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Director of Major Gifts – Western Region
Center for Reproductive Rights West Coast (Remote) Reproductiverights.org
Center for Reproductive Rights has partnered with Lindauer, a global search and talent firm, to conduct this search. To apply, please submit your resume on the Lindauer website.
Please reach out to the Lindauer team leading this search if you have any questions:
Josh Maker, Senior Consultant or Misa Kabashima, Consultant
The Opportunity
The Center for Reproductive Rights (the Center) uses the power of law to advance reproductive rights as fundamental human rights around the world. Since its founding in 1992, the Center’s game-changing litigation, legal policy, and advocacy work—combined with unparalleled expertise in constitutional, international, and comparative human rights law—has transformed how reproductive rights are understood by courts, governments, and human rights bodies.
During this critical time in advancing robust protections for reproductive autonomy and to build the legal capacity of reproductive rights advocates, the Center seeks a Director of Major Gifts – Western Region (the Director) to co-lead the national Major Gifts program. This position will collaborate with and lead a highly motivated, passionate, and talented team of Major Gifts Officers in the region to provide donors with an outstanding philanthropic experience. Along with the Director of Major Gifts – Eastern Region, the Director will work to build and manage overall strategy for the Center’s major gifts efforts – including systems, metrics, and KPIs – offering a unique opportunity to shape the direction of the organization’s philanthropic reach and impact on the protection of and access to reproductive healthcare around the world.
The successful candidate will be a seasoned fundraiser, a program builder, and a manager who leads with both data-driven strategy and empathy. They will possess previous supervisory and frontline experience, a deep commitment for human rights, a passion for building and implementing internal systems, and an innovative spirit that thrives in a fast-paced environment. The Director of Major Gifts – Western Region will be physically based in a major West Coast city, with a preference for the Bay Area, and will work in a fully remote environment. The ability to travel is required for this position.
Center for Reproductive Rights
The Center for Reproductive Rights (the Center) is a global human rights organization working to ensure that reproductive rights are protected in law as fundamental human rights around the world. With offices in New York City, New York; Nairobi, Kenya; Bogota, Colombia; Geneva, Switzerland; and Washington, D.C., the Center is a non-profit, non-partisan organization changing law and policy throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the United States. The Center’s 230+ diverse professionals are committed to advancing the Center’s human rights mission through game-changing litigation, legal policy, and advocacy work. This has powered the Center’s exceptional growth to an operating budget of over $60 million and won the respect of law firms in countries around the world, with an additional $22 million annually of donated legal services, representing the work of countless lawyers from more than 80 countries.
The Center’s Strategic Plan sets a high mark for impact: By 2030, half of the world’s population will be living under stronger legal protections for reproductive rights than they are today. The Center has a track record of success to back up this ambitious goal. Since its founding in 1992, the Center has strengthened reproductive laws and policies in more than 65 countries across five continents. It has transformed how reproductive rights are understood and applied by courts, governments, and human rights bodies worldwide on issues including maternal health, abortion, assisted reproduction, and adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). The Center has won groundbreaking cases before national courts, U.N. Committees, and regional human rights bodies. Additionally, the Center has led the development of historic, proactive legislation advancing robust protections for reproductive rights and has built the legal capacity of women’s rights advocates around the world.
Envisioning a world where every person participates with dignity as an equal member of society, regardless of gender, the Center works tirelessly to ensure every woman is free to decide whether or when to have children; whether to get married; where access to reproductive healthcare is guaranteed; and where every person can make these decisions free from coercion or discrimination. Because of the Center’s work, over the past two years, 2.3 billion more people are living under stronger protections for reproductive rights.
Learn more about the Center for Reproductive Rights, go to reproductiverights.org
Director of Major Gifts – Western Region
The Director of Major Gifts, Western Region, will lead major gifts fundraising in the Western Region of the U.S. Reporting to the Senior Director of Leadership Giving, the Director is expected to execute a major gifts strategy for the region. This includes effective management of Major Gift Officers and an Associate, leveraging senior leadership to accelerate giving in the region and personally managing a targeted high- value portfolio of donors with capacity to give at the six- and seven-figure levels. The Director will work closely with the Director of Major Gifts – Eastern Region to ensure fundraising policies and effective practices are implemented across the entire Major Gifts team.
This position will be remote in California, preferably in Los Angeles or San Francisco. Covid-19 Vaccination is required for all U.S.-based employees of the Center.
Primary Responsibilities:
Qualifications:
Leadership Competencies:
Compensation: The salary range for this position is $180 – 200k.
Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
The Center is committed to inclusive hiring and dedicated to diversity in its work and staff. We strongly encourage people from all communities to apply. If you are excited about this role and unsure about whether your past experience aligns with the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be the right candidate for this or other roles.
Development Overview
In fiscal year 2023, the Center raised $60.8 million and received $22 million in in-kind support, mostly for legal services. A record-breaking 80% of expenses were allocated directly toward program support.
The Development department at the Center is comprised of 41 team members across various functions, such as institutional partnerships, events, leadership giving, annual giving, prospect research, and development operations.
Leadership
Gabriella Morris
Chief Development Officer
Gabriella Morris is the current Chief Development Officer at the Center for Reproductive Rights, leading the growth strategy for a global human rights organization advancing reproductive rights through litigation and advocacy. Prior to the Center, she most recently served as the Chief Philanthropy Officer for the World Food Program USA. She was responsible for raising money in the U.S. for the U.N. World Food Program, where she led a staff of 30 and increased revenues during her three-year tenure from $28M to $100M per year. From 2014 to 2020, Gabriella was with UNICEF USA, the U.S. fundraising arm for UNICEF, the U.N. agency working worldwide to protect children's rights, help meet their basic needs, and expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. The organization raised more than $470M in her last year when she served as Interim Chief Development Officer.
Prior to her move into fundraising, Gabriella had a career in philanthropy, serving for 17 years as the President of the Prudential Foundation and V.P. of Community Resources. During Gabriella’s tenure, the foundation focused on policy and funding for economic development, education reform, and youth leadership at the local, national, and global levels.
Gabriella graduated from Princeton University and received her JD from the University of Texas School of Law. She practiced law for 14 years at Baker & Botts in Houston, the Southland Corporation in Dallas, and Prudential Financial in Newark.
Gabriella has extensive experience in non-profit governance, having served on a number of boards in social justice, community development, and the arts. Her current board service includes the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the Harlem School of the Arts, Women at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, and the Nathan Cummings Foundation.
Raissa Smorol
Senior Director, Leadership Giving
Raissa joined the Center in 2022. She brings over 25 years of fundraising and donor relations experience to her role as Senior Director, Leadership Giving. Raissa is responsible for creating a pathway for highly engaged donors to participate in the Center’s mission. She oversees the teams that secure major and planned gifts, and that produce fundraising events for the Center.
Prior to joining the Center, she served as Chief Development Officer at the Santa Barbara City College Foundation. She has also led development teams at Direct Relief, an international medical aid NGO, and the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara. As a consultant for Changing Our World in New York, she provided fundraising counsel to such clients as the Innocence Project, Safe Horizon, GMHC (formerly Gay Men’s Health Crisis), MENTOR, Greyston Foundation, BELL (Building Educated Leaders for Life), the New York Police Foundation, and Guiding Eyes for the Blind. She also served as a lead consultant on the team that helped World Vision USA successfully launch a $500 million fundraising campaign.
Raissa resides in Santa Barbara, California. She earned her B.S. degree from Cornell University and her MPA from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University.
Procedure for Candidacy
Lindauer, a global search and talent firm, has been retained to conduct this search on behalf of Center for Reproductive Rights. Consideration of candidates will continue until the position is filled. If you are interested in applying for this position, please submit a resume through the Lindauer website.
If you have any questions or would like to nominate someone for this position, please contact the Lindauer team leading the search: Josh Maker, Senior Consultant or Misa Kabashima, Consultant.
Prior to submitting your resume for this position, please read it over for accuracy. Lindauer does verify academic credentials for its candidates, and our clients frequently conduct background checks prior to finalizing an offer.
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