Search for Common Ground
In a world often divided, Search for Common Ground stands for the power of bringing diverse people together to find solutions. By meeting this moment with Search, you join a powerful global peace movement that believes in the profound impact of courageous multipartiality - that all voices should be heard and respected in shaping a better, more connected world and collaborative vision is essential for lasting peace. Search for Common Ground takes a dynamic approach by building solutions that are based on the needs of communities. We engage with leaders and elected officials to advance dialogue and collaboration. We are community leaders. We are youth activists. We are women. We are Peacebuilders. We have been doing this work for over 40 years, we have developed our understanding of what peace looks like, being able to quantify our impact and design more effective programming. Peace moves at the speed of trust, so we invest for the long haul. When we’re no longer needed, we leave, leaving behind people and institutions with the ability to manage future conflicts.
Department Summary
The Development team is a community of driven and passionate fundraising and donor care professionals who create synergies between donors, prospects and the mission of Search for Common Ground. We bring our individual experiences and expertise to walk alongside our current and future peacemaking community cultivating, maximizing, and stewarding their financial resources with the needs and development of the communities we serve, to stop the spread of violence.
Position Summary
The Senior Specialist, Major Gifts (West Coast), is responsible for ensuring Search for Common Ground’s major donors have a positive and rewarding philanthropic experience. They will identify, cultivate, solicit, and successfully steward qualified prospects and donors at the $10,000 and above level. They will be responsible for leading a new program focusing on our conflict resolution work in Israel and Palestine. This program will rally Jewish Philanthropy to support Search’s ongoing work in Israel and Palestine. They will meet regularly with key stakeholders to understand major priorities and goals, provide timely information on donor cultivation, and support the overall execution of the fundraising plan.
The candidate can be based on the West Coast but will be required to make frequent trips to the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area.
Key Responsibilities
- Identify, cultivate, and solicit major gifts from individual donors, family foundations, and other prospective high-net-worth supporters aligned with the organization's mission and values
- Develop and execute personalized cultivation strategies, including donor meetings, events, and communication plans, to foster long-term relationships and maximize donor engagement
- Manage a portfolio of 150+ prospects, maintaining regular communication and engagement with each donor to deepen their involvement and support for the organization's initiatives
- Create individual goals for each prospect in the portfolio based on the donor’s history of giving and the organization’s knowledge of the prospect’s capacity
- Work closely with our CEO and Director of Development to strategically prioritize and make gift requests ranging from $10,000 to $100,000, tailoring proposals and solicitation materials to align with individual donors' interests and philanthropic goals
- Collaborate with the CEO and fundraising team to create compelling fundraising materials, proposals, and impact reports tailored to the interests and priorities of major donors
- Establish a robust donor stewardship program to ensure continuous donor engagement, recognition, and appreciation through correspondence, professional proposals, mailings and acknowledgements
- Conduct in-depth prospect research to identify new major gift opportunities and expand the organization's network of potential philanthropic supporters
- Coordinate closely with program staff to stay updated on the organization's initiatives, impact, and success stories, effectively communicating the organization's programmatic achievements to donors
- Maintain accurate and up-to-date donor records, donor correspondence, and gift documentation in compliance with organizational policies and procedures
- Act as an ambassador for Search for Common Ground, representing the organization at events, conferences, and networking opportunities to promote its mission and philanthropic initiatives
Competency Behavior Indicators (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities)
- Proven track record closing major gifts of five, six, and seven-figures
- Experience working as part of a growing new program, with knowledge on building programs
- Familiar with Jewish culture and Jewish philanthropy, with an interest in conflict resolution, and Israel/Palestine
- Works collaboratively with senior managers and colleagues sharing senior expertise; builds teams for successful implementation of projects and programs
- Effectively influences vendors, organizations, professional associations, partners, funders, and Search's network of experts critical to the area of purview
- Makes decisions on existing information when it may not be complete
- Adapts to the personal style and preferences of colleagues to assess their needs and preferences; tolerates ambiguity
- Articulates Search/function program/project goals and objectives within and external to Search; develops program objectives, indicators, and results; and participates in strategy development for the team
- Creates standards across functions globally within Shared Services teams with the ability to create a best fit that considers international norms and compliance while supporting an organizational culture for work
- Overcomes obstacles, including personal biases, by following Search's ethics code in complex situations; displayed in activities as ethical principles and values that guide professional interactions
- Assesses risks and opportunities in a complex environment and convenes discussions to lead to a favorable outcome
- Establishes tools to monitor quality of work and verification of information
- Has knowledge of project management tools including technology as resources and applies delegation skills to support the development of others, as well as the building of efficiency and reduction of stress
- Remain alert and responsive to any safeguarding risks, acquire relevant knowledge and skills which will enable you to promote strong safeguarding practices, understand the safeguarding policy and procedures, and conduct yourself in a manner consistent with the Safeguarding Policy
Preferred Qualifications
- Proven track record of successful portfolio management, campaign experience and closing major gifts
- Exceptional communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to articulate complex issues in a clear and compelling manner and excellent attention to detail
- High degree of integrity, initiative, resourcefulness, and decision-making skills
- Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced environment, meet concurrent deadlines, organize time and priorities, and to do so in collaboration with diverse stakeholders
- Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build rapport with donors, board members, program staff, and other diverse stakeholders
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications especially Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint, and experience managing donor databases and utilizing fundraising software for donor relationship management
- Demonstrated understanding of philanthropic trends and best practices in major gift fundraising and donor stewardship, especially related to Jewish philanthropy
- An advanced degree or certification in fundraising is a plus
Education and Experience
BS/BA with a minimum of 10 years' experience securing major gifts and cultivating relationships with high-net-worth individuals and philanthropic donors.
Working Conditions and Physical Requirements
Remote-based. Able to travel at least 40% of the time across major cities along the United States West Coast region.
Supervisory and Budget Responsibility
Individual contributors and typically do not supervise staff members.
