas have included health and medicine, philanthropy education, and community support. Some of our most significant active initiatives include:
- OUAT has had a particularly strong and enduring partnership with UT Southwestern Medical Center (“UTSW”).
- In 2016, OUAT provided a $5 million gift towards the establishment of the Once Upon a Time Foundation Human Genomics Center aimed at advancing the power of genomics and delivering personalized therapies for cancer patients.
- OUAT also funded $10 million dollars in research grants at UTSW to fund cutting edge research in areas ranging from studying how disease-causing bacteria manipulate host cells for their own benefit and survival, to studying how cellular and molecular mechanisms that regulate stem and cancer cell function in the nervous and hematopoietic systems, to understanding and managing the mysteries involved in multiple sclerosis.
- In 2022, a $25 million commitment from OUAT created the Raynor Cerebellum Project at UT Southwestern Medical Center (RCP-UTSW) to investigate diseases associated with cerebellar dysfunction, with the goal of discovering how to preserve and restore lost brain function.
- One of the OUATs largest and most public initiatives is to support the creation of experiential classes on Philanthropy at leading universities around the country including Stanford, Harvard, University of Texas, Notre Dame, etc. Each class is awarded up to $110,000 for the students themselves to give away to 501c(3)s as they see fit. Since our first Philanthropy Lab class in 2011, over 4,100 students from 160 classes have directed grants totaling $12.3 million through this program. If you are interested, more information about this initiative is available at our website at http://www.thephilanthropylab.org.
- OUAT’s EDMH Research platform funded three research grants of one million dollars each at the University of Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins University, and McLean/Harvard to study the use of patients electronic communications in psychiatric evaluation and treatment.
- OUAT works to help families of children with Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) by educating parents and speech-language pathologists (SLPs) about evidence-based treatment practices, funding multiple research grants aimed at identifying and evaluating best therapeutic practices, and funding training workshops across the nation for SLPs.
- While smaller in terms of funding amount, OUAT also has a number of programs partnering with local area schools and other non-profits. These include a Mavericks ticket program that awards exclusive courtside seats to deserving students from local area high schools in lower socioeconomic areas who have persevered to overcome difficult circumstances, an in-kind donations program that places items like furniture, toys, clothing and Halloween costumes at non-profits with a demonstrated need, and a grant writing program in which we help small 501(c)(3)s with limited or no Development staff prepare and submit grant applications.
To learn more about these initiatives please visit our website at www.onceuponatime.org.