Position Summary:
The Director leads CAA’s individual giving and donor engagement strategy, overseeing systems, workplans, and cross-department coordination to cultivate and steward donors at all levels. This role drives CAA’s fundraising strategy by developing and implementing compelling individual giving and donor engagement programs. The Director of Giving supervises a Senior Development Manager.
About Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA)
CAA was founded in 1969 to protect the civil and political rights of Chinese Americans and to advance multiracial democracy in the United States. Today, CAA is a progressive voice in and on behalf of the broader Asian American and Pacific Islander community. CAA advocates for systemic change that protects immigrant rights, promotes language diversity, and remedies racial and social injustice.
About Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality (AACRE)
CAA is an anchor organization within Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality (AACRE), a network of 13 groups advancing social justice and collective power for Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. Through fiscal sponsorship, shared administrative and operational infrastructure, human resources, and leadership support, AACRE helps network groups sustain their work, invest in their people, and respond to emerging community needs. The network also creates opportunities for collaboration across organizations, strengthening their capacity for long-term movement building and a more just and multiracial democracy.
Position Description
CAA is seeking a strategic, relationship-oriented fundraising leader to serve as its Director of Giving. This leadership role is responsible for co-developing and guiding CAA’s individual giving and donor engagement strategy in alignment with CAA’s institutional fundraising and government funding.
CAA’s individual giving model is highly customized, relationship-driven, and rooted in community building. The Director provides overall leadership and responsibility for the systems, strategy, and practices needed to cultivate, steward, and deepen relationships with donors at all giving levels over time, helping build a broad and enduring community of people invested in CAA’s mission. The Director works closely with the Co-Executive Directors, board members, program and other organizational leaders to guide donor engagement, maintain shared visibility into relationship development, and ensure that opportunities and next steps move forward effectively.
The Director works across departments to understand CAA’s programmatic, policy, advocacy, communications, and organizational priorities and translate that work into compelling giving and donor engagement opportunities. The Director provides strategic direction and leads implementation of giving programs, supervises the Senior Development Manager and partners with AACRE Capacity and other staff to ensure that development systems, information, communications, and workflows support strong donor stewardship and fundraising results.
Key Responsibilities
Giving Strategy and Fundraising Leadership
Lead CAA’s giving strategy to grow revenue, deepen donor relationships, strengthen retention, and build a broad and enduring community of supporters.
Set annual and multi-year priorities for individual giving in alignment with CAA’s organizational goals, fundraising needs, and relationship-based development model.
Lead the implementation of CAA’s individual giving work, including donor research, engagement planning, solicitation, stewardship, regular appeals, donor-specific communications, and other strategies to deepen donor relationships over time.
Provide oversight for donor events and partner with the Senior Development Manager to ensure that events advance individual giving, donor engagement, and community-building goals.
Establish systems and practices that support real-time visibility into donor relationships, next steps, and engagement opportunities across staff and leadership.
Monitor progress toward giving goals, assess fundraising results, identify trends and opportunities, and make strategic adjustments as needed.
Coordinate with staff leading institutional fundraising and government funding so that CAA’s overall resource development work is aligned and mutually reinforcing.
Donor Relationship Leadership and Board Engagement
Provide leadership and accountability for donor relationship development across CAA, partnering with the Co-Executive Directors, board members, program leaders, and other organizational leaders to advance donor engagement, stewardship, and fundraising results.
Match and coordinate donors and prospects with the right organizational messenger, information, opportunity, and next step based on the nature of each relationship and the goals for engagement.
Organize and prepare leaders and board members for donor meetings. Support timely follow-up, and ensure that relationship commitments, opportunities, and next steps are tracked and advanced.
Support board members in participating effectively in donor cultivation, stewardship, and fundraising efforts.
Foster a culture of philanthropy in which donor engagement is understood as a shared organizational responsibility and is grounded in CAA’s mission, values, and substantive work.
Cross-Departmental Collaboration
Build strong working relationships across departments in order to understand current work, emerging priorities, and opportunities that may be meaningful to donors.
Work with program, policy, advocacy, communications, and other organizational leaders to connect CAA’s substantive work with donor engagement and fundraising strategy.
Ensure that individual giving strategy is informed by CAA’s broader organizational priorities and that donor engagement is integrated with, and supportive of, the organization’s work.
Partner with colleagues responsible for communications and content development so that donor-facing materials support individual giving goals and relationship needs.
Development Systems and Operations
Ensure donor information, research, and fundraising data is utilized to inform strategy, prioritize opportunities, and support high-quality stewardship.
Partner with AACRE Capacity and development staff to ensure that database systems, gift-processing support, reporting, and development workflows meet the needs of CAA’s giving programs.
Help develop and maintain clear systems for donor information, relationship notes, next steps, and shared accountability across the development function.
Ensure that giving and donor work is carried out in accordance with applicable policies, procedures, and nonprofit fundraising compliance standards.
Team Leadership and Staff Supervision
Oversee and supervise the Senior Development Manager position, including assigning and directing work, setting clear expectations, providing guidance and coaching, offering regular feedback, and ensuring team members meet their objectives and deadlines
Support the Senior Development Manager in supervising the Development Coordinator and maintaining clear, effective team dynamics and workflows.
Oversee the development and execution of team members' professional growth plans, providing ongoing support and conducting regular performance evaluations
Ensure that supervisory practices align with organizational policies, provide developmental and corrective feedback, and implement AACRE guidelines for progressive discipline if necessary
Develop and implement team goals, resolve complex issues, and make significant decisions that affect team operations and fundraising strategy.
Collaborate with other supervisors and coordinate work across multiple teams, resolve complex issues within and across teams to ensure successful outcomes
Other Duties
Perform administrative duties as required for the position.
Perform other duties as assigned to support the overall mission of the organization.
Contribute to a positive work environment in alignment with organizational values.
Required Qualifications
- Deep commitment to the mission, values, and programs of CAA.
At least 7 years of progressive experience in fundraising or development, preferably in social justice, nonprofit, or community-based organizations.
4+ years of direct supervision experience of employees and volunteers.
Demonstrated success in individual giving and donor fundraising, including cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding donors at different giving levels.
Experience designing and leading relationship-based fundraising strategies, including donor engagement planning, moves management, and stewardship.
Proven ability to work effectively with executive leaders, board members, program leaders, and other relationship stewards to advance donor engagement and fundraising goals.
Strong relationship-management skills, including sound judgment, discretion, and the ability to navigate complex, high-trust relationships.
Experience supervising and developing staff and leading complex work across teams
Ability to use donor research and fundraising data to inform strategy and decision-making.
Excellent written, verbal, interpersonal, strategic, organizational, and analytical skills.
Knowledge of nonprofit fundraising best practices and compliance standards.
Proficiency with Google Workspace and collaboration tools such as Asana and Slack.
Working knowledge of Salesforce, Every Action, or comparable donor CRMs,
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience.
Ability to work in person at the CAA office in San Francisco, and attend Bay Area or regional activities as needed.
Desired Qualifications
Experience fundraising in Asian American communities, immigrant rights, civil rights, or other social justice contexts.
Experience with planned giving or legacy giving.
Advanced experience with Salesforce, Every Action or comparable donor CRMs
