Principal Giving Officer

Inside Philanthropy; Washington (District of Columbia); Remote; USD 130,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Protect Democracy seeks a Principal Gifts Officer to secure major gifts and capital investments from a remote region across the United States. You will manage a portfolio of high-capacity donors and represent the organization in strategic meetings.

Ideal candidates have 10+ years in fundraising, including multi-million-dollar gifts in the pro-democracy space, and excel at analytic writing, presentation, and relationship-building with diverse partners.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of direct fundraising with growth in scope.
• Experience securing major gifts or capital investments of at least $1M annually.
• At least three years in the pro-democracy sector in fundraising or related role.

Responsibilities

• Manage a portfolio of 6- and 7-figure donors with senior leadership.
• Represent Protect Democracy in external meetings and presentations.
• Develop tailored strategies to engage new high-capacity donors.
• Cultivate and communicate with the board, donors, and partner organizations.
• Oversee full donor engagement cycle for gifts of $1M+ annually.
• Collaborate with the Partnerships team and share resources.

Skills

Fundraising strategy

Major gifts

CRM management

Donor stewardship

Communication

Analytical skills

Proposal writing

Tools

CRM software

Job description

Protect Democracy seeks an experienced, passionate fundraising professional to join our organization as the Principal Giving Officer. This role requires sharp, sophisticated fundraising, communication, and advocacy skills. Reporting to the Chief Partnerships Officer and working directly with the CPO & the Executive Director, this individual will be responsible for an existing, well-stewarded portfolio of ~60 individual and institutional donors with capacity to give at the mid-6 and 7 figure level, with specific identified prospects to cultivate as well.

The ideal candidate brings experience securing major gifts or capital investments of at least 7 figures per year and a deep understanding of the pro-democracy ecosystem. We are looking for an accomplished, passionate fundraiser with 10 or more years of direct fundraising experience including at least 3 years of experience in the pro-democracy nonprofit and advocacy space. The Principal Giving Officer is a remote position based in the United States.* The priority deadline to apply for this role is November 15, 2026.

Protect Democracy’s approach to fundraising involves building deep, long-term, trusting relationships with donors, who we see and engage as key partners in the broader democracy ecosystem. We are a highly collaborative team, building on one another’s successes and regularly sharing content and feedback with one another. Our agile, diverse fundraising team has been remarkably effective so far at raising unrestricted general operating funds and building a solid financial runway that allows us to hire exceptional talent and to launch effective interventions, from bringing 150+ legal actions to crafting and enacting critical federal and state legislation to innovating creative solutions like VoteShield, which monitors and protects 160 million public voter records across 24 states.

About our organization:

Protect Democracy formed in late 2016, recognizing that the global wave of authoritarianism had begun to erode American shores. We have since assembled a team of 120+ experts who have served under Democrats and Republicans and in the senior ranks of other nonprofit, political, or media organizations. Our team includes lawyers, policy experts, legislative advocates, media strategists, writers, data analysts, and software developers. In 2023, our team received a Skoll Award for Social Innovation and a MacArthur Fellowship.

At Protect Democracy, we believe that diversity isn’t just a strength — it’s a necessity for tackling the complex challenges facing democracy. A broad range of backgrounds, perspectives, and lived experiences strengthen our ability to analyze problems, craft solutions, and drive meaningful change. We strongly encourage candidates from diverse backgrounds and from across the political and ideological spectrum to apply. If you meet most but not all of the criteria listed below but believe nonetheless you’d be a stellar match for the role and could grow into it, we want to hear from you.

Core Responsibilities:

The Principal Gifts Officer will:

• Manage a portfolio of 6- and 7-figure donors, in collaboration with our Chief Partnerships Officer and Executive Director, representing Protect Democracy in external presentations and one-on-one meetings;
• Serve as an ecosystem ambassador, speaking confidently about Protect Democracy and also about the needs of the pro-democracy ecosystem at large;
• Develop tailored strategies to engage new prospective high-capacity donors and upgrade existing key donors;
• Cultivate, engage, and communicate with the Protect Democracy board, donors, and partner organizations;
• Manage full cycle of existing donor engagement, including planning and conducting meetings with a portfolio of high-capacity donors and prospects capable of making major gifts of capital investment of $1M+ annually to Protect Democracy;
• Be a team player, being on-call for emails, seeking opportunities to share resources and learning across the Partnerships team, and building subject matter expertise collaboratively;
• Contribute to culture-building initiatives across the organization.

Required Qualifications:

• 10+ years of direct fundraising experience with progressive scope and scale, including some recent principal giving experience;
• Experience in securing one-year major gifts or capital investments of at least $1 million;
• At least three years of experience working in the pro-democracy sector either in fundraising or in another capacity.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience raising funds for a 501(c)(4).

Desired Competencies:

The ideal candidate also brings:

• A nuanced understanding of our country’s political landscape, the authoritarian threat, and the reality that our democracy has never fully represented communities of color;
• Unfettered enthusiasm for Protect Democracy’s cross-ideological and nonpartisan approach to protecting our democracy;
• Proven track record of having expanded and cultivated existing donor relationships over time;
• Facility with CRM databases and donor data management;
• Exceptional analytical, writing, presentation, and interpersonal skills and experiences cultivating both politically savvy and high level prospective audiences;
• Growth mindset, collaborative orientation, and enthusiasm for giving and receiving feedback up, down and sideways.