About the Obama Foundation

At the Obama Foundation, we are guided by a core belief: that ordinary people working together can change history. Our mission is to inspire those people to take action, empower them to change their world for the better, and connect them so they can achieve more together than they can alone.

We were founded by community organizers, so when we seek change, we do it by bringing people together. 

That approach begins at home, on the South Side of Chicago, where we are building the Obama Presidential Center. The Center represents a historic opportunity for Chicago: a chance to build a world-class museum and public gathering space that celebrates our nation’s first African American President and First Lady, steps away from where he began his career, where she was raised, and where—together—they made their home. 

But that approach extends to all our work, whether it’s holding leadership training sessions in communities throughout the U.S., bringing local leaders together in countries around the world, working to support the global education of girls, or ensuring young men of color have pathways to opportunity.

As President Obama has said, “we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together.” So join us. 

For more information, please visit www.obama.org.

Purpose of the Role

The Deputy Director of Development, Chicago will manage a short- and long-term strategy to grow the Foundation’s fundraising program in Chicago, the hometown of the Obama Foundation and the future Obama Presidential Center. Reporting directly to the Senior Director of Development, Midwest, this person will cultivate, solicit, and steward six- to seven-figure gifts from individual philanthropists in support of the Chicago Campaign, the local initiative to raise support from donors in and around Chicagoland to build the Obama Presidential Center. With the support of the Senior Director, Midwest, this person will drive strategy for a volunteer council, Chicago Committee, and collaborate with executive leaders to cultivate and close high-level prospects. 

This is an ideal opportunity for a proven, fearless, and values-driven nonprofit fundraiser with experience tracking metrics and managing donor pipelines who’s highly motivated to work collaboratively in pursuit of big goals.

Core Job Responsibilities

  • Development Planning: Partner with Foundation leadership and key teams across the Foundation to build and execute a short- and long-term strategic fundraising plan that will meet the Chicago Campaign’s goals and build a foundation for a long-term major gifts program in Chicago.
  • Portfolio Strategy & Management: Manage a portfolio of 100+ six- and seven-figure prospects and develop customized cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship plans for each.
  • Volunteer Management: Develop strong partnerships with the Chicago Committee, select board members, and members of the Development Committee, and provide support for their fundraising efforts in the city.
  • Key Donor Management: Collaborate with the Chief Executive Officer and other Foundation executive leadership to cultivate select high-capacity donors, including support for meeting preparation and follow-up. 
  • Collaboration: Establish supportive and cooperative working relationships with other regional fundraisers, share best practices and new ideas, and collaborate on donor cultivation when needed.
  • Philanthropy Stewardship: Represent the Development team in external settings (conferences and gatherings) and partner with other teams across the Foundation to help advance a culture of philanthropy.
  • Operating Effectiveness: Build a culture of Salesforce utilization to track and evaluate the team’s key metrics and use meaningful data to improve practices and inform decisions continually.
  • Fundraising Collateral: Ensure the timely creation and distribution of fundraising/stewardship materials, collateral and briefings, and highly personalized proposals with support from the Development Donor Relations Team.
  • Events: Collaborate with the Events team to host high-capacity donor events and volunteer engagements.
  • Performs other duties as assigned.

Key Deliverables / Outcomes

  • Meet Fundraising and Activity Targets Monthly
  • Prospect Portfolio Strategy
  • Prospect Management Plans
  • Volunteer Activation Plans
  • Region Best Practice Sharing Forums
  • Fundraising/Stewardship Materials, Collateral and Briefings, and Highly Personalized Proposals
  • Top-notch cultivation and stewardship events

Required Qualifications

  • A minimum of eight years of experience in fundraising or donor relations, including a minimum of four years managing high-capacity boards and volunteers while securing gifts directly. 
  • Mastery of the Chicago fundraising landscape.
  • Track record of building relationships with major gift-level donors, ideally closing gifts of at least $1M+.
  • Deep understanding of fundraising programs and high-level gift strategies.
  • Excellent interpersonal and written skills with high emotional intelligence. 
  • Must have the ability to develop and maintain long-term, productive relationships internally and externally in a fast-paced, complex environment.

The salary range for this role is between $87,020 and $108,775.

Don’t check off every box in the requirements listed above? Please apply anyway! Studies have shown that marginalized communities - such as women, LGBTQ+ and people of color - are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. The Obama Foundation is dedicated to building an inclusive, diverse, equitable, and accessible workplace that fosters a sense of belonging – so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to still consider submitting an application. You may be just the right candidate for this role or another one of our openings!

In the interest of employee health and safety during the pendency of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the Obama Foundation is requiring that all prospective employees present proof that they are fully-vaccinated against COVID-19, or seek a reasonable accommodation for religious or medical reasons, prior to their first day of employment.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The Foundation is committed to creating a diverse work environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. The Foundation does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability, parental status, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable laws. We encourage individuals of all backgrounds to apply. If you are a qualified candidate with a disability, please e-mail us at careers@obama.org if you require a reasonable accommodation to complete this application.

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