Director of Development, Northern California

About the Role

The Director of Development, Northern California, will lead and grow the Foundation’s fundraising program for the region, in partnership with the Sr. Director, West. You will work closely with select Board members, Foundation leadership, and Team West colleagues to build relationships and cultivate/solicit six and seven-figure gifts, while expanding the prospect pipeline. This is an ideal opportunity for a proven, fearless, and values-driven nonprofit fundraiser who is highly motivated to work collaboratively in pursuit of big goals and to grow as both a fundraiser and a leader. This role requires tenacity, sound judgment, and the creativity to develop innovative approaches across every stage of the donor journey—from cultivation through solicitation and stewardship.

Responsibilities

• Create and lead the strategy for a portfolio of annual and major gifts prospects.
• Manage a portfolio of 100+ seven-figure prospects and develop customized cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship plans for each.
• Build and manage relationships with prospects and donors through visits, correspondence, and regular communication.
• Collaborate with the Development Operations team to identify new prospects and design and execute donor engagement opportunities.
• Design and execute events of varying tone and scale, for diverse audiences, in collaboration with the Events team.
• Develop strong partnerships with select board members and other regional volunteers to provide support for their fundraising efforts in the region.
• Collaborate with the Executive Leadership Team on the management of select high-capacity donors, including support for meeting preparation and follow-up.
• Propose and plan development travel for other key principals and surrogates.
• Establish supportive and cooperative working relationships with other regional fundraisers, share best practices and new ideas, and collaborate on donor cultivation when needed.
• Represent the Development team in external settings (conferences and gatherings) and partner with other teams across the Foundation to help advance a culture of philanthropy.
• Build a culture of Salesforce utilization to track and evaluate the team’s key metrics, and use meaningful data to continually improve practices and inform decisions.
• Ensure the timely creation and distribution of fundraising/stewardship materials, collateral and briefings, and highly personalized proposals with support from the Development department’s Donor Relations sub-team.

Key Deliverables / Outcomes

• Meet fundraising targets and other key metrics.
• Regional prospect portfolio strategy and annual cadence of fundraising activities.
• Expanded prospect pipeline.
• Prospect stewardship and engagement plans.
• Fundraising/stewardship materials, collateral and briefings, and highly personalized proposals.
• Help lead and execute regional development events.
• Propose, plan, and staff Foundation executive travel to the region.

Requirements

• 8 - 10 years of experience in fundraising for complex and evolving organizations, with a preference for regional knowledge and experience in Silicon Valley, San Francisco, Wine Country, and other local regions.
• Track record of building relationships with major donors, ideally closing gifts of at least $1M+.
• Deep understanding of fundraising programs and high-level gift strategies.
• Ability to develop and maintain long-term, productive relationships internally and externally.

Pay

The salary range for this role is between $160,000 and $185,000.

Schedule

This is a remote role.