Senior Director or Director, Principal Gifts

the client is seeking a Senior Director or Director of Principal Gifts, a senior fundraising leader responsible for expanding the organization’s donor base through major and principal gift cultivation. This role focuses on strengthening the client’s strategic growth and financial sustainability by advancing diversified, mission-aligned giving. The position will operate effectively across varied environments and will report directly to the Chief Development Officer, serving as a key member of the Development leadership team, with the exact title reflecting the selected candidate’s experience. Key responsibilities include managing a portfolio of approximately 25–50 principal and major gift prospects with the capacity for gifts at the $1M+ level, with an annual goal of closing $5–10M+ (as stated). The role leads all phases of the donor lifecycle—discovery, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship—while developing individualized engagement strategies that align donor interests with the client’s mission. The Director/Senior Director will also identify and qualify new prospects through research, referrals, events, and relationship mapping, and will support diversification of the donor base by identifying new constituencies, including next-generation donors, family foundations, and impact investors aligned with the mission. The role requires close collaboration with executive leaders, board members, and program staff to develop compelling cases for support and to engage donors in the organization’s work. The successful candidate will prepare high-quality briefings, proposals, gift agreements, and stewardship reports for donor meetings and solicitations, and will work with communications to ensure donor-facing materials accurately reflect the client’s Indigenous-led approach. They will collaborate across internal functions to explore complex giving structures such as donor-advised funds, planned gifts, multi-year commitments, and noncash assets, and will represent the client at appropriate cultivation events, conferences, and community gatherings. Confidential