Chief Development Officer

Northeast Indiana Inc.; Fort Wayne (IN); On-site; USD 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation

Relocation support or signing bonus

Health insurance

Job summary

Catholic Charities Fort Wayne-South Bend is seeking a Chief Development Officer to enhance fundraising and donor engagement. The CDO will lead and coach a development team, building meaningful relationships within the community while strengthening the organization’s donor strategy.

This role demands a proven fundraising leader with experience engaging major donors and a commitment to the Catholic mission. A competitive compensation and benefits package is offered, along with potential relocation support.

Qualifications

• Proven fundraising, development, advancement, or philanthropy experience.
• Direct people leadership experience managing fundraising or donor-facing staff.
• Strong communication skills and professional presence.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop direct reports across development and donor engagement.
• Build relationships with donors, board members, and community partners.
• Develop a robust annual fund strategy and strengthen donor segmentation.

Skills

Fundraising experience

Leadership

Relationship building

Communication skills

Strategic thinking

Tools

Donor databases

CRM systems

Job description

Catholic Charities Fort Wayne-South Bend is seeking a Chief Development Officer to lead and strengthen the organization's fundraising, donor engagement, community partnership, and development team efforts.

This is a meaningful opportunity for a development leader who enjoys building relationships, representing a respected organization in the community, leading a team, and creating the structure needed for sustainable fundraising growth.

The next CDO will help Catholic Charities deepen donor relationships, expand support across the Fort Wayne and broader diocesan community, strengthen annual giving, grow foundation support, lead three direct reports, and connect donor generosity to measurable community impact.

KEY PRIORITIES

• Build strong relationships with donors, board members, Catholic community leaders, and community partners.
• Lead, coach, and develop direct reports across development, donor engagement, and mission advancement work.
• Set clear priorities, expectations, and accountability rhythms for the development team.
• Develop a more robust annual fund strategy.
• Strengthen donor segmentation, stewardship, and follow-up.
• Expand foundation and grant support.
• Support major gifts, planned giving, and targeted fundraising opportunities.
• Improve development systems, donor tracking, and reporting discipline.
• Partner with leadership, marketing, mission advancement, and program teams to tell a stronger donor story.
• Represent Catholic Charities with professionalism, humility, and credibility.

LEADERSHIP & TEAM MANAGEMENT

This role includes direct leadership of team members. The successful candidate will be expected to bring clarity, coaching, and accountability to the development function.

• Clarify roles, priorities, and ownership across the development team.
• Coach team members toward stronger execution, donor follow-up, and collaboration.
• Create a regular cadence for planning, progress review, and problem-solving.
• Model a leadership style that is humble, direct, mission-centered, and action-oriented.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

• Trust built with the CEO, board, staff, donors, and key community partners.
• Clear development priorities and a practical annual fund plan.
• Three direct reports have clear priorities, expectations, and accountability.
• The development team is operating with stronger alignment, follow-through, and shared ownership.
• Improved donor relationship management and follow-through.
• Increased engagement with Fort Wayne-area supporters and Catholic community connections.
• Stronger foundation strategy and clearer grant/funding opportunities.
• Better alignment between development activity, organizational priorities, and measurable outcomes.
• Confidence that Catholic Charities is represented well in the community.

IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE

• Proven fundraising, development, advancement, or philanthropy experience.
• Direct people leadership experience, ideally managing fundraising, development, advancement, or donor-facing staff.
• Experience cultivating donor relationships and supporting meaningful gift conversations.
• Comfort engaging major donors, annual fund supporters, board members, and community partners.
• Ability to set expectations, coach performance, create accountability, and help team members execute consistently.
• Experience with annual giving, donor stewardship, foundation support, grants, campaigns, or planned giving.
• Strong communication skills and professional presence.
• Comfort using donor databases, CRM systems, and development tracking tools.
• Appreciation for Catholic mission, values, and service to the community.
• Strong connection to Fort Wayne, Northeast Indiana, the Catholic community, or demonstrated ability to build those relationships quickly.
• Humility, curiosity, resilience, and a continuous improvement mindset.

BACKGROUNDS THAT MAY ALIGN WELL

Relevant experience may come from:

• Nonprofit development or advancement.
• Catholic or faith-based organizations.
• Human services organizations.
• Healthcare foundations.
• Community foundations.
• Higher education advancement.
• Major gifts, donor relations, annual fund, foundation relations, or planned giving roles.

Candidates do not need to come from Catholic Charities specifically. What matters most is the ability to build trust, represent the mission well, lead the team effectively, and strengthen fundraising strategy and execution.

WORK STYLE AND ENVIRONMENT

This role requires someone who can balance external relationship-building with internal discipline. The successful candidate will be:

• Comfortable spending time with donors and community leaders.
• Organized and consistent with follow-up.
• Collaborative with internal team members.
• Comfortable leading direct reports while staying close enough to the work to support execution.
• Confident without being ego-driven.
• Strategic, practical, and action-oriented.
• Able to operate with autonomy while staying aligned with leadership.
• Willing to travel periodically within the diocese for meetings, events, and relationship-building.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Catholic Charities offers a competitive compensation and benefits package aligned with the scope of the role and candidate experience.

Relocation support or signing bonus consideration may be available for the right candidate.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT

Catholic Charities Fort Wayne-South Bend is committed to building a team that reflects professionalism, integrity, respect, and service to others. Candidates who are aligned with the mission and values of the organization are encouraged to apply.