Director of Major Gifts

Full Time, Remote

About the Chef Ann Foundation

Founded in 2009, the Chef Ann Foundation (CAF) believes that all children should have equal access to fresh, healthy, delicious food providing them the foundation to thrive and meet their true potential. We ensure that school food professionals have the resources, funding and support they need to provide cook-from-scratch meals that support the health of children and our planet. To date, we’ve reached over 16,000 schools and over 4.4 million children in all 50 states with our school food programming.

Job Description

The Director of Major Gifts will serve as a frontline fundraiser with primary responsibility for identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding a portfolio of major gift donors and prospects. This role will focus on building meaningful relationships that result in significant individual gifts while contributing to the organization's overall revenue growth and donor retention goals.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute individualized cultivation and solicitation strategies for each donor and prospect in portfolio;
• Build and manage a portfolio of 75-100 major gift donors and prospects with the capacity to give $5,000+ annually; Personally solicit and close major gifts that contribute to annual revenue goals, with an individual fundraising target of $500,000+ annually;
• Develop and refine the major gifts strategy in alignment with the organization’s mission, fundraising goals, and multi-year development plan;
• Conduct a minimum of 8-10 face-to-face visits per month with donors and prospects; Design and implement comprehensive stewardship plans that ensure donor retention, upgrade opportunities, and long-term engagement detailed records of all donor interactions, strategies, and activities within the CRM following organizational best practices; Regularly track and report progress against revenue targets, portfolio metrics, and qualification and solicitation activities;
• Collaborate with leadership and program staff to connect donors with organizational impact and programmatic opportunities;

Other duties as assigned within the scope of this position.

Position Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree and a minimum of five (5) years of major gifts fundraising experience;
• Demonstrated success in personally securing gifts of $5,000+;
• Proven track record of managing a major gifts portfolio and meeting or exceeding annual fundraising goals;
• Experience with donor relationship management through the complete cycle from identification and qualification to cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship;
• Excellent interpersonal and verbal communication skills with the ability to engage authentically with high-net-worth individuals;
• Proven writing skills, including experience creating compelling proposals, impact reports, and donor correspondence;
• Knowledge and high proficiency with Google Workspace, CRM systems, grant tracking tools, and the ability to adopt new technologies as deemed necessary;
• Outgoing, relationship-driven professional with strong listening skills, a donor-centered approach, and the ability to build trust quickly;
• Uphold ethical fundraising practices and champion inclusive philanthropy that honors donor intent and organizational values;
• Ability to work collaboratively with leadership, board members, and staff, as well as independently manage a complex portfolio;
• Ability to handle diverse, simultaneous relationships and priorities, meet deadlines, and maintain consistent follow-through autonomously;
• Open and willing to travel locally and nationally 25% of the time for donor meetings and cultivation activities.

Preferred Education, Formal Training, and Experience

• Knowledge and high proficiency with Salesforce.

Essential Traits

• A passion for food systems and a strong interest in childhood wellness; demonstrated commitment to school food reform;
• Ability to learn and engage with learning technology programs;
• Ability to balance and prioritize competing timelines/deliverables;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including editing;
• Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively;
• Exceptional attention to detail and organizational skills;
• Flexible mindset and innovative thinker;
• Willingness to engage in continuous learning and training.

Compensation

Compensation ranges between $80,943 - $113,155 per year and will be commensurate with the candidate’s previous experience and credentials. The Chef Ann Foundation is a great place to work. It provides its staff with a competitive benefits package, including medical, pharmacy, dental, vision, short-term disability, long-term disability, group life insurance, accident insurance, critical illness insurance, hospital indemnity, 403(b) retirement plan with a match, holidays & paid time off. We are a fully remote national organization whose headquarters are located in Boulder, CO, with team members spread across the US. This position is remote and can be based anywhere in the contiguous United States

Posting will close on January 28, 2026, at 12 pm MST

Anticipated position start date is March 16, 2026.

At the Chef Ann Foundation, our work to ensure access to fresh, healthy school food for all is built on the idea of equity. We support and celebrate differences; our team and community are stronger with every new voice. CAF is proud to be an equal-opportunity workplace.