Director of Major Gifts

Director Of Major Gifts

LA Family Housing (LAFH) seeks a strategic, relationship-driven, and results-oriented Director of Major Gifts to lead and grow a high-impact major giving program that advances the organization's mission to end homelessness and support housing stability across Los Angeles.

Reporting to the Chief Development Officer, the Director of Major Gifts is responsible for building and executing a comprehensive major gifts strategy, with a focus on cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding a portfolio of approximately 100125 major donors and high-capacity prospects. This individual will serve as a lead relationship manager and strategist, with focus on deepening donor commitment, expanding major giving, and aligning philanthropic investments with LAFH's strategic priorities.

The Director will partner closely with the Chief Development Officer, executive leadership, and Board of Directors to identify, cultivate, and solicit transformational gifts. This role also plays a key leadership function in driving moves management, strengthening pipeline development, and ensuring consistent, high-quality donor engagement across the organization.

What You'll Do

• Build and lead LAFH's major gifts program by designing and executing a comprehensive strategy to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward individual donors at all levels, with a focus on growing major gifts ($5,000+).
• Manage a personal portfolio of 100125 major donors and high-capacity prospects, developing individualized engagement and solicitation strategies to deepen relationships and increase giving over time.
• Drive pipeline and portfolio development, including identifying new prospects and systematically upgrading mid-level donors into major donors through intentional cultivation.
• Partner closely with the Director of Development Operations and Strategy to ensure timely tracking of donor moves and revenue forecasting (high/medium/low scenarios) in partnership with Development Operations.
• Lead the execution of major donor cultivation and solicitation strategies, including 1:1 meetings, site visits, small gatherings, and targeted events; and confidently drive six-figure and multi-year gift conversations.
• Partner with the Chief Development Officer, CEO, and executive leadership to strategically engage top prospects and co-manage key relationships.
• Develop and oversee annual individual giving revenue plans that scale beyond the current $2.5M individual giving raise (as part of a $10M+ department raise), with major gifts as a significant driver of overall revenue and clear strategies for donor acquisition, retention, and upgrades.
• Partner with Communications to design and implement compelling stewardship materials, donor communications, and fundraising appeals that clearly articulate LAFH's impact and outcomes.
• Ensure consistent, high-quality donor stewardship, including timely acknowledgments, personalized updates, and meaningful engagement tied to programmatic impact.
• Stay deeply informed on LAFH programs and strategic priorities, effectively translating impact and stories into compelling donor narratives and proposals.
• Provide strategic guidance and mentorship to direct reports and other staff engaged in fundraising activities, helping to build a culture of accountability, collaboration, and relationship-centered fundraising.
• Track, measure, and report on performance against revenue goals and key metrics, ensuring strong data integrity and gift compliance.

MANAGING STAFF

• Communicates company goals, safety practices and deadlines to team.
• Sets clear performance expectations and holds team accountable to departmental goals and timelines.
• Motivates team members and provides on-going supervision and feedback.
• Coaches and develops direct supervisees and assess performance.
• Conducts work schedules, reviews and approves timesheets and ensures staff attend and complete required trainings.
• Collaborates cross-functionally with DevCo, Finance, Programs, and Communications teams to ensure alignment.
• Fosters an inclusive, collaborative team culture aligned with organizational values.

OTHER

• Additional tasks, projects, and responsibilities as assigned by supervisor.

What You're Skilled At

• Strong knowledge of the principles and practices of fundraising within a multi-program nonprofit organization.
• Proven ability to develop and execute sophisticated fundraising strategies, including major gift solicitations and campaigns of varying scale and complexity.
• Demonstrated track record of successfully securing gifts across a range of channels, including major gifts, annual giving, campaigns, and events.
• Experience with donor lifecycle management, including moves management, pipeline development, donor segmentation, and stewardship strategy.
• Working knowledge of development communications, events, and donor engagement strategies, including targeted email and direct mail campaigns.
• Experience using donor databases/CRMs (Salesforce or similar) for tracking donor activity, managing portfolios, and informing strategy.
• Strong ability to manage multiple priorities and complex projects simultaneously, from strategy through execution, with a high level of organization and accountability.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to persuasively convey organizational priorities while building trust and authentic relationships with donors and stakeholders.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to collaborate effectively with executive leadership, board members, program staff, and department colleagues.
• Demonstrated ability to think strategically and identify new opportunities to engage and grow prospective and current donors.
• Highly organized with strong attention to detail and exceptional problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a collaborative, team-oriented environment.
• Sound judgment, discretion, and decision-making capability.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint).
• Values-driven leader with a track record of innovation, accountability, and achieving ambitious goals.
• Ability to adapt to changing priorities and organizational needs, demonstrating flexibility and continuous learning.

Other

• Maintains and executes confidential information according to HIPAA standards
• Obtain and maintains CPR/First Aid Certification
• Ability to pass post-offer Tuberculosis (TB) clearances
• Local travel is a regular duty for this position and is required
• Use of a personal vehicle to travel between worksites and other locations is required
• Must have and maintain a valid California Driver's License and auto insurance in good standing
• Ability to work a 9/80 work schedule
• Ability to work Hybrid schedule (First 90 days Required to be in office)
• Able to work weekends, evenings and holidays as needed

Experience

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience, with 710 years of progressive responsibility in fundraising, including individual and major gifts.
• Minimum 3 years of supervisory experience, with a demonstrated ability to lead, coach, and develop high-performing staff.

PREFERRED

• Experience working in homelessness, housing, or human services organizations.
• Experience working in a high-growth or scaling development program, including building or strengthening major gifts infrastructure.
• Experience partnering with executive leadership and board members on major gift strategy and solicitations.

What We Offer

Health, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, 403B Retirement Plan, 529 Education Savings Plan, Long Term Disability, Employee Assistance Program, Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA), Legal Access Plan, Employee Appreciation Program, Company Sponsored Employee Events, Staff Development, 9/80 Alternative Work Schedule, Paid Sick, Vacation and 13 Observed Holidays, Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program Eligibility and more!

Physical Demands, Environmental Conditions, Equipment

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Potential physical demands include but are not limited to: walking, climbing stairs, handling, finger/grasp/feel objects and equipment, reaching, communicating, being mobile, repetitive motions, visual activity, driving, and entering buildings. Comfortable working in a pet-friendly environment required. If an accommodation is needed, please inform the Human Resources Department.

Equal Employment Opportunity

LAFH is committed and proud to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, age, disability or status as a veteran.

Fair Chance Act

LA Family Housing will consider qualified applicants with a criminal history pursuant to the California Fair Chance Act. You do not need to disclose your