Executive Search

Chief Development Officer

Sterling Search Inc. has been exclusively retained to recruit the Chief Development Officer (CDO) for Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Los Angeles (JBBBSLA). https://www.jbbbsla.org/ 

About Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Los Angeles

The mission of Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Los Angeles is to assist youth in achieving their full potential through innovative, impactful programs. Founded in 1915, Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Los Angeles (JBBBSLA) assists youth in achieving their full potential through innovative, impactful programs: Youth Mentoring, Camp Bob Waldorf, and College Access + Success. Each year JBBBSLA serves more than 1,400 youth across three programs from a variety of backgrounds, races, religions, and socio-economic status. In the past 10 years, JBBBSLA’s Youth Mentoring team has made over 575 Big Brother and Big Sister matches.

JBBBSLA is led by its dynamic CEO, Cari Uslan, CFRE, who first joined JBBBSLA as their Vice President of Development, was promoted to Executive Vice President and has now served as its CEO since January 2021. Prior to JBBBSLA, she worked at MAZON, developing their national fundraising strategy to fight hunger in the U.S. and Israel. Cari is a passionate advocate for children and has served on several nonprofit boards. She brings a wealth of fundraising experience to the role and will be a knowledgeable and successful fundraising partner to the new CDO.

Position Summary

The Chief Development Officer serves as the lead strategist and manager for the fund development staff, programs and activities. The CDO will oversee solicitations and fundraising goals for all fundraising events, annual giving, and will develop and steward a portfolio of major gift donors. The ideal candidate will be a self-motivated, authentic leader, and a dynamic professional with proven success in fundraising, knowledge of the Los Angeles Jewish community, as well as other philanthropic and corporate sectors. This position reports to the CEO.

The Opportunity

The new CDO will be joining a financially stable, 110-year old organization with a long and rich history of impactful service to Los Angeles’ youth. JBBBSLA is currently raising $4 million annually through more than 3000 active donors, with an endowment of $20 million. The CDO will be joining JBBBSLA at an exciting time as the organization seeks to diversify and expand its philanthropic revenue, leveraging a robust donor pool of long-time supporters and an expanding pipeline of Major Gift prospects. The CDO serves as the head of the development department overseeing a small team including a Senior VP of Philanthropy, a Director of Grants Management, a Development and Events Specialist, and a Donor Relations Manager. The CDO leads all fundraising activities including donor cultivation, major gifts, fundraising events, donor acknowledgment, fundraising campaigns and the marketing of those campaigns, etc. This role will be backed by a deeply engaged and generous board of directors, each committed to a $13,000 give-get policy—many contributing well beyond that threshold. These individuals are not only financial supporters but also passionate champions and vocal advocates for JBBBSLA’s mission.

With a diverse portfolio of programming and the enriching experience of Camp Bob Waldorf (https://campbobwaldorf.org/ ), the organization offers a robust suite of case statements that resonate across communities, regardless of religious affiliation. This inclusive approach ensures broad appeal and meaningful engagement from a wide spectrum of supporters.

In addition, the case for philanthropic support is strengthened by a March 2025 study that demonstrates the profound, long-term benefits of mentorship programs. Spanning three decades of data, this research study, conducted alongside researchers from Harvard University and the U.S. Department of Treasury, underscores mentorship as a pivotal factor in enhancing educational, economic, and social outcomes for youth. Some of the key findings included:

• Higher College Enrollment: which fuels a skilled workforce.
• Increased Earnings: which strengthens financial independence.
• Enhanced Economic Mobility: which reduces the socioeconomic gap by two-thirds.
• Return on Investment: every dollar invested in BBBS’ mentoring pays for itself within 7 years, creating sustained economic benefit.
  

This is a hybrid position (3 days a week in the office) and a dog friendly office (for well-behaved dogs!)

Duties and Responsibilities

• Ability to conceptualize the agency mission and communicate the concept to others with authenticity and passion.
• Develop and successfully achieve multi-year and annual agency revenue goals, in close collaboration with the CEO.
• Create and implement a written development plan for identifying, qualifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding potential individual, foundation, and corporate donors, capable of giving $1,000 to $50,000 annually (Annual Giving Campaign).
• Manage JBBBSLA’s fundraising events, currently The Big Event (annual gala), Golf Classic, and Sunday Funday family carnival.
• Recruit members and oversee volunteer committees for all fundraising events as well as work strategically with honorees.
• Supervise all development staff ensuring their success in achieving fundraising goals and metrics.
• Cultivate and nurture relationships with current and potential individual donors, as well as corporate and private foundation sponsors.
• Create, monitor, and report on fundraising plans and budgets that include, but are not limited to reviewing financial statements for accurate reporting, ensure receipt, acknowledgement, and allocation of grants according to the requirements of the IRS and donor.
• Manage a personal portfolio of approximately 50-100 current donors and prospects and ensure that timely steps are taken toward cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship, with an emphasis on annual and event donors.
• Use moves management to engage donors (individuals, foundations and corporations), moving relationships through the donor cultivation cycle, ultimately presenting compelling presentations with appropriate gift strategies and comprehensive fundraising proposals to secure new and renewed support.
• Actively represent the agency through attendance at community events and membership in appropriate organizations.
• Oversee budget expenses.
• Develop new initiatives to increase fundraising from current and prospective donors.
• Oversee office and software systems to support all Development projects and operations; ensure compliance with all relevant regulations and laws, maintain accountability standards to donors, and ensure compliance with code of ethical principles and standards of professional conduct for fundraising executives.
• Perform other duties as assigned.
  

Qualifications

JBBBSLA is looking for a senior fundraising professional who is comfortable networking with high-end donors/prospects and is thoughtful and strategic about identifying, engaging, soliciting and stewarding its donors.

• College degree and a minimum of 7-10 years’ experience working in a fundraising and leadership environment.
• Proven and successful track record of personal solicitation and program management.
• Very strong oral and written communication skills for a variety of projects, including solicitation letters, newsletters, email and web communications.
• Experience cultivating high-level relationships with donors and board members.
• Strong skills related to Raiser’s Edge or a comparable CRM database.
• Advanced skills in Microsoft Word and Excel required.
• Personal commitment to the mission and values of the organization. Passionate about helping children in Los Angeles.
• Experience planning and soliciting for fundraising events.
  

Compensation

The salary range is $170,000 to $200,000 plus a generous benefits package.

Direct all correspondence, emails, and telephone calls to Sterling Search, Inc.

Linda@sterlingsearchinc.com or 714 388 8602 / Sarah@sterlingsearchinc.com or 949 903 2891

To apply online, click here.