Chief Development Officer

The Jewish Community Center of the East Bay seeks a Chief Development Officer (CDO) to lead all of the organization’s fundraising efforts. The CDO will grow the Annual Fund, build a strong pipeline of major and planned gifts, and expand foundation, corporate, and sponsorship support that sustains and strengthens JCC programming.

For 47 years, the JCC East Bay has been a hub of Jewish life in the East Bay. It brings people together through early childhood education, arts and culture, wellness, learning, and community. The JCC is entering the most significant chapter in its history: in the summer of 2026, the JCC expanded its operations to a new location in Oakland’s Rockridge neighborhood. This new East Bay Jewish Community Campus is the first of its kind; the site will be home to a network of up to 20 Jewish nonprofit organizations bringing together learning and community in one vibrant location rooted in Jewish values. Encompassing over 128,000 square feet, the site was previously occupied by Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream headquarters and Yoshi’s Restaurant & Jazz Club.

The JCC’s new home will include a new, state-of-the-art Early Childhood Education Center with outdoor play areas and a sensory room; a health and wellness studio; classrooms for adult learning; a dedicated teen center; and a teaching kitchen. The new Campus will also offer a performance venue to host year-round Arts & Ideas programming featuring local, national, and international artists and thought leaders.

This expansion creates an exceptional opportunity for a fundraising leader. The CDO will build a development program that aligns with the JCC’s growing program portfolio and community reach. While deepening relationships with longtime JCC supporters, the CDO will engage new families and participants and position the JCC to play a central role in advancing Jewish life in the East Bay. The JCC East Bay has an operating budget of $10M, of which $1.25M is from grants and contributed support.

BASIC FUNCTION

Reporting to and working in concert with JCC East Bay’s Chief Executive Officer and serving as a key member of the Executive Team, the CDO will oversee and direct all aspects of the JCC East Bay’s annual fundraising efforts. They will optimize earned revenue from ticketed events; contributed revenue from individual and foundation donors, business, and other sponsorships; and in-kind contributions.

The CDO orchestrates all JCC donor engagement, solicitation, and stewardship, enabling the JCC to play a central role in community life in the East Bay. The CDO manages a current fundraising team of two employees. As an operating unit, this team is responsible for:

• Leveraging and Analyzing Data on donors, prospective donors, and all individuals and organizations that use the Campus space. This information will be used to target, qualify, approach, and build a case for support from donors of significant capacity.
• Major Gift Solicitations, including developing a pipeline of major gifts for the Annual Fund, with a robust program of direct solicitations by members of the team – the CDO, the CEO, and Board members.
• Planned Giving Solicitations & Grants, including developing case statements and grant materials, targeting family and other foundations, soliciting government grants, and developing business sponsorships for programs offered at the JCC East Bay.
• Stewardship Events to engage donors and key stakeholders; working with the Development team and other JCC staff to ensure these events are successful.

The CDO will work with the CEO (and Board’s Development Committee) to set long-term and annual fundraising targets and strategies; hire staff support for fundraising; actively cultivate and directly solicit leadership-level donors; involve the CEO and Board members as appropriate; and be responsible for other fundraising-related tasks typically executed by a CDO of a similarly scaled organization. Responsibilities include:

Shape Strategy & Standards

• Lead development of meaningful annual fundraising plans.
• Set fundraising objectives and track progress at the individual and team levels, including for the CEO and Board.
• Shape the case for support, budgets, proposals, cultivation events, and reporting.
• Implement strong standards for written materials and communications, grants, workflows, targeting and analysis of donors, events, moves-management processes, reporting, stewardship, and other aspects of the fundraising lifecycle.

Solicitations

• Carry a personal portfolio of major individual and institutional donors and prospects with a personal focus on the highest-net-worth individuals, foundations, and corporate donors.
• Provide thoughtful counsel to staff on donor strategy, support direct solicitations, and monitor all portfolios for progress toward goals. Provide training on different philanthropic tactics and approaches needed to secure gifts from individual and institutional donors.
• Work with members of the Board and other fundraising volunteers to identify, qualify, cultivate, and solicit donors. Model best practices for Board engagement in fundraising within the context of portfolio management.

Management and Infrastructure

• Develop, manage, and inspire a mission-driven, focused, and high-performing team. Encourage transparency, accountability, cross-functional collaboration and cohesion, and a culture where new ideas are embraced.
• Promote external visibility for the JCC East Bay and the Campus, always prioritizing funderfacing meetings, interactions, and events in collaboration with marketing and communications personnel. Reach donors through newsletters, impact reports, direct response, personal meetings, events, etc.
• Manage the Development Department’s revenue and expense budget, working closely with the Finance Team to align to financial targets and to prepare reports and financial case statements required for major gift solicitations from individual and institutional donors.
• Oversee the continued refinement of donor tracking systems and workflows for pipeline development, donor research, donor engagement, stewardship, reporting, etc., including the use of data analytics.

Board Relations and Development Committee

• Work with the JCC Board Development Committee to review and approve the annual budget for contributed and earned revenue, including goals and metrics for the Committee. Help individual Committee members execute their assignments.
• Attend and present at Board meetings and Committee meetings; support the CEO’s Board and volunteer recruitment efforts.

QUALIFICATIONS

The CDO will be a highly relational fundraiser who can inspire generosity, cultivate deep partnerships, and build a culture of philanthropy across the organization. The CDO will have a minimum of ten years of fundraising and development experience with at least five years in a senior leadership role overseeing operational and performance outcomes.

Critical to the success of the CDO is the ability to lead by example, personally driving major and leadership-level gift solicitations while also recruiting, training, inspiring, and bringing cohesion to an evolving Development team. In addition, the successful candidate will possess the following:

• A record of personal success in raising leadership-level gifts, including seven-figure level gifts and above from individuals, foundations, corporations, and community partners at sizable organizations.
• Commitment to the mission of the JCC East Bay and the vision of the Campus, combined with experience soliciting funds in the San Francisco Bay Area region and from funders of Jewish communal organizations is required; essential is the ability to connect with the kinds of donors that will be targeted, including executive-level and senior business professionals in the technology, life sciences, biotech, healthcare, finance, and venture capital fields, as well as philanthropic donors and nonprofit and government professionals.
• Experience shaping fundraising systems and data for donor segmentation, workflow management, and reporting purposes.
• An authentic, confident, and seasoned communicator with exceptional written, verbal, and presentation skills. A good listener; intrepid yet tactful; determined yet with the flexibility to find alternative ways to reach funding objectives when barriers arise; a skilled negotiator who does not drive themselves or others into a corner; a person able to analyze and formulate disparate information into sound, well-organized plans.
• Skilled at motivating, directing, and managing staff, Board members, and consultants and in coordinating and supporting the fundraising activities of others.
• Emotionally mature; the flexibility and sensitivity to work with diverse personalities and situations; a sense of humor and perspective.
• Willing and able to work on-site full time and attend evening and weekend events both on and off the East Bay Jewish Community Campus as needed.

The compensation range for this position is $180,000 - $220,000 based on experience. The JCC East Bay offers excellent benefits including Medical, Dental, Vision, vacation, sick pay, and holidays (including Jewish holidays). For more information please contact:

Lisa Grossman (650) 323-3565 or lisag@moppenheim.com

Steve Oppenheim (202) 803-6673 or steveno@moppenheim.com

Mark Oppenheim (415) 762-2640 or marko@moppenheim.com