Donor Development Director - San Mateo County Community Colleges Foundation

Shape the future of student success as the Donor Development Director for the San Mateo County Community Colleges Foundation! By leading donor engagement and fueling a major campaign set to launch in 2026, this role offers the chance to work closely with district leadership and the Board. You'll be connecting donors to the incredible work that the Foundation does that allows for scholarships and endowments that advance equity. You'll be part of a collaborative team making a lasting impact. With relocation support, strong benefits, and remote Fridays, this is an opportunity to build both community impact and your career.

Another Source's client, San Mateo Community College District, is hiring a Director of Development to join their team in San Mateo, CA.

Why Join Us?

The San Mateo County Community College District, established in 1922, includes Canada College, College of San Mateo, and Skyline College. Situated between San Francisco and Silicon Valley, the District serves nearly 30,000 students annually, offering the first two years of college instruction across a broad range of transfer and career-technical programs. Students can earn Associate of Arts or Science degrees, as well as Certificates of Proficiency. The colleges provide extensive online course offerings and support high school pathways through Middle College, dual enrollment, and concurrent enrollment programs.

Learn more about San Mateo County Community College District here: https://www.smccd.edu/aboutus/index.php

Why Working Here is For You"

As one of the Bay Area's leading community college districts, we're committed to expanding student success through innovation, equity, and resource development. The Director of Development will play a key role in driving transformative fundraising campaigns and cultivating donor partnerships that directly impact students, faculty, and the broader community.

Key Responsibilities:

The Director of Development designs, directs, and executes multi-year fundraising campaigns, planned giving programs, and major donor initiatives that align with institutional priorities. The incumbent manages a complex portfolio of high-value donors, philanthropic relationships, and prospects with measurable revenue and engagement goals. The Director of Development leads cross-departmental collaboration and leverages alumni, faculty, staff, retirees, volunteers, and community partner relationships for fund development success. The incumbent serves as a key advisor to District, College, or auxiliary leadership on strategic fundraising direction and donor engagement strategies and provides management and mentorship to development staff and volunteers.

District and Community Leadership

Works in partnership with District, College, or auxiliary leadership and the entity's advisory body to create, develop, and implement the strategic fundraising plan, including the multi-year campaign, planned giving program, and major donor initiatives.

• Offers industry expertise on philanthropic trends, donor demographics, giving patterns, and financial data to inform the entity's and the District's strategic planning and reporting.

• Inspires cross-department collaboration to ensure engagement and involvement of District and College leadership in major campaigns and other fundraising initiatives.

• Builds and leverages relationships with civic, corporate, foundation, and nonprofit leaders to enhance the District, Colleges, and auxiliary entities' visibility and fundraising success.

Donor Cultivation, Solicitation, and Stewardship

• Leads major gift efforts by developing and stewarding relationships with high-value donors to ensure ongoing support, recognition, and involvement in the planned giving program.

• Identifies, cultivates, and solicits major gift prospects, developing tailored approaches that resonate with each donor's interests and charitable goals.

• Facilitates donor visits, prepares proposals, and delivers presentations to secure commitments.

• Expands the fundraising program by proactively implementing innovative research tools and strategies to identify new donors and prospects.

• Tracks and reports relationship management activity using the constituent relationship management system, including identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of prospective and current major gift donors.

Fundraising Campaigns

• Designs and implements a comprehensive plan for the multi-year fundraising campaigns, including goals, target audiences, timelines, and key messaging.

• Develops communication strategies to generate awareness and excitement about the campaign among faculty, staff, retirees, alumni, donors, and the community.

• Establishes and implements standards of accountability to measure progress of the campaign against dollar and activity goals.

• Leads cross-functional campaign teams and other stakeholder bodies, ensuring effective communication, resource allocation, and accountability among participants.

• Seeks and applies for grant funding and corporate partnerships that align with campaign goals, securing additional support for specific initiatives.

Management and Supervision

• Leads with a donor-centric approach that fosters a positive and innovative culture that motivates individuals to capitalize on their strengths.

• Supervises development staff, student workers, and volunteers; provides coaching, training, and performance evaluations.

Compliance and Reporting

• Monitors campaign and grant budgets, deliverables, and compliance requirements.

• Prepares reports for the entity, College, District, and other stakeholders on fundraising performance.

• Ensures compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, ethical standards, and District policies.

• Employment Standards (acquired through education, training, and/or experience)

Knowledge of:

• Principles, techniques, and best practices in fundraising, donor cultivation, and stewardship.

• Major gift solicitation, planned giving, and corporate/foundation relations.

• Campaign planning, event management, and grant writing.

• Higher education funding models, priorities, and philanthropic trends.

• IRS nonprofit regulations and ethical standards in fundraising.

• Strategic planning and implementation.

• Nonprofit governance practices and board relations.

Skills and Abilities:

• Entrepreneurial with the ability to work in a small and collaborative team environment.

• Establish and maintain effective and cooperative working relationships with those encountered in the course of work.

• Highly developed interpersonal skills, including a propensity to express gratitude, patience, tact, and courtesy with stakeholders.

• Tenacity to identify errors and pursue excellence.

• Strong attention to detail with commitment to accuracy.

• Strong organizational skills with the ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks effectively and efficiently.

• Strong communication skills, both verbally and in writing, with the ability to articulate complex ideas to a variety of stakeholders.

• Maintain utmost confidentiality in handling sensitive financial and donor information and in interactions with leadership, staff, and donors.

• Develop and implement successful fundraising strategies.

• Plan, implement, and evaluate comprehensive fundraising programs.

• Represent the District, Colleges, and auxiliary entities with professionalism, integrity, and diplomacy.

• Lead, motivate, and develop professional staff and volunteers.

What You'll Bring

• Bachelor's degree in nonprofit management, business administration, communications, or related field.

• 5+ years of progressive fundraising experience with demonstrated success in major gift solicitation and multi-year campaigns.

• Proven ability to design and implement fundraising strategies in higher education or nonprofit settings.

• Strong communication, leadership, and relationship-building skills.

• Preferred: Master's degree, CFRE certification, and prior experience in higher education or nonprofit foundation fundraising.

What's In It For You:

Salary Range: $154,000 - $158,000

Comprehensive benefits package offered by the District including:

• Medical

• Vision

• Dental

• Retirement System

Learn more about the benefits offered here: https://downloads.smccd.edu/pr/hr/2025%20SMCCCD%20Benefits%20Guide.pdf?f=https%3A%2F%2Fsmccd.sharepoint.com%2Fsites%2Fdownloads%2FHR%2F_api%2FWeb%2FGetFileByServerRelativePath%28decodedurl%3D%27%2Fsites%2Fdownloads%2FHR%2FShared%2520Documents%2FBenefits%2520and%2520Wellness%2FBenefits%2520Brochure%2C%2520Rate%2520Sheets%2C%2520FAQs%2F2025%2520SMCCCD%2520Benefits%2520Guide.pdf%27%29\

Equal Employment Opportunity and Non-Discrimination:

The San Mateo County Community College District is an Equal Opportunity Employer that seeks to employ individuals who represent the rich diversity of cultures, language groups, and abilities of its surrounding communities.

Another Source works with their clients, on a retained project basis. We are committed to building inclusive candidate pools as we partner with hiring teams. Veterans, women, people of color, LGBTQIA+, and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply. As you read through the job posting and review the list of qualifications (required and/or preferred), please do not self-select out if you feel you do not meet every qualification. No one is 100% qualified. We encourage you to apply and share your story with us.

#AS1