Major Gifts Director, Midwest

obama; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

The Obama Foundation seeks a visionary Director of Development, Midwest, to lead a comprehensive fundraising strategy across the Midwest and cultivate high-capacity donors. You will partner with executive leaders to close six- to seven-figure gifts and manage a large portfolio, guiding teams to achieve ambitious annual goals.

Reporting to the Senior Director of Development, Midwest, you will drive donor-centric programs, collaborate across the Foundation, and leverage data-driven practices to

Qualifications

• 8-10 years of experience in fundraising or donor relations, including a minimum of five years managing high-capacity boards and volunteers while securing gifts directly.
• Advanced understanding of philanthropy, moves management, and gift closure.
• Advanced ability to cultivate, solicit, secure, and steward gifts and relationships.
• Mastery of and residency in the Midwestern territory.
• A track record of building relationships with major gift-level donors, including closing gifts of at least $1M+.
• Deep understanding of fundraising programs and high-level gift strategies.
• Excellent interpersonal and written skills with high emotional intelligence.
• Must have the ability to develop and maintain long-term, pro

Responsibilities

• Development Planning: Partner with Foundation leadership and key teams to build and execute a short- and long-term strategic fundraising plan that will establish a foundation for a long-term major gifts program across the Midwest region.
• Portfolio Strategy & Management: Manage a portfolio of 100+ seven-figure prospects and develop customized cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship plans for each.
• Donor Relations: Maintain strong, long-term relationships with current and prospective donors. Collaborate with Foundation leadership to cultivate high-capacity donors. Provide exemplary stewardship and increase donor retention annually.
• Volunteer Management: Develop strong partnerships with select board members and members of the Development Committee, and provide support for their fundraising efforts in the region.
• Collaboration: Establish supportive and cooperative working relationships with other regional fundraisers, share best practices and new ideas, and collaborate on donor cultivation when needed.
• Philanthropic Relations: Represent the Development team in external settings (conferences and gatherings) and partner with other teams across the Foundation to help advance a culture of philanthropy.
• Operating Effectiveness: Enhance the team's culture of data-driven success. Use Salesforce to track and evaluate the team's key metrics, using meaningful data to improve practices and continually inform decisions.
• Fundraising Collateral: With support from the Donor Relations team, ensure the timely creation and distribution of fundraising/stewardship materials, collateral and briefings, and highly personalized proposals.
• Events: Collaborate with the Development Events team to host high-capacity donor events and volunteer engagements.
• OPC Partnership: Partner with key organizational stakeholders to elevate the donor experience at the Obama Presidential Center through curated tours, donor events, and mission-aligned programs. Serve as the development liaison, proactively identifying, coordinating, and tracking strategic stewardship opportunities to deepen donor engagement and strengthen long-term relationships.
• Gift Closure: Secure roughly $10M annually to support The Foundation's mission and vision.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Skills

Fundraising

Donor Relations

Moves Management

Major Gifts

Portfolio Management

Salesforce

Stakeholder Collaboration

Tools

Salesforce

Job description

The Obama Foundation seeks a visionary Director of Development, Midwest, to lead a comprehensive fundraising strategy across the Midwest and cultivate high-capacity donors. You will partner with executive leaders to close six- to seven-figure gifts and manage a large portfolio, guiding teams to achieve ambitious annual goals.

Reporting to the Senior Director of Development, Midwest, you will drive donor-centric programs, collaborate across the Foundation, and leverage data-driven practices to