Development & Major Gifts Director

Milwaukee Film; Milwaukee (WI); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Milwaukee Film seeks a Development & Major Gifts Director to design, oversee, and execute a comprehensive fundraising strategy driving annual contributed revenue. You will manage the Development staff and cultivate major individual and corporate donors while guiding grants and reporting with CRM analytics.

This full-time role partners with the Board, Executive Director, and marketing/programming teams to craft donor communications and stewardship materials; requires on-site work during events,

Qualifications

• 5+ years of progressive non-profit fundraising experience, with success in major gifts and corporate sponsorships.
• 2+ years of experience in direct personnel or team management.
• Proficiency with Salesforce or similar donor management databases/CRMs.
• Proven track record of overseeing grant cycles, proposal drafting, and foundation reporting.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership, mentorship, and oversight to the Development staff with clear goals and evaluation metrics.
• Develop and execute an annual fundraising plan including major gifts, corporate sponsorships, appeals, and grants.
• Manage a portfolio of major donors and prospects; lead cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
• Oversee grants strategy, ensuring compelling proposals and compliant reporting.
• Oversee Salesforce donor database, ensuring accurate entry, tracking, and acknowledgments.

Skills

Leadership

Relationship Building

Strategic Planning

Fundraising

Communications

Tools

Salesforce

Job description

Scope and Summary:

The Development & Major Gifts Director serves as a key leadership figure on the Development Team, responsible for designing, overseeing, and executing a comprehensive fundraising strategy to meet annual contributed revenue goals. This full-time leadership role directly manages the Development staff and is responsible for driving revenue across corporate giving, individual donors, major gifts, and foundation grants. The Director will personally cultivate and solicit a portfolio of major individual and corporate donors while providing strategic oversight to the grants calendar and application pipeline. Additionally, this position utilizes Salesforce (or similar CRM/database systems) to manage donor pipelines, track progress, and leverage data analytics to expand Milwaukee Film’s philanthropic reach.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provides direct leadership, mentorship, and oversight to the Development staff, establishing clear goals, evaluation metrics, and professional growth opportunities.
• Develops and executes an annual comprehensive fundraising plan encompassing individual major giving, corporate sponsorships, annual appeals, and foundation grants.
• Manages an active portfolio of major donors and prospects, leading initiatives to qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward high-net-worth individuals and corporate partners.
• Oversees the grants strategy, providing team guidance so that applications are compelling, and all compliance and reporting requirements are met.
• Oversees the organization’s donor database (Salesforce), ensuring accurate gift entry, prospect tracking, record integrity, and timely donor acknowledgments.
• Partners with the Board of Directors and Executive Director to prepare briefing materials, engage board members in fundraising strategies, and facilitate major donor asks.
• Collaborates with marketing and programming teams to craft compelling donor communications, proposals, pitch decks, and stewardship materials.
• Oversees fundraising and donor stewardship events, ensuring alignment with major gift and sponsorship goals.

Qualifications:

• 5+ years of progressive non-profit fundraising experience, with demonstrated success in securing major gifts and corporate sponsorships.
• 2+ years of experience in direct personnel or team management.
• Proficiency with Salesforce or similar donor management databases/CRMs.
• Proven track record of overseeing grant cycles, proposal drafting, and foundation reporting.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Leadership & Management: strong team management skills with the ability to inspire, mentor, and delegate effectively.
• Relationship Building: exceptional interpersonal skills and a high degree of emotional intelligence to build trust with donors, board members, and community leaders.
• Strategic Planning & Prioritization: ability to develop long-term fundraising plans while juggling multiple operational deadlines.
• Problem-solving & Flexibility: comfortable adapting to changing priorities in a fast-paced non-profit environment.
• Enthusiasm and passion: for the Milwaukee Film mission and vision.

Work Relationships & Scope:

Reports to the Executive Director. Direct supervisor to Development team members. Frequent collaboration with the Board of Directors, Finance department, Marketing team, and external donor stakeholders.

Work Environment/Physical Demands/Mental Demands:

• Sitting 75-80% of the time
• May need to work longer hours, in the evening, or on weekends, as needed
• Able to be onsite for the Milwaukee Film Festival and Dialogues Documentary Film Festival
• Have reliable transportation with the ability to be at the main office or other locations as needed
• Can manage what may occasionally be times of stress in healthy ways
• Good verbal and written communication
• Audible speech, good hearing, and eyesight
• Read/interpret complex data, electronic and paper documents
• Able to process and understand written instructions
• Able to bend, crouch, kneel, climb/descend stairs

Acknowledgement:

This job description outlines the general nature and level of work required of any employee assigned to this position. It does not intend to imply these are the only duties and responsibilities assigned to the job. An employee in this role may be required to perform other job-related duties, as requested by the Executive Director, and/or Board of Directors. All is subject to change and possible modification to address changing business conditions and to reasonably accommodate an individual with a disability

Milwaukee Film, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer, considering applicants fairly based on qualifications, experience, and business needs. We value diversity and support an inclusive environment for all employees.

Our Mission:

Our mission is to create world-class cinematic experiences that convene diverse communities and catalyze positive change in Milwaukee and beyond. Our vision is to become America’s most dynamic, well-rounded film culture institution.

Our Vision:

To make Milwaukee a center for film culture and our community a more empathetic and equitable place for everyone to live.