Director of Development / Fundraising
RUTH: Remember Us The Holocaust Museum
Location: San Diego, California
Position Type: Full-time, exempt
Reports To: Executive Director
Compensation: $100,000–$110,000 annual salary
Bonus: Discretionary bonus eligible, subject to organizational policy, performance, and available funding
Position Summary
RUTH: Remember Us The Holocaust Museum seeks a Director of Development / Fundraising to lead the organization’s fundraising strategy during a defining period to create San Diego’s first Holocaust Museum and Education Center. The Director of Development will guide major gifts, foundation relations, grant strategy, corporate sponsorships, membership growth, donor stewardship, and capital campaign execution.
This position is responsible for helping secure annual operating revenue and advancing RUTH’s $5 million capital campaign in close partnership with the Executive Director and Board of Directors.
The successful candidate will bring demonstrated experience in major gift cultivation, institutional fundraising, grant development, and donor stewardship. Professional familiarity with Jewish communal philanthropy, Holocaust remembrance and education funders, family foundations, federations, Jewish community foundations, civic donors, public humanities funders, and major donor networks aligned with memory, education, civic responsibility, and combating antisemitism is strongly valued.
Key Responsibilities
Fundraising Strategy and Campaign Leadership
Grants and Institutional Fundraising
Donor Relations and Stewardship
Board and Leadership Engagement
Corporate Sponsorships and Partnerships
Oversee CRM use, donor records, prospect tracking, grants tracking, pledge documentation, and data integrity.
Leadership and Ethical Culture
Required Qualifications
At least 5 years of nonprofit fundraising experience.
Demonstrated success managing major gift portfolios and cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding individual donors.
Experience with capital campaigns, major campaigns, or significant multi-year fundraising initiatives.
Experience developing institutional fundraising strategies, including foundation and grant funding.
Demonstrated ability to write persuasive, accurate, and mission-aligned donor communications, proposals, grant narratives, reports, and campaign materials.
Experience preparing or coordinating grant proposals, letters of inquiry, grant budgets, grant reports, and funder updates.
Strong presentation, relationship-building, and donor communication skills.
CRM proficiency and a commitment to accurate donor data, prospect tracking, and confidentiality.
Ability to work closely and respectfully with executive leadership, Board members, volunteers, donors, and community partners.
Commitment to RUTH’s mission of Holocaust remembrance, education, truth, and moral responsibility.
Preferred Qualifications
Professional familiarity with the Jewish philanthropic ecosystem, including federations, Jewish community foundations, family foundations, major donors, and foundations supporting Holocaust education, antisemitism prevention, museums, civic education, public humanities, or Jewish communal life.
Museum, cultural institution, education, public humanities, or historical memory fundraising experience.
Experience fundraising for Holocaust education, Jewish communal institutions, anti-hate initiatives, historical memory, human rights education, or civic education.
Experience securing and managing restricted grants, multi-year grants, public grants, or foundation grants tied to educational, cultural, or community programs.
Existing relationships with regional or national foundations relevant to RUTH’s mission.
CFRE certification or comparable professional development in fundraising, grants, nonprofit management, or philanthropy.
Multilingual Spanish/Hebrew a plus
Application Instructions
To apply, please submit a CV or résumé and a brief statement of interest to:
[email protected]
Your statement of interest should describe your fundraising experience, grant development experience, and connection to RUTH’s mission of Holocaust remembrance, education, truth, and moral responsibility.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.
Pay: $100,000.00 - $110,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
People with a criminal record are encouraged to apply
Work Location: In person
