the client is seeking a Vice President of Principal Gifts (VPPG), a mission-driven leader responsible for shaping and driving the client’s individual giving strategy to support long-term sustainability and impact. In this role, the VPPG provides strategic oversight for fundraising efforts focused on major and principal donors and also manages an assigned portfolio of high-net-worth individuals.
As a member of the philanthropy leadership team, the VPPG partners with philanthropy leaders and cross-functional teams to align individual giving strategy with organizational goals and operational priorities. The role involves leading the development and execution of a comprehensive, multi-year individual philanthropy strategy, serving as an external ambassador to cultivate and steward relationships with principal donors, and working with senior leadership and governing bodies to deepen engagement with current supporters while expanding the network of individual investors. The VPPG will also collaborate to strengthen regional fundraising capacity and build aligned market-level engagement strategies, leveraging data, research, and emerging trends to expand the donor pipeline and secure multi-year major commitments.
The VPPG will lead a principal gifts team by setting vision, standards, and goals consistent with organizational strategy, fostering a culture of accountability, learning, and collaboration, and ensuring the function operates as a unified, data-informed, mission-driven team. The position includes partnering across finance and other relevant teams to align fundraising strategies with organizational priorities, impact measurement, and resource planning, as well as collaborating within the philanthropy leadership team to optimize systems, infrastructure, and reporting processes. The ideal candidate will bring a strong commitment to educational equity, 10+ years of fundraising experience with major donors (ideally in a mission-driven or educational nonprofit context), and 5+ years of leadership experience managing high-performing teams and multi-departmental initiatives, along with proven success designing and leading individual philanthropy strategies to secure multi-year, major-level investments.