LA Dodgers Foundation - Director of Development - Corporations, Foundations, and Individuals

Title: Director of Development – Corporations, Foundations, and Individuals (DDCFI)

Reports to: Chief Executive Officer

Pay Rate: $125,000 – $160,000/year*

*Compensation rates vary based on job-related factors, including experience, job skills, education, and training.

Position Summary

The Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation (LADF) tackles the most pressing problems facing Los Angeles with a mission to improve education, health care, homelessness, and social justice for all Angelenos. Bigger than baseball, LADF envisions a city where everyone, regardless of ZIP code, has the opportunity to thrive.  To support us in this mission, we seek an experienced Director of Development – Corporations, Foundations, and Individuals. This position is responsible for developing and executing a comprehensive development strategy that aligns with LADF’s mission, vision, and strategic plan, including all LADF programs, initiatives, and events, and building an individual giving program leveraging a passionate Dodger fan base and the broader Los Angeles community.

Working in collaboration with the CEO, this position is a member of the LADF Leadership Team and responsible for leading various members of the development team. Corporate, Foundation, and Individual fundraising is projected to be $12+ million in 2024.

Organization Summary 

Reimagined in 2013, LADF has since raised over $154 million, including a $50 million pledge in 2024 by its Chairman Mark Walter and Dodgers Ownership, marking the largest contribution ever from an MLB ownership group to the organization’s charitable partner. Under its new strategic plan, “Lasting Impact for Los Angeles,” LADF is amplifying best practices, scaling solutions, growing its capacity, and refining its work with investments exceeding $60 million in its programs and grants to local organizations. To date, LADF has positively impacted over 10 million area youth. LADF is the proud recipient of ESPN's Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year, Robert Wood Johnson Sports Award, Beyond Sport's Sport for Reduced Racial Inequalities Collective Impact Award, and the Aspen Institute Project Play Champion. 

Core Responsibilities

 Development Department Leadership:

• In collaboration with CEO and Director, Development – Events & In-Stadium Fundraising, you will set a vision for short and long-term fundraising strategy, management, and reporting in alignment with LADF’s strategic plan. You will develop and execute annual strategies for corporate giving and sponsorships, foundation grants, and individual giving, effectively leading 2-3 direct reports on the Development Team as you build a strong, positive team culture.

Corporate Giving & Sponsorships: 

• You will serve as the primary driver of LADF’s fundraising and management of corporate gifts, collaborating with program staff to ensure alignment between funding opportunities, organizational needs, and deliverables. Alongside Dodgers Global Partnerships and the Director, Development – Events & In-Stadium Fundraising, you will maintain and grow existing relationships and identify new opportunities for partnership and ensure the proper integration of corporate, foundation, and individual donors within LADF fundraising events and upgrade giving levels.

Foundation Grants:

• You will serve as the primary driver of LADF’s fundraising and management of foundation grants, cultivating and managing relationships with foundation partners to align their philanthropic goals with the LADF mission to inspire long-term engagement and sustained support. Through data-driven research, you will identify and engage prospective grantmaking foundations, and work with the Manager of Development to oversee grant writing and overall pipeline strategy.

Individual Giving:

• You will serve as the primary driver of LADF’s fundraising and management of individual gifts, managing portfolio of major individual donors and ensuring personalized engagement and stewardship to meet individual giving goals. In partnership with the CEO, Board, and internal Dodger departments, you will leverage relationships and host cultivation events for individual donors. You will work closely with the marketing and communications to develop outreach materials that highlight funding opportunities and donor impact.

Organizational Leadership and Collaboration:

• As a member of LADF’s Leadership Team, which includes the CEO, COO, CPO, and other Director-level team members, you will ensure organization-wide alignment and the modeling of best practices related to high-quality execution, knowledge sharing, and talent management. You will oversee all activity in database systems, generating fundraising reports as needed, and ensure budgeting and accounting standards and policies are met.

Qualifications and Experience Needed

• Proven experience directly raising significant funds in a nonprofit and/or foundation setting (minimum $4 million budget).
• Demonstrated experience leading a multi-pronged development operation, including large-scale fundraising events and in-stadium fundraising activity.
• Demonstrated experience leading and effectively managing a team, preferably consisting of 2-3 direct reports.
• Experience navigating the Los Angeles philanthropic community, including building new and leveraging existing relationships with donors, partners, or sponsors.
• Strong organization and project management skills with the ability to manage multiple projects and meet deadlines in a face-paced environment.
• Outstanding interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills, including strong presentation skills.
• Ability to build and maintain relationships with donors, stakeholders, partners, and team members.
• Ability to work in partnership with a cross-functional leadership team to manage donor relationships collaboratively and provide strong collaborative organization leadership.
• Experience using data to drive development efforts and using systems to ensure effective communication and accessibility to the cross-functional team that contributes to the development effort.
• Proficiency in fundraising software.
• Creative problem-solving abilities and attention to detail.
• Ability to work a non-traditional schedule, which includes nights, weekends, and some home games (March - October).

LADF is firmly committed to providing equal opportunity for all qualified applicants from every background. The Foundation is also firmly committed to complying with all applicable laws and governmental regulations at the federal, state and local levels which prohibit discrimination, and which provide for reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities.

LADF considers all applicants without regard to national origin, ancestry-ethnicity, race, color, religion, creed, age, sex, gender (including gender identity and expression), sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy or related medical conditions, genetic information, medical condition, military or veteran status, citizenship status, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable state or federal law. The Immigration Reform and Control Act requires that the Foundation obtain documentation from every individual who is employed which verifies identity and authorizes their right to work in the United States.

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LADF Values

Our core values are the fundamental beliefs upon which our foundation and its people operate.

We look for hardworking team members who share our passion.

Opportunity – We know that talent is evenly distributed, but opportunity is not.

Access – No recreational, education or health resource should be out of reach for any child.

Equity – We aim to level the playing field and make sure that every kid has a fair shot.

Collaboration – We believe that working well with others is the secret sauce to success.

Impact – The work we do must create meaningful progress that is measurable. We want to support proven programs.

Excellence – We hold ourselves to the highest standards across all of our work, striving for quality and credibility.

This search is being run by Arianna Haut and Naomi Roth-Gaudette at NRG Consulting Group.  We are reviewing applications on a rolling basis. The preferred application deadline is 11/22/24. Please reach out to [email protected] and [email protected] with questions.