You: A fundraising professional with a passion for liberty and winning. You’re a talented relationship builder who knows how to get in the door with new donor prospects, close major donor partnerships, and lead a team. And now you’re looking to join the fundraising efforts of a major organization dedicated to advancing liberty and reining in government overreach.

Them: Bureaucrats, city councils, mayors, governors, and federal agencies stripping Americans of their rights every day. There’s a lot of government overreach out there, and it’s backed by seemingly endless resources. But fortunately, like all lumbering giants, abusive government is most vulnerable when countered by individuals who act strategically and nimbly, take calculated risks, have each other’s backs, and are confident in and passionate for the cause—the very sort of swashbucklers we employ in spades here at PLF.

Us: We fight back. Pacific Legal Foundation is the nation’s first and most successful public-interest law firm dedicated to vindicating individual liberty. PLF has an unmatched record in the United States Supreme Court, with 18 victories out of 20 litigated there. We also have more than 190 active cases across the nation.

PLF is a next-generation public interest law firm. What does “next generation” mean for a legal nonprofit? It means we aren’t interested in doing the same thing as everyone else. We aspire to be the best player in a constantly changing game. We want to win.

Here’s what you get to do in this role:

You will join PLF’s development leadership team to secure funding from individuals who share our commitment to advancing individual liberty. You’ll apply your well-honed relationship-building and team leadership skills to raise millions of dollars for PLF from current and prospective donors and lead a team of major gift fundraisers to do the same.

As part of our development leadership team, and reporting to the Vice President of Development, you will build new departmental capabilities, develop a robust major gift prospecting strategy, manage a team of 4 individuals, and hit the road to execute your major gift strategy. You will have the latitude to think big, the resources to execute, and the time and support of PLF’s leadership.

PLF wants you to be relentless, confident, and show passion toward individual liberty, freedom, and taking down the big, bad guy.

Summary:

The Director of Donor Relations plays a key role in PLF’s development team efforts to secure new funding from philanthropists and business leaders who share our commitment to advancing individual liberty.

Primary Job Duties:

  • Develop a donor moves strategy to engage individuals with 6- to 7-figure giving capacity in a portfolio of 50-60 individuals and families.
  • Collaborate with PLF’s prospecting and research team to source major donor prospects across the country through a mix of events, referrals, direct outreach, communications, and other activities.
  • Build relationships directly with donor prospects through a moves management strategy.
  • Lead a team of major gift and planned giving professionals and work with PLF leadership to raise over $20 million in annual funding from individuals.
  • Communicate regularly with current funders and prospects to steward new and higher contributions.
  • Engage PLF’s president, VP for Development, and Litigation Directors in donor visits and events.
  • Work closely with PLF’s program staff (Litigation, Policy, Research, Scholarship, Communications, Outreach) to define projects that will interest donors.
  • Become adept at using Salesforce to record and track moves.
  • In collaboration with the Vice President for Development and other staff as appropriate, craft and regularly refresh overall strategy and tactics to engage major funders.
  • Travel to meet with funders, prospects, and PLF staff functions (up to 50% of time).

This role is ideal for someone with:

  • 6+ years of major gift fundraising, sales, and/or investor relations experience.
  • Ability to travel 40-50%.
  • Strong interpersonal skills and experience soliciting C-suite level executives and 6-figure+ donors.
  • Ability to hustle and recruit new prospects in the face of rejection.
  • Exceptional writing and communications skills—adept at translating complex ideas into accessible, persuasive presentations.
  • Solid track record of building teams and capabilities and managing people.
  • Demonstrated friendly, upbeat, and persuasive demeanor for PLF funders and prospects.
  • Familiarity with funders in the pro-liberty space.
  • Knowledge of, and passion for, the ideas of freedom and individual liberty.

General information:

Pacific Legal Foundation identifies and litigates important legal issues to set landmark precedents that will benefit Americans nationwide. Using strategic and principled litigation, communications, and research, we battle for freedom in the nation’s courts and in the court of public opinion.

A national nonprofit organization, PLF has brick-and-mortar offices in Sacramento, California; Arlington, Virginia; and Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, although half of the staff work from home offices across the country. You may work virtually or in any of our physical offices.

This is a full-time, permanent position. PLF is committed to recruiting and retaining the highest-quality talent available nationwide, and we offer a total compensation package that includes a competitive salary, medical and dental insurance, and employer-paid retirement savings. We take work-life balance seriously through our generous paid leave and flextime policies. We have a flexible, collaborative, positive, and collegial work environment. We take pride in investing in your future and encourage internal advancement. PLF is the place for someone principled, tenacious, and determined to succeed in positively shaping the future of our country and restoring real limits on government power. Join us.

To Apply

Qualified candidates should submit the following application materials (in order) in one PDF document:

  • Your resume, including your experience in the liberty movement and relevant professional experience.
  • A cover letter explaining why PLF is the place for you, why you want to fight for liberty, what distinguishes you from typical applicants, and your salary requirements.

Applications should be submitted to Talent Market via this link: talentmarket.org/apply-for-your-dream-job/.

Questions can be directed to Katy Gambella, Director of Outreach at Talent Market, who is managing the search process: [email protected].

There is no application deadline for this position. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. This job will remain posted on our site until it is filled.

While we thank all applicants in advance for their interest in this position, we are only able to contact those to whom we can offer an interview. Only direct applications will be considered. No phone calls, please.

Talent Market is a nonprofit dedicated to promoting liberty by helping free-market nonprofits identify talent for critical roles. We provide consulting and recruiting services at no cost to 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations that clearly and directly focus on advancing the principles of economic freedom, free enterprise, free trade, free speech, property rights, rule of law, and limited regulation.