Chief Philanthropy Officer
DRG Consulting
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Benefits offered by this job
Job summary
Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County seeks a Chief Philanthropy Officer to advance a unified philanthropy program across annual, major, designated, and planned giving. The role requires strategic leadership, donor stewardship excellence, and collaboration with the President/CEO to grow resources for community impact.
The CPO will oversee Foundation activities, donor engagement, and a high-performing team, reporting to senior leadership in a dynamic, growth-focused environment in Boca
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree or relevant professional certification preferred.
- Demonstrated success leading a comprehensive philanthropy program including annual, major, planned, endowment and capital giving.
- Proven track record cultivating, soliciting and closing seven-figure gifts with donors and foundations.
- Experience with donor-advised funds, complex assets, planned gifts, and endowment growth.
Responsibilities
- Develop and execute a multi-year total financial resource development strategy.
- Lead a disciplined major- and principal-gifts program with measurable pipelines.
- Oversee Foundation and donor-advised funds, endowment planning and philanthropic advising.
- Build donor-centered engagement across annual, major, capital and planned giving.
- Recruit and coach a high-performing philanthropy team and align volunteer leadership.
Skills
Education
Tools
Job description
Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County is pleased to partner with DRG to conduct this search.
The Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County is a central force in one of North America’s most dynamic and fast-growing Jewish communities. Located in Boca Raton, Florida—a highly sought-after center of Jewish life—the Federation serves a large, diverse, multi-generational population with strong philanthropic capacity and a growing commitment to communal impact.
JFSPBC is entering a pivotal period of growth. With philanthropic revenue approaching $30 million and continued momentum toward greater scale, the Federation is deepening its role as the region’s hub for Jewish life. Its work advances an ambitious philanthropic agenda, strengthens community engagement, and expands impact locally, in Israel, and globally.
Its priorities include human services, Jewish education, community security, and global Jewish responsibility, all grounded in excellence, accountability, and measurable results.
A distinctive 100-acre campus anchors this work. Among the largest Jewish communal campuses in the country, it includes more than two million square feet of residential, educational, and programmatic space. This vibrant ecosystem brings together leading partner agencies and institutions, including the Jewish Association for Residential Care, Adolph & Rose Levis Jewish Community Center, Ruth & Norman Rales Jewish Family Services, Donna Klein Jewish Academy, Katz Hillel Day School, Katz Yeshiva High School, and Sinai Residences Boca Raton, among others. Together, they provide an integrated platform for Jewish life that serves individuals and families at every stage.
With strong professional leadership and engaged lay partners, JFSPBC is shaping the future of Jewish communal life. By investing strategically in infrastructure, talent, and systems, the Federation is building a modern, high-performing organization defined by ambitious vision, disciplined execution, and a steadfast commitment to strengthening Jewish life.
The Chief Philanthropy Officer (CPO) is the senior executive responsible for building, leading, and advancing the Federation’s integrated philanthropy enterprise and long-term philanthropic strategy. Reporting to the President & CEO and serving as a member of the Senior Management Team, the CPO provides enterprise leadership across annual and community philanthropy; major, principal, and capital gifts; the Jewish Community Foundation and philanthropic planning; planned and legacy giving; donor engagement; philanthropic strategy; communications; and operations.
Serving Boca Raton, Delray Beach, and Highland Beach, the Federation is located within one of the most vibrant and philanthropic Jewish communities in North America. Building on a successful $20 million-plus annual campaign, $30M+ TFRD, approximately $200M in Foundation assets under management, deeply engaged lay leadership, and longstanding donor relationships, the CPO will lead the next era of philanthropic growth and position Federation as Jewish Boca’s central philanthropic partner.
The CPO will translate the Federation’s Strategic Plan and Board-approved priorities into compelling, fundable opportunities that inspire current-use, designated, capital, endowment, planned, and strategic philanthropic investment. The CPO will strengthen and align the Federation’s philanthropic functions, including Campaign and Foundation activities around a unified, donor-centered strategy while building the team, systems, culture, and relationships required for sustained growth and community impact.
- Design and begin implementing one integrated Office of Philanthropy with clear leadership accountabilities, reporting relationships and performance expectations.
- Complete a comprehensive review of donor portfolios, pipeline, staffing, systems, Foundation assets, planned-giving opportunities, campaign capacity and donor experience.
- Establish the one-household, one-relationship-manager model and implement shared portfolio, moves-management and collaborative-credit standards.
- Present a multi-year philanthropic growth plan aligned with the Federation’s Strategic Plan and future transformational priorities.
- Build strong personal relationships with leading donors, Foundation fundholders, lay leaders and prospective transformational investors.
- Establish readiness and leadership frameworks for future capital and endowment initiatives.
- Implement executive dashboards covering campaign performance, major and principal pipeline, planned commitments, Foundation growth, capital opportunities, donor retention and forecast accuracy.
Assess the existing team and recommend the talent, structure and capability changes
required for sustainable long-term growth.
- Develop and execute a multi-year total financial resource development strategy aligned with the Federation’s mission, Strategic Plan and Board-approved priorities.
- Substantially expand total philanthropic resources by diversifying revenue beyond the annual campaign and building a balanced portfolio of current, designated, capital, endowment, planned, corporate and strategic giving.
- Translate community priorities and identified needs into credible philanthropic opportunities, cases for support and donor investment strategies.
- Position Federation as a trusted philanthropic partner through which individuals, families, foundations and businesses can advance their values and strengthen Jewish life.
- Identify emerging philanthropic opportunities and recommend the structure, staffing, volunteer leadership and resources required to pursue them.
- Personally manage a select portfolio of the Federation’s most significant donors and prospects and lead the cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of principal and transformational gifts.
- Partner closely with the President & CEO on principal-donor strategy, preparation, engagement and solicitation, ensuring the CEO’s time is deployed strategically.
- Establish clear portfolio assignment, moves-management, collaborative-credit and relationship-management standards across the Office of Philanthropy.
- Strengthen donor retention, upgrades, acquisition and progression through personalized engagement and comprehensive multi-year philanthropic planning.
- Ensure that donors experience one coordinated relationship with Federation across annual, major, capital, Foundation, endowment and planned-giving opportunities.
- Provide executive leadership for the annual campaign and establish clear strategies for retention, upgrades, new-donor acquisition, community giving and affinity-based philanthropy.
- Build a disciplined major- and principal-gifts program with qualified portfolios, measurable pipelines and individualized strategies.
- Expand business and corporate philanthropy through comprehensive partnerships that connect financial support, leadership engagement and community visibility.
- Lead readiness, planning and execution for future capital and endowment campaigns, including feasibility, case development, principal-gift strategy, volunteer leadership and campaign counsel.
- Leverage community engagement and donor-acquisition initiatives to identify and cultivate new generations of philanthropists and communal leaders.
- Supervise VP of Foundation, to lead the growth and long-term strategy of the Jewish Community Foundation, including donor-advised funds, supporting foundations, custodial relationships, endowment, planned and legacy giving and philanthropic advising.
- Develop measurable goals for new assets, net flows, fundholder engagement, planned-gift commitments, realized gifts and professional-advisor relationships.
- Ensure Foundation and gift-planning professionals serve as strategic partners to frontline relationship managers while preserving consistent donor ownership.
- Partner with the CFO and Foundation governance leadership on gift acceptance, fund administration, financial reporting, investments, distributions, compliance and fiduciary responsibilities.
- Promote opportunities for complex and noncash giving and maintain appropriate knowledge of philanthropic, tax and regulatory trends.
- Serve as executive business owner for the philanthropic CRM and establish standards for adoption, data integrity, confidentiality, reporting and accountability.
- Build effective systems for prospect research, wealth intelligence, portfolio management, pipeline forecasting, pledge collection, gift processing, stewardship and revenue reporting.
- Establish dashboards and performance metrics that provide the President & CEO, senior leadership and Board with insight into revenue, pipeline, donor movement and forecasting..
- Lead the development of philanthropic messaging, cases for support, proposals, impact communications and stewardship materials in coordination with organizational marketing, communications and public affairs leadership.
- Ensure consistent revenue definitions and reporting practices across annual, designated, pass-through, Foundation, capital, planned and other philanthropic activity.
- Create a responsive, sophisticated and highly personalized donor experience across all philanthropic services and touchpoints.
- Serve as a key strategic advisor to the President & CEO and senior leadership team on philanthropic trends, donor strategy, community investment opportunities, and long-term financial sustainability.
- Participate in enterprise-wide decision-making and contribute to the development and execution of organizational strategy.
- Lead, assess, coach and develop a high-performing team of senior philanthropy leaders and frontline and operational professionals.
- Recommend and implement the organizational structure, staffing, budget, systems and external partnerships required to achieve the Federation’s philanthropic goals.
- Establish individual and team goals, portfolio expectations, performance standards and professional-development plans.
- Build a collaborative culture that replaces functional silos with shared accountability for donors, revenue and community impact.
- Recruit, develop and support campaign, Foundation and philanthropic lay leadership, equipping volunteers for cultivation, solicitation, stewardship and peer engagement.
- Serve as a senior ambassador for Federation throughout Jewish Boca and within the broader Jewish and philanthropic communities.
- Partner across Finance, Community Impact, Planning and Allocations, Communications, Public Affairs, Operations and executive leadership to align philanthropic strategy with organizational priorities and demonstrated community needs.
- Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree or relevant professional certification preferred.
- At least 12 years of progressively responsible philanthropy, fundraising or nonprofit leadership experience, including significant executive and team leadership responsibility.
- Demonstrated success leading a comprehensive philanthropy program that includes annual, major, planned, endowment and capital giving.
- Proven record of personally cultivating, soliciting and closing seven-figure gifts and participating in larger transformational solicitations.
- Experience with donor-advised funds, complex assets, planned gifts, philanthropic advising, Foundation or endowment growth and significant capital or comprehensive campaigns.
- Demonstrated ability to lead senior professionals, integrate teams, manage change and build a performance-oriented culture.
- Strong financial, operational and technological acumen, including experience with CRM systems, portfolio management, analytics and forecasting.
- Demonstrated success partnering with CEOs, Boards, campaign leadership, Foundation governance and sophisticated donors.
- Experience within Jewish communal organizations or comparable mission-driven institutions preferred.
- Exceptional communication, relationship-building, judgment and strategic leadership skills, together with a deep commitment to strengthening Jewish life locally, in Israel and around the world.
Currently, the Jewish Federation operates on a hybrid schedule with four days in the office and Fridays working remotely.
The Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.
- Comprehensive benefits including medical, dental and vision Life, AD&D, Short- and Long-Term Disability Insurance Ability to participate in the HRA and 401k (4% employer match)
- Voluntary Long Term Care Insurance, Allstate products and prepaid legal plan
- Employer Provided Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
- Unlimited vacation, 12 sick days, and all National/Jewish holidays
- Tuition discounts for Jewish day schools on campus and Jewish day camps
- Potential Discretionary Bonus
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