Description

Position: Senior Director, Individual Giving

Reports To: Chief Development Officer

Matrixed Manager:  N/A

Location:  US – Remote

Position Type:  Full-time

ORGANIZATIONAL PROFILE:

For more than 43 million people, blindness is a daily reality; another 295 million suffer from moderate to severe vision impairment. 90% of these people live in low- and middle-income countries where access to eye care is limited and the challenges for those who can’t see are severe. But there is hope: 80% of this burden is treatable or preventable. For example, 17 million blind people could be cured with a 10-minute cataract surgery. Millions more suffer from corneal blindness, which is often preventable or treatable. At Cure Blindness Project, we believe avoidable blindness can – and must – be overcome. For more than 30 years, we have worked alongside a capable network of collaborators to help people around the world retain and regain their sight by developing high-quality, cost-effective eye care systems in underserved areas of the world. With the help of partners in more than 30 countries, Cure Blindness Project has provided more than 2 million sight-restoring surgeries and screened more than 20 million people to provide care and basic treatments. We’ve trained more than 25,200 eye health professionals and have established 6 eye hospitals. There is more work left to do, but we can overcome the mountain of global blindness together.

VISION: A world where no one is needlessly blind.

MISSION: We enable countries to cure avoidable blindness by developing high quality, cost-effective eye care in underserved areas of the world.

OPPORTUNITY:

Cure Blindness Project is entering an exciting period of growth and is expanding its development team to help support its impact. This is an exceptional opportunity for a strategic fundraiser to help shape the next chapter of a growing and impactful global health organization. Reporting directly to the Chief Development Officer and partnering closely with executive leadership, the Senior Director will build and expand a growing individual philanthropy program with significant opportunities for transformational and principal gifts. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to help define fundraising strategy, influence organizational priorities, and connect philanthropists with one of the highest-impact investments in global health.

SCOPE OF WORK:

Individual giving is the largest source of funding for Cure Blindness Project, making the Senior Director of Individual Giving a critical role on our Development team. The Senior Director of Individual Giving will be responsible for growing, deepening, and diversifying our individual donor program. Along with the Chief Development Officer, this position owns the strategy and execution for identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding individual donors and prospects, with a particular focus on securing five- and six-figure commitments. The Senior Director will manage a personal portfolio of top donors and prospects, partner closely with senior leadership to advance high-priority relationships, and build the systems and pipeline that will fuel the organization’s long-term revenue growth from individuals. This is a highly entrepreneurial, relationship-driven role for a seasoned fundraiser who is energized by mission impact and excited to help transform the lives of people living with avoidable blindness around the world.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

• Develop and lead a comprehensive individual giving strategy that encompasses major gifts, mid-level giving, planned giving, and annual giving to meet and exceed annual and multi-year revenue goals
• Manage a personal portfolio of 75–125 major gift donors and prospects, with a focus on securing five- and six-figure gifts; execute personalized cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship plans for each relationship
• Identify, qualify, and build a robust pipeline of new major gift prospects through prospect research, wealth screening, referrals from board and leadership, and engagement at events
• Develop and launch a planned giving program, including donor identification, cultivation strategies, and recognition; promote vehicles such as bequests, charitable gift annuities, donor-advised funds (DAFs), stock gifts, and estate gifts
• Partner with the Chief Development Officer to engage senior leadership and board members as fundraising partners; prepare briefings, talking points, and meeting prep for executive donor interactions
• Create and execute individualized stewardship plans that deepen donor engagement, recognition, and loyalty, including impact reports, personal communications, cultivation events, and program site updates
• Collaborate with the marketing team on individual donor communications, appeals, and campaigns (including digital, direct mail, and year-end) to support acquisition and retention across giving levels
• Maintain meticulous records of donor interactions, proposals, and gift activity in the CRM (Salesforce); produce regular reports on portfolio metrics, revenue projections, and pipeline health
• Provide regular updates to the CDO on proposal status, portfolio activity, and individual giving revenue outlook. Identify potential shortfalls and proactively develop contingency plans and course corrections in partnership with the CDO
• Collaborate with programs teams to develop compelling cases for support, impact narratives, and program-specific funding opportunities aligned with donor interests
• Manage a team of direct and indirect reports to develop them to their full potential. This includes providing clear priorities and expectations, coaching and mentoring to build skills and working closely to track progress toward goals.

Requirements

QUALIFICATIONS 
To be successful in this role, the individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Required Skills/Knowledge/Abilities:

• Minimum 12+ years of progressive experience in nonprofit fundraising with a demonstrated focus on individual giving, major gifts, and/or planned giving
  Proven track record of personally identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and closing five- and six-figure gifts from individual donors
• A minimum of five years of experience leading and managing a team with proven commitment to developing others and managing direct reports to successful results.
• Experience managing and growing a portfolio of 75+ major gift donors and prospects, with demonstrated success meeting or exceeding annual revenue goals
• Experience developing or significantly contributing to a planned giving / legacy giving program, including familiarity with common gift vehicles (bequests, DAFs, charitable gift annuities, stock gifts, IRAs, trusts)
• Results-oriented, entrepreneurial, and highly organized, with the ability to manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and operate with a high degree of initiative and accountability
• Exceptional relationship-building skills; ability to engage persuasively and authentically with high-net-worth individuals, board members, and senior executives
• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to translate complex global health and development work into compelling donor narratives
• Proficiency with CRM systems (Salesforce, Raiser’s Edge, DonorPerfect or equivalent) for portfolio management, reporting, and pipeline tracking
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally up to 20–25% of the time for donor meetings, cultivation events, and program site visits
  
  Additional qualifications include:
• Experience in global health, international development, or a related mission-driven organization is strongly preferred; the ability to connect donors to a compelling, life-changing cause is essential; familiarity with eye health is a plus.
• CFRE (Certified Fund Raising Executive) certification is preferred, or a demonstrated commitment to professional development in fundraising.
• Can collaborate across all levels of the organization, building relationships and shared goals across departments and partner organizations
• Flexibility to adjust and contribute to continually evolving work situations and changing priorities in a fast-moving, entrepreneurial environment
• Excellent computer skills and technical aptitude, proficient with MS Office
• Committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion
  
  Physical requirements:
• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Must be able to lift up to 15 pounds at a time.

Cure Blindness Project encourages applications from people of all races, religions, national origins, genders, sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expressions, and ages, as well as veterans and individuals with disabilities.