San Jose Development Director, Major Gifts

Organizational Profile

Juma Ventures strives to break the cycle of poverty by paving the way to work, education and
financial capability for youth across America. Founded in 1993 with a single Ben & Jerry’s Shop in
San Francisco, Juma’s initial business, a social enterprise, was designed to give homeless youth
the training and job experience they needed to transition from living on the streets to enjoying a
stable adulthood. Since then, Juma has become a nationally recognized youth development
organization focused on employment, financial capability, and career supportive services. Our
vision is that all young people have the opportunity to succeed, advance and thrive in the career
of their choice, competing in a job market that is inclusive, equitable, and diverse.

Today, Juma operates over 20 concession businesses and employs more than 500 youth every
year at major sports and entertainment venues across the West Coast (Sacramento, San
Francisco, San Jose, and Seattle). Since 1993, Juma has employed more than 10,000 low-income
youth who have earned $15.5 million in wages, saved $6.4 million for higher education, and
generated more than $44 million in enterprise revenue to continue advancing Juma’s mission.
Juma's strong leadership, dedicated staff, effective service model and committed funding
partners have led to numerous awards including the National Youth Employment Coalition's
PEPNet Award for effective Practices and the National Organization of the Year award from the
Social Enterprise Alliance. In 2017, Juma earned the Gold Award at the Seattle Business
Magazine's Community Impact Awards for Youth Development Non-Profit of the Year. Juma
Seattle and Juma Sacramento have both been selected as recipients of the prestigious Bank of
America Neighborhood Builders Award. In 2018, as a member of the Obama Foundation’s
inaugural grant cohort, Juma led the first iteration of the My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) Initiative,
influencing local services for boys and young men of color and contributing nationwide. In
January 2023, Juma presented at the Annual Mentoring Summit in Washington D.C. In December
2023, Juma received the Catalyzing Engagement Nonprofit Award. In recent years, 100% of youth
participants indicated they would "recommend Juma to a friend" and our most recent staff
satisfaction rate was 90%.

Juma is looking for great people who share our passion for working with youth and for using
business as a tool for sustainable social impact. Our workplace is supportive, open, inclusive and
relevant, focused on youth, empowerment, dedication, and respect. Our four core values are
Youth First, Stronger Together, Respect & Appreciation, and Integrity & Transparency. Juma
commits to modeling diversity and inclusion for our youth, their communities, our employees
and the institutions with whom we collaborate, maintaining an inclusive environment with
equitable treatment and compassion, and actively creating meaningful change.

Position Description

The San Jose Development Director, Major Gifts is responsible for building and leading the San Jose site’s
inaugural major gifts program, securing significant philanthropic support for annual, multi-year, and
campaign priorities. As the first hire dedicated to major gifts in the San Jose market, this role will
establish systems, strategy, and a robust prospect pipeline while personally managing a portfolio of at
least 75–100 high-networth donors.

The San Jose Development Director, Major Gifts will work closely with the CDO, CEO, National Board of
Directors, San Jose Advisory Board, and Development team to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward
individual donors capable of making transformative gifts. This role requires a relationship-driven
fundraiser who is both strategic and hands-on; someone excited to build a San Jose program from the
ground up while delivering immediate fundraising results. The position is based in San Jose and will focus
on regional donors while contributing to the broader organizational fundraising goals.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

Major Gifts Program Development
● Lead the introduction and implementation of Juma San Jose’s Major Gift Program by adapting
and localizing the HQ plan.
● Build and maintain an initial major gift prospect list through research, qualification, and
relationship development.
● In partnership with the CDO, develop short- and long-term major gift strategies aligned with
fundraising and campaign goals.

Donor Relationship Management
● Build a personal portfolio of approximately 75–150 high-networth individual donors and
prospects.
● Manage a portfolio of 10–20 San Jose-based institutional funders.
● Serve as the primary relationship manager for assigned donors and funders, ensuring timely,
meaningful, and personalized engagement.
● Develop and execute individualized cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, and moves
management strategies, with a focus on multi-year and five-, six-, and seven-figure gifts.
● Conduct 100–150 intentional, personalized interactions annually to support prospect discovery,
field research, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
● Engage in strategic networking and relationship-building activities to identify and qualify new
donor and funder prospects.
● Write and present tailored gift proposals and investment opportunities, and provide ongoing
impact reporting and stewardship.
● Collaborate closely with the Senior Grants Manager and Senior Director of Institutional Giving by
sharing funder insights and relationship notes to inform grant strategy and proposal
development.

● Coordinate with internal teams to ensure appropriate staff engagement with funders and
donors, including volunteer opportunities or youth-facing activities when requested.
● Track and document all relationship activity, progress, and outcomes to ensure strong
stewardship, accountability, and positive funding partner experiences.

Prospect Research and Pipeline Building
● Conduct prospect research to assess donor capacity, philanthropic interests, and readiness to
give.
● Actively participate in new donor discovery, including outreach, engagement, and qualification.
● Build a sustainable pipeline that supports annual, mid-level, and future major gift growth.
● Collaborate with the Senior Grants Manager and Senior Director of Institutional Giving to
evaluate prospective San Jose institutional and corporate funders.

Advisory Board, Executive, and Volunteer Engagement
● Lead the development and execution of the San Jose Advisory Board, including planning and
facilitating quarterly Advisory Board meetings.
● Partner closely with the Advisory Board Chair to ensure strong engagement, alignment with
organizational priorities, and effective leadership of the Advisory Board.
● Own the creation of meeting agendas and facilitate meetings to drive meaningful engagement,
accountability, and fundraising outcomes; collaborate with the Individual Giving Manager to
develop board materials.
● Partner with the CEO, CDO, San Jose Advisory Board, and key volunteers to identify, cultivate,
solicit, and steward major gift prospects.
● Prepare briefing materials, talking points, and meeting strategies for leadership team and
volunteer solicitation.
● Equip Advisory Board members and volunteers with tools, guidance, and confidence to
participate effectively in major gift fundraising.

Fundraising and Donor Events
● In partnership with Juma’s Community Engagement Manager, plan and support donor cultivation
and stewardship events, like friendraisers and other engaging opportunities.
● Lead the planning and execution of Juma’s annual San Jose donor fundraising event, in
partnership with Juma’s Community Engagement Manager.
● Collaborate on event strategy, theme, and messaging to create an experience that deepens
donor relationships and inspires multi-year support.
● Work closely with development and communications teams to identify, invite, and engage
donors, ensuring the event drives cultivation, stewardship, and major gift opportunities.
● Collaborate with Juma’s Individual Giving Manager to create compelling donor-facing materials,
including proposals, appeals, and impact reports.
● Support planning and execution of capital or growth campaigns in partnership with
organizational leadership.

Operations and Data Management
● Maintain accurate and up-to-date donor records, contact reports, and cultivation and solicitation
plans in Salesforce and Google Drive.
● Monitor and report on portfolio performance, revenue projections, and progress toward goals.
● Ensure compliance with ethical fundraising standards, confidentiality requirements, and
organizational policies.

Qualifications

Required
● Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
● Minimum of 7 years of progressive fundraising experience, including at least 2 years in securing
major gifts.
● Demonstrated success securing five-, six-, or seven-figure gifts from individuals.
● Proven ability to build and manage donor relationships from identification through solicitation
and stewardship.
● Experience working with Boards, senior leadership, and volunteers on fundraising initiatives.
● Strong written and verbal communication skills, including proposal writing and donor
presentations.
● Experience using a donor CRM system, preferably Salesforce
● Highly organized, self-motivated, and able to manage multiple priorities independently
Preferred
● Experience launching or significantly expanding a major gifts program.
● Familiarity with the San Jose or Bay Area philanthropic landscape.

Job Details

Reports to: Chief Development Officer
Job Location: San Jose, CA
Starting Salary: $120-140k
Classification: Full-time, Exempt
Hours/Week: 40 hours
Education: Bachelor’s degree required
Years of Experience: Minimum seven years of experience
Benefits Include: Employee benefits include medical, dental, vision and life insurance, 403B plan, sabbatical, and a significant paid time off package

Please submit the following to operations@juma.org:

1. A thoughtful cover letter outlining your interest in the position and how your qualifications align
with the above requirements and Juma’s focus and mission
2. Current resume
3. Salary requirements

Due to the volume of responses, only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.