Chief Development Officer

The Neighborhood: An Urban Center for Jewish Life; New York (NY); On-site; USD 170,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits (QSEHRA)

Office in Brooklyn/Williamsburg

Job summary

The Neighborhood: An Urban Center for Jewish Life in Brooklyn is seeking a Chief Development Officer to lead major gifts, campaigns, and donor stewardship. You will build fundraising systems, design capital campaigns, and partner with the CEO, COO, and Board to unlock growth and community impact.

Ideal candidates bring 7+ years in major gifts, 3+ years in campaign leadership, and strong CRM proficiency to advance strategic priorities and donor relations across diverse audiences in Brooklyn, NYC,

Qualifications

• Seven+ years in major gift fundraising with at least three in campaign leadership.
• Ability to message The Neighborhood's programs to diverse audiences.
• Experience building development systems and donor engagement strategies.

Responsibilities

• Conceptualize and lead development function to support long-term growth.
• Design and execute the capital campaign strategy and materials.
• Develop and maximize major gifts, campaigns, and donor recognition initiatives.
• Prepare briefings and materials for CEO and Board for donor meetings.
• Establish development operations, donor segmentation, and reporting cadences.
• Collaborate with leadership and board to advance fundraising goals.

Skills

Major gifts fundraising

Campaign leadership

CRM proficiency

Donor relations

Storytelling & messaging

Tools

Salesforce

Raiser's Edge

Job description

The Neighborhood: An Urban Center for Jewish Life is pleased to partner with DRG to conduct this search.

BACKGROUND

The Organization

The Neighborhood: An Urban Center for Jewish Life, is a new model of community and cultural center designed to match the needs and spirit of the Jewish communities in Central and Northern Brooklyn. Since its inception five years ago, The Neighborhood has created hundreds of pop-up events where people can joyfully express themselves, learn together, and celebrate their individual experiences of being Jewish. Recently, The Neighborhood has secured a permanent space in Williamsburg that will serve as an artistic venue and community space designed to convene and showcase the best of Jewish life in Brooklyn and beyond.

To support the organization’s growth and vibrant programming, The Neighborhood seeks a Chief Development Officer (CDO) to lead fundraising and resource development. Under the leadership of a dynamic CEO and capable new COO, an energetic and creative team, and an intentional and active Board of Directors, The Neighborhood has begun its next chapter. The Chief Development Officer will be instrumental in actualizing the vision of The Neighborhood, creating systems to engage meaningful individual and major gifts as well as developing corporate partnerships.

The Position

The Chief Development Officer will be an experienced major gifts and campaign leader with at least seven years in major gift fundraising, including a minimum of three years in campaign leadership. The CDO will have a deep understanding of the major gift cultivation cycle, including how to message the varied programs of The Neighborhood to diverse audiences. The CDO will demonstrate leadership in research and network building required to fundraise for a growing organization.

The CDO will have managed or directed capital campaign execution and will bring a track record of building development systems. The ideal candidate will offer sophisticated CRM proficiency in Salesforce, Raiser's Edge, or an equivalent platform; persuasive written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to write a case, draft a briefing, and serve as a credible voice in donor meetings; and the capacity to work in genuine partnership with a visionary founding team. Above all, this leader will bring meticulous precision and persistent engagement to foster profound donor connectivity and institutional stewardship.

ROLE OVERVIEW

• Conceptualize and implement the development function, building the fundraising capacity, infrastructure, and resources needed to support the organization's long-term growth and evolving strategic priorities.
• Design and execute the full capital campaign strategy including pitch materials, gift range chart, prospect pipeline, solicitation calendar, and public launch plan. Serve as the campaign's chief architect and primary relationship builder.
• Develop and maximize philanthropic opportunities associated with the organization's new facility, including major gifts, campaigns, membership programs, and donor recognition initiatives.
• Enable transformational gifts. Identify, research, and qualify gifts at the $100K+ level. Prepare the CEO and Board Members for meaningful participation in partnership meetings: develop necessary briefings, materials, strategy, and follow-through.
• Develop and execute a comprehensive fundraising strategy encompassing major gifts, annual giving, campaigns, board engagement, donor research, prospect qualification, and stewardship.
• Expand and diversify the donor base by identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding new and existing donors across individual, family, philanthropic, and sector-specific networks.

Donor Engagement & External Relations (30%)

• Build strong donor and stakeholder relationships, serving as a trusted ambassador who effectively bridges organizational culture, mission, and donor expectations while preserving authenticity through implementation of a high-touch communications cadence.
• Evaluate and strengthen fundraising events, appeals, and donor experiences to increase philanthropic outcomes, return on investment, and long-term donor engagement.
• Navigate complex donor relationships and diverse stakeholder perspectives with diplomacy, sound judgment, and a commitment to maintaining broad community support.
• Ensure all donor-facing communications, events, and engagement experiences reflect the highest standards of quality and professionalism while authentically representing The Neighborhood's mission, values, and longstanding commitment to different generations and audiences across Brooklyn, Manhattan, and other relevant NYC catchment areas.
• Represent The Neighborhood externally. Serve as an articulate, credible ambassador for its mission with donors, prospects, media, and peer institutions.

Development Operations & Infrastructure (20%)

• Establish and optimize development systems and operations, including CRM utilization, donor segmentation, prospect tracking, communications cadences, reporting, and performance management.
• Leverage audience, donor, and household data to drive targeted fundraising, relationship management, and engagement strategies.
• Engage and leverage outside consultants effectively and efficiently. Serve as day-to-day manager and thought partner for external campaign counsel, ensuring consultants' work accelerates the CDO’s rather than duplicates it.

Culture of Philanthropy, Leadership & Partnership (15%)

• Partner closely with executive leadership and the board to strengthen fundraising performance, build development capabilities, support board engagement in philanthropy, and contribute to organizational strategy and decision-making.
• Champion a culture of philanthropy across the organization, partnering with marketing, communications, programs, and events teams to integrate fundraising, storytelling, audience engagement, and donor stewardship into all aspects of the organization's work.
• Foster cross-functional collaboration and shared ownership of fundraising outcomes, ensuring staff and board members understand and effectively contribute to relationship-building, donor engagement, and resource development efforts.
• Provide adaptable, hands-on leadership during organizational growth and transition, navigating evolving priorities, stakeholder dynamics, and complex donor relationships with diplomacy, sound judgment, and a focus on long-term sustainability.

Additional Qualifications

• Demonstrated success in development, fundraising, major gifts, or advancement leadership, ideally within the Jewish community, arts, cultural, community-based, or mission-driven organizations.
• Strong track record of leading and executing fundraising systems and infrastructure in organizations transitioning from startup-stage operations to greater organizational maturity.
• Proven ability to develop and execute fundraising strategies, including major gifts, campaigns, donor cultivation, stewardship, prospect development, and board engagement.
• Track record of successfully soliciting and cultivating donors across diverse levels of wealth, backgrounds, generations, geographies, and philanthropic interests.
• Strong relationship-building skills, with the ability to engage donors, board members, staff, community leaders, and external stakeholders as a trusted partner and ambassador.
• Experience working with and directing consultants to support fundraising initiatives.
• Lead with compassion and empathy; an ability to hold the elasticity of community.
• Experience leveraging CRM platforms, donor data, audience insights, and prospect research to inform fundraising strategy and communications.
• Strategic and creative approach to philanthropy, with the ability to identify new funding opportunities, donor audiences, and engagement models beyond traditional fundraising tactics.
• Comfort with operating at the intersection of community engagement, programming, marketing, communications, and fundraising to advance organizational goals.
• Ability to provide expert fundraising counsel to executive leadership and the board, bringing informed perspectives, sound judgment, and confidence in decision-making.
• High emotional intelligence, political sensitivity, and interpersonal acumen, with the ability to navigate differing viewpoints and build trust across varied constituencies.
• Collaborative, low-ego leadership style characterized by adaptability, constructive dialogue, shared ownership, and a commitment to the success of the broader organization.
• Hands-on, entrepreneurial mindset with the flexibility to thrive in a growing and evolving environment while maintaining strong organizational discipline and operational rigor.

WHO WE ARE

While the permanent headquarters for The Neighborhood is under renovation, the team works in-person in a downtown Brooklyn office space. Once renovations are completed, the team will work in the Williamsburg office.

Attendance at some evening and weekend events is required.

Familiarity with technology and various workflow platforms is encouraged.

Our Values

The Neighborhood’s values shape the organization’s internal culture and how The Neighborhood engages within the Brooklyn community.

The organization’s values are:

We are good neighbors. We are curious and creative. We practice sacred disagreement. We’re into being Jewish. We are Brooklyn.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

$170,000 - $180,000

Current benefits include:

• Tax-free health reimbursement through a QSEHRA at the IRS maximum amount (prorated for partial-year eligibility), to use toward qualifying health insurance and medical expenses of your choice

As The Neighborhood continues to grow, benefits offerings will expand.