Director of Development, Pacific Northwest and Northern California

The Obama Foundation’s mission is to inspire, empower, and connect people to change their world. We seek to build an active democratic culture where people are equipped and motivated to make change in their communities. Based on the South Side of Chicago, we’re creating a global center for change with coordinated programming, community outreach, and educational opportunities that invite visitors to turn hope into action.

About the role

The Director of Development, Pacific Northwest and Northern California, will lead and grow the Foundation’s fundraising program for the region in partnership with the Senior Director, West. You will work closely with Foundation leadership, regional connectors, and Team West colleagues to build relationships and cultivate/solicit six- and seven-figure gifts while expanding the prospect pipeline within and beyond the stated regions.

This is an ideal opportunity for a proven, fearless, and values-driven nonprofit fundraiser who thrives on data, embraces creativity, and is motivated by ambitious goals. The role requires tenacity, discipline, and sound judgment 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, managing 100+ six- and seven-figure prospects with customized cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship plans.
• 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 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 local board members, alumni, regional connectors, and other volunteers to support their fundraising efforts.
• Collaborate with the Executive Leadership Team on the management of select high-capacity donors, including meeting preparation and follow-up.
• Propose and plan development travel for Foundation executives and surrogates.
• Establish cooperative working relationships with other regional fundraisers, share best practices, and collaborate on donor cultivation.
• Represent the Development team at external conferences and gatherings, and partner across the Foundation to advance a culture of philanthropy.
• Build a culture of Salesforce utilization to track key metrics and use data to continually improve practices and inform decisions.
• Ensure the timely creation and distribution of fundraising/stewardship materials, collateral, briefings, and highly personalized proposals with support from the Donor Relations sub-team.

Key Deliverables

• 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, briefings, and highly personalized proposals.
• 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 of Seattle, Silicon Valley, San Francisco, and other emerging markets such as Texas or Colorado.
• 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 $160,000 to $185,000.

Schedule

This is a remote role.