Vice President, Development, Tides Foundation

Featured

Oct 2

Tides
New York City, San Francisco, or Remote

Anticipated Start Date: TBD

Description

The Vice President must have the ability to travel as required, including but not limited to Tides’ offices in New York City and San Francisco, industry convenings, and development-related meetings.

Responsibilities

Tides seeks an entrepreneurial fundraising leader to serve as its inaugural Vice President of Development – launching the organization’s first dedicated Development office in support of Tides’ renewed vision and mission. The Vice President will design and implement fundraising strategies; source, solicit, and cultivate relationships with individual philanthropists and philanthropic institutions; and lead all fundraising activities executed by Gift Officers and Philanthropic Strategists. This leader will engage senior staff, board members, and key partners to build and execute a robust contributed revenue program aligned with organizational priorities. This is fundamentally a build role.

Tides has not previously had a dedicated major and principal gifts program, and the incoming Vice President will design the systems, pipeline, and moves-management practices that do not yet exist, working with a small, committed team that includes a Major Gift Officer and Prospect Researcher, as well as an indirect reporting line to a cohort of approximately 14 Philanthropic Strategists newly charged with fundraising actively as part of their broader role delivering donor advised funds (DAFs) and fund advisory services. Given the urgency of this moment for Tides, the Vice President will be expected to deliver credible, near-term progress – meaningful gifts secured within the first several months – while simultaneously constructing the longer-term infrastructure that will sustain growth for years to come.

Reporting to the Executive Director of Tides Foundation, the Vice President will focus on three interconnected priorities:

Build Broadly Restricted Support for Tides (approximately 50% of time). Tides plays a vital intermediary role in the social justice sector. While the organization primarily relies on administrative fees to fund its capacity and innovation needs, the Vice President will partner with senior leaders to raise unrestricted and broadly restricted operating support for Tides itself.
Raise Philanthropic Capital for Tides-Led Initiatives (approximately 35% of time). Tides has launched ambitious pooled grantmaking funds in democracy, climate justice, immigration, gender equity, and reproductive health. Early results have been strong; the Vice President will sustain and grow this momentum in close coordination with Tides Foundation’s Program Officers.
Lead and Build the Development Team (approximately 15% of time). Build a sustainable, high-performing development function by cultivating existing talent and establishing new roles to support long-term organizational growth. The Vice President will play an essential role in articulating a compelling case for investment in Tides’ strategic priorities. Success will be measured by the appointee’s ability to expand the donor pipeline – identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and closing major and transformational gifts from individual and institutional supporters – while consistently achieving annual fundraising goals. Target portfolio size and revenue goals will be established in the first 90 days in partnership with the Executive Director.

Requirements

Deep alignment with Tides’ vision, mission, and values of respect, transparency, accountability, and collaboration, alongside genuine commitment to, and fluency in, progressive social change.
Comprehensive knowledge of fundraising program components and a strong track record of success in cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding high-net-worth individuals and institutional funders.
Experience co-creating programmatic and campaign strategies that achieve ambitious fundraising goals in complex organizational environments.
Direct knowledge of and experience engaging donors of color, including the philanthropic behaviors, motivations, and relationship dynamics unique to this community.
Ability to create a results-oriented environment that balances high expectations with a collaborative, supportive culture; high integrity, emotional intelligence, and political acuity.
Credibility and sophistication to engage effectively across the progressive philanthropic ecosystem – with major donors, foundation officers, and movement leaders alike.
Entrepreneurial mindset with strong self-direction; able to prioritize effectively, hold oneself accountable, and sustain momentum in fast-moving, high-stakes environments.
Exceptional interpersonal skills and a natural ability to build rapport, navigate complexity, and strengthen partnerships within and across organizations.
Significant experience building, managing, and developing high-performing teams at organizations of comparable scale; skilled at hiring, supervising, and growing talent.
Consistent record of ethical judgment, discretion, and trustworthy conduct in all professional relationships.
Experience engaging board members and senior volunteers as partners in fundraising.
Proficiency with Salesforce or similar CRM platforms; familiarity with MS Office Suite and NetSuite a plus.

Education & Work Experience

A minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible leadership experience in philanthropy, strategic partnerships, and/or major and principal gifts fundraising within a complex organization.
A track record of meeting or exceeding fundraising goals while advancing through increasingly senior roles.
Demonstrated understanding of nonprofit organizational structure, financials, and management.
Experience with multi-entity structures, including 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) entities, strongly preferred.

Tides is committed to providing a competitive compensation package and values pay equity while accounting for factors including location, skills, and relevant experience.

Salary Range and Employee Benefits

The annual salary for this role is expected to range from $250,000 to $300,000, commensurate with experience.

Equal Opportunity Employer Tides is an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourages applications from women, people of color, and bilingual individuals, as well as members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities.

Applicants shall not be discriminated against because of race, religion, sex, national origin, ethnicity, age, disability, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, color, marital status, or medical condition including acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and AIDS-related conditions. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, Tides encourages and will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. Reasonable accommodation will be made so that qualified disabled applicants may participate in the application process.

How to Apply for this Job

Apply Now

About the Organization

Centering equity and social justice at its core, Tides works in deep partnership with movement leaders, nonprofits, foundations, corporations, and donors to shift power to communities of color and other historically excluded groups who face systemic barriers to accessing it.

Tides supports the agency and leadership of these communities through the approach and focus of their services and solutions, including fiscal sponsorship, capacity building, grantmaking (through donor advised, collective action, and other purpose-driven funds), program development consulting, and impact investing.

Guided by a 2023-2025 strategic plan, Tides seeks to become the premier convener of doers and donors seeking justice and equity by shifting power, building capacity, and increasing the flow of resources to proximate leaders and communities to achieve their missions.

WOC is not responsible for the content of job postings.