Director of Major Gifts

LA Family Housing

Director of Major Gifts leading the major giving program to support LA Family Housing's mission. Focusing on donor engagement and fundraising strategy to combat homelessness in Los Angeles.

Posted 5/16/2026full-timeNorth Hollywood • California • 🇺🇸 United StatesLead💰 $115,000 per yearWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

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 100–125 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.
Track, measure, and report on performance against revenue goals and key metrics, ensuring strong data integrity and gift compliance.

Requirements

What you’ll need

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience, with 7–10 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.
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.
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.
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).

Benefits

Comp & perks

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!

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

fundraisingmajor giftsdonor lifecycle managementmoves managementpipeline developmentdonor segmentationstewardship strategyfundraising strategiescampaign managementdata integrity

Soft Skills

leadershipcoachingcommunicationinterpersonal skillsorganizational skillsproblem-solvingcollaborationattention to detailtrust-buildingdecision-making