Vice President, Development - Individual Giving, Foundations & Philanthropic Operations

Summary

Join Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA) as the Vice President (VP), Individual Giving, Foundations, and Philanthropic Operations, leading the development and execution of a comprehensive fundraising strategy. Reporting to the Chief Development Officer, you will spearhead efforts to secure major gifts from high-net-worth individuals and institutions. This leadership role involves overseeing a team of fundraising professionals, managing a portfolio of top-tier donors, and cultivating strategic relationships. The VP will also play a key role in developing and implementing innovative fundraising campaigns and initiatives. The position is remote, based in the Continental US, with approximately 30% travel. The ideal candidate will be a strategic thinker with strong leadership and relationship-building skills.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred or equivalent experience
• Minimum of 10+ years of progressively responsible experience in fundraising, philanthropy, and revenue generation, with emphasis on individual giving, major gifts, and foundations
• Proven track record of securing seven- and eight-figure gifts from individuals and institutions
• Experience in major donor cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, and grant writing

Responsibilities

• Develop, lead, and implement a comprehensive individual giving and foundation fundraising strategy, with clear revenue growth targets and aligned with BBBSA’s strategic priorities
• Partner with the CDO to advance BBBSA's national fundraising goals and ensure cohesive execution across development programs
• Provide expert leadership in developing donor pipelines for major and principal gifts, donor-advised funds, planned giving, and foundation grants
• Serve as an organizational expert in transformative funding approaches and lead the activation of fundraising campaigns both annually and those aligned to the strategic plan
• Oversee innovative prospecting strategies using wealth screening, predictive analytics, and donor segmentation
• Lead Philanthropic Operations for the department, developing a best-in-class donor experience
• Serve as an ambassador and thought leader for BBBSA, engaging key stakeholders, high-net-worth donors, foundation leaders, and philanthropic partners
• Drive and expand major giving initiatives, ensuring the use of structured moves management to deepen donor engagement and stewardship
• Personally manage and advance a select portfolio of top-tier individual donor prospects (20-40), focused on major and principal gift levels, securing mid-seven- and eight-figure donor commitments
• Oversee the Senior Director, Advancement and Major Giving and the individual giving team (3 people), ensuring effective cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies
• Strategically develop and activate donor leadership circles and communities that drive results
• Integrate donor journeys with CRM and AI tools to personalize outreach and optimize donor lifetime value
• Lead foundation and family foundation fundraising efforts, identifying and cultivating relationships with institutional funders aligned with BBBSA’s mission ensuring BBBSA has a presence and representation in key events, gatherings and donor communities
• Oversee the development of compelling grant proposals and case statements, ensuring alignment with programmatic and strategic priorities
• Strategically grow foundation revenue streams, focusing on multi-year, transformational grants that result in 7 and 8-figure gift commitments
• Personal ownership of the foundations (private & family) portfolio to secure transformational support for the mission with gifts and grants of $20-$30M annually
• Serve as an organizational expert on foundations aligned and programmatic funding opportunities, proposals and success, partnering across the organization to ensure strategic alignment
• Serve as a member of the organization's Leadership Team, ensuring partnership, activation and alignment across shared areas of work, and organization success aligned to annual goals
• Accelerates and activates opportunities for donor growth and success aligned to BBBSA campaigns, activities and initiatives
• Partner with the CDO and CEO to leverage the Board of Directors and senior leadership in cultivating major donors and foundation partners
• Equip board members with tools and strategies to actively participate in philanthropic initiatives
• Collaborate with key leadership to develop customized donor engagement strategies, including CEO and executive involvement in solicitation activities
• Delivers leadership and guidance across the philanthropic operations team (2 people), all processes, integrations and activation including management of the CRM database to ensure the successful and effective implementation of the department's annual development plan
• Ensure fundraising operations reflect the highest ethical, financial, and stewardship & recognition standards
• Align individual giving and foundation efforts with financial planning in coordination with the CFAO and Finance teams
• Implement efficient systems for donor acknowledgment, reporting, and compliance
• As needed, partner with local Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies and the BBBSA Agency Growth team to strengthen and expand fundraising capacity, ensuring alignment between national strategies and local priorities to drive sustainable revenue growth
• Partner with the Nationwide Leadership Council (NLC) Partnerships Committee to equip local affiliates with tools, resources, and best practices to accelerate their donor engagement, and partnership development driving fundraising innovation and growth
• Serve as a thought leader and strategic advisor to affiliate leadership, fostering a culture of shared success and co-developing network-wide initiatives that amplify impact and brand relevance
• Develops and leads a high-performing fundraising team, fostering a culture of innovation, optimism, accountability, and excellence
• Manages succession planning for fundraising leadership roles to ensure long-term talent development
• Establishes clear KPIs and performance metrics to measure revenue growth and donor engagement success
• Ensures a collaborative and inclusive team environment, aligning with BBBSA organizational values
• Recruits, trains, retains, and cultivates the professional development of direct reports
• Creates a dynamic, supportive, and effective team that is impactful across BBBSA and the Big Brothers Big Sisters Network
• Lead and manage resources (people and capital) that retain and cultivate positive, measurable success
• Monitor progress against performance targets; implements countermeasures as needed
• Demonstrates a commitment to BBBSA’s shared leadership competencies and organizational values
• Provides consistent follow-up regarding assigned projects and after meetings
• Cultivates an environment where all team members feel valued, included, and empowered to achieve their potential
• Manages related and other duties as assigned in support of department and business needs

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced leadership experience managing teams in a federated or affiliate-based nonprofit model preferred
• Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) certification preferred
• Deep expertise in major giving, individual philanthropy, and foundation fundraising
• Strong relationship-building skills, particularly with high-net-worth individuals and institutional funders
• Data-driven decision-maker with experience in predictive analytics, donor segmentation, and CRM systems
• Ability to motivate, inspire, and manage remote, high-performing teams
• Strategic thinker with a collaborative, innovative leadership style
• Superior written, verbal, and presentation skills