Dir of MG Miami

Director of Major Gifts, Southeast Region

Miami, FL

Location: Remote – Must be currently based in Miami

American Friends of Magen David Adom (AFMDA) has exclusively retained Sterling Search, Inc. to find its next Director of Major Gifts, Southeast Region (DMG).

AFMDA is a partner in the vital work Magen David Adom (MDA) does every day for Israel’s 9.2 million population by funding a wide variety of emergency vehicles, a new national blood center, critically needed medical supplies, and rigorous EMT training. AFMDA is one of the fastest-growing Jewish nonprofit organizations in the US.

Magen David Adom is Israel’s emergency services system and the country’s representative to the International Red Cross. It is Israel's only government-mandated ambulance and emergency medical response organization. A leader in mass-casualty response, blood services, and EMS technology, Magen David Adom saves hundreds of thousands of lives every year, providing critical pre-hospital medical care to everyone from victims of heart attacks to terror attacks and arriving first to the scene of medical emergencies more than 91% of the time. In times of war and conflict escalation, the organization plays a vital role in national security.

MDA operates 24 hours a day, responding to all reported incidents and emergency calls across the entire country, handling more than 21,600 emergency calls on October 7, 2023, alone. With a network of 37,500 volunteers, employees, and national service personnel operating from 206 primary stations nationwide, MDA delivers critical care and lifesaving support in the face of unprecedented missile and rocket attacks, mass casualty events, terrorist infiltrations, and community evacuations.

AFMDA supports Magen David Adom’s efforts to save lives in Israel with charitable donations from the United States. In the immediate aftermath of the October 7th attacks, MDA called up all medics, staffed the entire ambulance fleet, put all 2,000 vehicles on the road, expanded shifts to 24 hours, and started to strategize for the days ahead. Fourteen ambulances were destroyed in just the first two days of the conflict and more than 40 EMTs and paramedics have been lost in the line of duty since the attacks.

MDA built a state-of-the-art underground National Blood Center to safeguard Israel’s vital blood supply. It opened in 2022 with the dedication of the Marcus National Blood Services Center, the world’s first underground and shielded blood bank and processing center. Designed to safeguard Israel’s critical blood reserves against missile, chemical, and biological attacks, Israel’s lifeblood would be in daily jeopardy without it. Also housed in the Marcus Center is MDA’s Sussman Family Foundation Human Milk Bank, which provides breast milk to premature babies with urgent medical needs, thereby dramatically increasing their chances of survival. Groundbreaking in its concept, design, engineering, and functionality, the Marcus Center was constructed at a cost of $135M, funded almost entirely by AFMDA.

Click here to visit the American Friends of Magen David Adom Website

Click here to visit AFMDA Impact Reports

Click here to go Inside Magen David Adom’s emergency response since October 7. - AFMDA

AFMDA is led by highly respected industry veteran Catherine Reed, CEO, a role she assumed in early 2020 after originally joining as CDO and leading the capital campaign efforts for the Marcus National Blood Services Center. Prior to joining AFMDA, Cathy held leadership positions with 92nd Street Y in New York and Hadassah.

Pre-October 7th, AFMDA was a $65M agency with the United States fundraising efforts divided into 4 regions. In 2023 the agency raised almost $300M across all four regions due to wartime fundraising efforts which included a match from Michael Bloomberg and Bloomberg Philanthropies and emerging corporate funding. Last year AFMDA raised almost $110M which is the projected average annual budget going forward.

Region Overview:

The Southeast region includes 9 states from Virginia to Florida and raised $38M in FY 2024. The Director of Major Gifts (DMG) will work alongside 2 other DMG fundraisers in the Miami market and report to the Southeast Regional Director/National Director of Strategic Philanthropy. He or she will be responsible for raising $3M from an established portfolio that includes wealth-screened and engaged prospects as well as event attendees and wartime donors located mainly in Miami. The ideal candidate will be an established fundraiser in Miami, with the ability to command the room of high wealth individuals while bringing a deep understanding of the Jewish philanthropic landscape and a knowledge of Israel. Forming engagement and cultivation strategies for donor acquisition to augment their portfolio is a key skillset for this role. He or she will need to be a self-starter ready to proactively outreach to and engage with donors and prospects and hit the ground running. Additionally, the successful candidate will have the seasoning and experience to segment and prioritize a donor portfolio. The successful candidate will be a team player and possess confidence and drive.

The new DMG will have a tremendous opportunity to build upon the momentum already established and to be a part of this critical, meaningful work in a highly visible region for the organization.

Position Overview:

The Director of Major Gifts will be responsible for raising funds by utilizing a variety of strategies including face-to-face solicitations, parlor meetings and major events in his or her designated area. Anticipated activities include donor identification, cultivation and solicitation and other efforts designed to raise awareness of and support for AFMDA in the greater Miami, FL area. The Director of Major Gifts will focus on gifts at minimum of five and six-figure gifts to achieve area goals and should have established development experience and relationships within the Miami, FL communities to build upon the current relationships in Miami and increase the AFMDA and MDA presence there.

Essential Job Functions:

• In coordination with the Southeast Regional Director/National Director of Strategic Philanthropy will identify, cultivate, build, and solidify relationships with new and established contributors; analyze historic patterns of giving to develop strategies to secure new gifts and increase contributions
• Manage a portfolio of no less than 150 and no more than 250 prospects for active qualification, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship. The Director of Major Gifts will have a set financial goal and will be expected to meet that goal. Three to five face-to-face meetings per week is expected from each full-time fundraising professional.
• Strategize and determine which community organizations, schools or synagogues are appropriate with which to partner to develop a program or campaign for AFMDA and work with the community and lay leadership to cultivate that relationship to the benefit of AFMDA.
• Develop lay leadership, plan, organize and execute multiple area fundraising events per year such as corporate and professional dinners, parlor meetings and special events to raise awareness and contributions for AFMDA.
• Conduct donor research to identify prospects and support cultivation efforts when outside research assistance is not available.
• Collaborate with the Southeast Regional Director/National Director of Strategic Philanthropy in setting fundraising priorities, and establishing financial goals for the Miami, FL area.
• Cultivate and maintain community relationships and community outreach; identify potential speakers for activities and/or events.
• Coordinate activities and budget plans with the Southeast Regional Director/National Director of Strategic Philanthropy to ensure a cohesive financial resources development plan for the Miami, FL area.
• Collaborate with the Miami team to plan and execute the Annual Miami Gala.
• Represent AFMDA at community events and forum.
• Must enter all donor information, actions, and notes into Raisers Edge/NXT.
• Other related duties as assigned.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

This position has no supervisory responsibilities.

Education & Experience:

• Bachelor’s Degree required
• Minimum of 7-10 years of progressive direct fundraising experience required

Skills Required:

• Proven success in planning fundraising events.
• Must have a strong knowledge of donor cultivation, donor services and solicitation and proven ability to solicit and close gifts.
• Strong interpersonal skills and comfort in interfacing with donors.
• Must have excellent writing and verbal communications skills.
• Must have excellent computer skills (Microsoft Office and Internet) and comfort working with donor database programs, Raisers Edge preferred.
• Must be able to work strategically within a team structure as well as independently, multi-task and work under tight deadlines.
• Dependability, good time management and organizational skills and be attentive to detail.

• Proven experience in managing and implementing development programs.
• Experience with developing and maintaining productive working relationships with board members, donors, and staff a plus.
• Ability to pivot quickly to address rapidly changing situations both internally and externally.
• Knowledge of Israel is a plus.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of the work being performed by people assigned to this work. This is not an exhaustive list of all duties and responsibilities. American Friends of Magen David Adom’s management reserves the right to amend and change responsibilities to meet business and organizational needs as necessary.

American Friends of Magen David Adom is an equal opportunity employer.

A competitive compensation package will be offered to attract an outstanding candidate. The budgeted salary range is $165-190k, the salary will be commensurate with experience.