Senior Director of Major Gifts

Location: San Francisco (SF) Bay Area or Los Angeles — remote within the region. Candidates must reside in one of these markets; no in-office requirement.

Full-time, Exempt | Reports to the Chief Revenue Officer

$145,000 – $175,000 depending on experience | Travel: approximately 30%

About Us

25 years in, Upwardly Global (UpGlo) has a proven program, a compelling case for support, and a major donor base that is far smaller than that case warrants. We are hiring a major gifts leader to change that, primarily by finding, qualifying, and closing donors who do not know us yet.

This is a build role, not a maintenance role. If your best work has been opening new relationships rather than inheriting mature ones, keep reading.

Why This Role, Why Now

Upwardly Global (UpGlo) is a national nonprofit that helps immigrants, refugees, and asylees rebuild their professional careers in the United States. We work at both the direct service and system-change levels, building a more inclusive workforce and economy by ensuring everyone can fully use their skills and talents.

Here is what that means for a fundraiser:

• The case for support is concrete and measurable. We can show a donor the economic return on a placed professional, not just a sentiment. That is a rare advantage in a first major gift conversation.
• The prospect universe is genuinely underworked. Individual giving currently accounts for roughly $2M of our $14M in annual revenue. Our modeled major gift capacity is significantly larger, and whole segments of it (e.g., technology and finance executives, immigrant-founder networks, family foundations, DAF-advised households) have never been systematically cultivated at scale.
• You will not be prospecting alone. Our CEO, CRO, Board, and program leadership actively open doors, and we fund prospect research, wealth screening, and Salesforce so your hours go to donor conversations rather than data archaeology.
• The acquisition mandate is explicit. Bringing in new donors is the primary success measure for this role and is resourced and protected as such, not a stretch goal layered on top of a full stewardship load.

What Success Looks Like

We would rather be specific than aspirational. Targets will be finalized with you, but the shape of the role is:

First 90 days

• Assess the existing pipeline and rate every prospect above $10K for capacity, inclination, and connection.
• Build a qualification plan for 40 new prospects and complete your first 20 discovery visits.
• Agree on a multi-year individual giving growth plan with the Chief Revenue Officer and CEO.

First 12 months

• Personally close $2M from a portfolio of roughly 100–125 households, with at least 70% coming from donors new to UpGlo at the major gift level.
• Move 20 new prospects into active cultivation and secure 10 six-figure commitments.
• Make improvements to our current qualification engine in partnership with our Dev Ops team, ensuring repeatability, sourcing, research, discovery, and moves management that the team can run without you in the room.

By year three

• Grow individual giving from $2M to $10M, with a materially more diversified donor base and a documented seven-figure prospect pipeline.

What You Will Own

New donor acquisition: the core of the role

• Source, qualify, and convert new major donors at the $10K+ level, personally carrying relationships from discovery through close.
• Design and run a disciplined prospecting engine: wealth screening, peer and Board referral, network mapping, event follow-up, DAF and family foundation research, and conversion of annual and mid-level donors.
• Build re-engagement pathways for lapsed and dormant donors and upgrade paths for existing supporters with untapped capacity.
• Partner with the CRO to set and hold the Individual Giving team's qualification standards: visits, moves, pipeline velocity; ensuring acquisition is never crowded out by renewal work.

Frontline fundraising

• Manage a personal portfolio of high-net-worth donors and prospects, securing six- and seven-figure gifts.
• Craft tailored solicitation strategies that connect each donor's motivation to UpGlo's program and policy work.
• Represent UpGlo externally with authenticity, articulating our mission and results credibly to sophisticated audiences.

Strategy and team leadership

• Partner with the CRO and lead the major gifts and individual giving program end to end: strategy, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
• Partner with the Director of Annual Giving and the Director of Stewardship to build one coherent donor journey from first gift to transformational commitment.
• Build, supervise, and coach a team of gift officers and donor engagement staff, building a culture that rewards pipeline-building, not only renewal.
• Work with our talented Development Operations team to ensure Salesforce, pipeline reporting, and forecasting remain genuinely useful for relationship management as we scale.
• Collaborate with the CEO, Board, and leadership team to open new philanthropic networks, and with Finance, Communications, and Program teams to align priorities and impact storytelling.

Stewardship and engagement

• Partner with the Director of Stewardship on the stewardship and recognition strategy that makes donors want to give again, and larger.
• Help shape donor events, briefings, and campaigns that create qualification opportunities rather than one-off touchpoints.

Who We Are Looking For

Required

• A documented record of acquiring new major donors, not only growing inherited portfolios. Be ready to walk us through relationships you sourced yourself, from first contact to close.
• Personal closes at the six-figure level, with seven-figure experience or a credible path to it.
• 10+ years in nonprofit fundraising or comparable relationship-based revenue work, including 5+ years focused on major or individual giving.
• Experience building a pipeline from thin inventory: prospect identification, qualification discipline, and moves management you designed rather than inherited.
• Experience managing and developing frontline fundraisers, with evidence that your team's numbers improved under you.
• Fluency with CRM-driven pipeline management and data-informed portfolio decisions (Salesforce NPSP preferred).
• The judgment and presence to earn trust quickly with high-net-worth individuals, executives, and Board members.
• Real interest in UpGlo's mission, and the ability to speak about immigration and economic mobility with nuance and care.

Helpful, not required

• Campaign experience, particularly in the quiet phase.
• Networks in technology, finance, immigrant-serving philanthropy, or family foundations.
• Lived or professional experience with immigration, resettlement, or workforce development.

We evaluate candidates on demonstrated results rather than credentials. If you meet most of the above and can show the acquisition track record, please apply.

Compensation and Benefits

• Salary: $145,000 – $175,000 depending on experience. We publish our banding and do not ask for salary history.
• Health: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Retirement: 401(k) with employer match.
• Time off: 160 hours PTO, 72 hours of sick leave, 16 hours of health and wellness time, your birthday off, and an organization-wide paid closure from December 24 through January 1.
• Family: 12 weeks paid parental leave, gender inclusive.
• Resourced to succeed: A dedicated travel and cultivation budget, prospect research and wealth screening tools, and a CEO and Board who show up for donor meetings.

How to Apply

Send your resume and a short note (a few paragraphs is plenty) about one major donor relationship you sourced and closed yourself: why you pursued them, how you got the first meeting, and what the gift became.

____________

Upwardly Global is deeply committed to building a workplace where inclusion is not only valued but prioritized. We’re proud to be an equal opportunity employer, seeking to create a welcoming and diverse environment.