Community Impact Program Officer & College Success Coach

Do you want to walk alongside college students during pivotal moments in their academic journeys, help nonprofits make a greater impact in our community, and be part of an organization making a positive difference in the Holland/Zeeland area? The Community Foundation is looking for a Community Impact Program Officer/College Success Coach to do just that.

Interested in pursuing this opportunity?

Send an email to [email protected] that includes your resume and a cover letter. In your cover letter, specifically address your interest and experience working with a variety of nonprofits and any involvement with high school or college students through youth programming or success coaching. Provide an example of your people skills and project management abilities. Interested individuals are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and accepted until the position is filled.

What does the role of Community Impact Program Officer/College Success Coach look like?

This role will find their time split between supporting our Community Impact team and serving as one of our two College Success Coaches coming alongside our Promise Scholars. As a Program Officer, you will play a key role in engaging with and supporting organizations seeking Responsive Grants. This includes answering questions about our responsive grantmaking process, working with and providing feedback to nonprofits on their applications, and preparing these requests to go before our Distribution Committee and Board of Trustees. As Program Officer, you will also help us strengthen relationships with local nonprofits by proactively connecting with organizations in the field to better understand their work and the challenges and opportunities of their organization and those they serve.

As College Success Coach, you will support the growing Holland/Zeeland Promise Scholarship Program by providing guidance and coaching to Promise Scholars as they navigate their post-secondary experience. You will be part of the side-by-side support team that assists students with academic, social-emotional, financial, and mental health challenges that may arise during their time at school. In total, we will have 59 Promise students enrolled between the various classes in the Fall of 2025 and you would be responsible for 30% of those students.

This role also provides support to our Youth Advisory Committee (YAC), a group of local high schoolers who meet once a month during the school year to review grant applications for youth-serving organizations. Working with the YAC includes attending nonprofit site visits, a three-day annual summer conference, and other weekday and weekend events and volunteer opportunities with YAC students as needed.

The Community Impact Program Officer/College Success Coach is a full-time position. A minimum of Mondays, Wednesdays and one additional business day per week are spent on-site in the office, leaving up to two days of remote work flexibility. Meetings are held in-person and virtually. This team member will report to, and work closely with, our Director of Community Impact.

How you would spend your time:

·      40% - Manage the Responsive Grant Program including responding to grant inquiries and supporting nonprofits with the grant application process.

·      25% - Conduct proactive 1:1 meetings and build relationships with nonprofit organizations in the Holland/Zeeland area.

·      25% - Walking alongside Promise Scholarship recipients, supporting them as they pursue their post-secondary education dreams, and connecting them to community and college resources.

·      10% - Convening and advising the Youth Advisory Committee (YAC), empowering committee members to learn about local nonprofits and grow in their understanding of community issues and supporting them as they advise on CFHZ’s youth-related grants.

To be successful in this role, you need to:

·      Have a strong balance of people/relational skills and project management capacity.

·      Be able to quickly lay the groundwork to build relationships and trust with a wide range of people.

·      Find fulfillment working with students, nonprofits, and college partners.

·      Understand the college experience, and the unique challenges of that experience for first-generation students from low-income households.

·      Exercise exceptional judgement with confidential information and in adherence to Foundation and IRS grant-making rules

·      Have strong written and verbal communication skills (bilingual English/Spanish preferred)

·      Be able to build relationships and trust quickly with a wide range of people

·      Have proficiency performing administrative tasks including Excel and database management

·      Be able to work autonomously and as part of a team

·      Be highly detail-oriented, accurate, and organized

·     Be reliable and punctual

·     Be able to lead meetings and represent the Foundation at award ceremonies and events

·     Want to have a positive impact on the Holland/Zeeland area

How you will be compensated:

·      Full time, 40 hours per week, $55,000 annual salary

·      Paid time off: 20 days per year, plus 12 holidays and 7 half-day summer Fridays

·      Employee health, vision, and dental benefits (CFHZ pays 80% of premiums for employees), family coverage also available

·      Employee assistance program for mental health counseling

·      Simple IRA account with 3% employer match

·      Individual professional development budget of $1,500

·      Constant sense of fulfillment from spending your days helping steward financial resources for the betterment of our community

Our Mission: CFHZ seeks to ensure that our community thrives today, tomorrow, and forever by building our Community’s Endowment to support high impact charitable projects, helping donors achieve their charitable goals, and leading and partnering in community-level initiatives.

Our Vision for a Thriving Community: We envision a fully thriving community where all who live or work in the Holland/Zeeland area equitably experience: physical, mental, and emotional health and safety; financial stability; high quality education; access to opportunities to achieve one’s full potential; and a sense of belonging – are respected, valued, connected and have a voice in community decisions.

Our Values:

Excellence is the Standard: We address complex challenges, anticipate needs, work to exceed expectations, and practice continuous improvement in the pursuit of being the best community foundation for the Holland/Zeeland area.

Treat Others How They Would Like to Be Treated: We value the uniqueness of every individual by listening and leading with empathy and being mindful of diverse needs, strengths, and preferences.

Personable Professionalism: We combine expertise and warmth so that individuals and organizations know they can rely on us for trusted guidance and will enjoy working with us.

Positive Vibes: We strive to bring uplifting energy to every interaction and embody the belief that positive change is always possible.

Every Act is Stewardship: We honor the privilege of building and nurturing the relationships that are at the core of our work.  

Why you might want to work with us:

We love the work that we do in Holland/Zeeland, and it shows. We’re certain you’ll enjoy being part of positive action, as the Community Foundation continues to be involved in just about every community-improvement project and initiative in town. Located in the heart of downtown Holland, our home base is a beautiful office condo in the Plaza East Building on 8th Street. We are looking for the right person to join our talented and dedicated team who will share our commitment to excellence, integrity and building strong relationships with those we serve. Ask our staff, and they’ll tell you there’s nothing better than using your time and talents to help make Holland/Zeeland the best place it can be.

The Community Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland Area (CFHZ) values the diversity of its workforce and will provide equal employment opportunity and not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, citizenship status, religion, height, weight, veteran status, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other status protected by law.