ABOUT RANCHO SANTA FE FOUNDATION

For nearly 45 years, Rancho Santa Fe Foundation (RSFF) has served as a trusted leader in philanthropy, helping individuals, families, and nonprofit partners achieve their charitable goals. With nearly $200 million in assets under management and over $162 million granted since 2000, we are proud to support impactful giving locally and across the San Diego region.

Our mission is to serve as a trusted leader in philanthropy, empowering our community and fundholders to achieve their charitable goals. Our vision is to be Rancho Santa Fe’s home for philanthropy, while extending our reach to create a meaningful impact both locally and across the San Diego community.

Everything we do is grounded in our four pillars of success:

  • Exceptional Customer Service - Providing personalized support and seamless experiences for our fundholders and partners.
  • Superior Financial Stewardship - Managing charitable assets with integrity, transparency, and long-term vision.
  • Impactful Community Leadership - Serving as a convener and catalyst to address emerging needs and drive meaningful change.
  • Trusted Philanthropic Advisor - Offering expert guidance to donors as they shape their philanthropic legacy.

RSFF is home to 400 charitable funds and is known for its thoughtful, relationship-driven approach. We foster generosity, guide strategic giving, and invest in solutions that improve lives and strengthen communities

 

POSITION SUMMARY

 

Reporting to the CEO, the Director will act as a force multiplier, collaborating with the CEO, Board of Directors, and staff to devise and implement innovative and efficient growth strategies aimed at increasing RSFF’s assets, developing strategic partnerships, and marketing RSFF’s services to a diverse range of stakeholders. This group includes current and prospective fundholders, foundations, and professional advisors (CPAs, estate lawyers, etc.). They will function as a thought partner and active contributor to RSFF’s organizational planning, development, and assessment activities.

 

Focus: New fundholder acquisition, engagement, and strategic partnerships.

 

PRIMARY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

 

Resource Development Leadership

  • Develop and execute a new business development strategy to increase assets under management in collaboration with the CEO.
  • Cultivate relationships with high-net-worth individuals, professional advisors, and strategic partners to build a high-quality referral network.
  • Identify and cultivate planned giving efforts.
  • Oversee donor-advised fund (DAF) growth and engagement strategies.
  • Represent RSFF in philanthropic and professional networking spaces (estate planning councils, wealth management groups, etc.).
  • Work with the Board and CEO to engage them in donor cultivation efforts.
  • Implement prospect management and analysis systems.
  • Drive revenue growth by developing and maintaining strong support for RSFF at the highest levels through strategic partnerships, innovative donor engagement, and visible leadership.

Fundholder Services

  • Manage a portfolio of existing funds and fundholders, providing ongoing client services and using innovative strategies to increase assets under management.
  • Develop and maintain comprehensive and accurate information regarding donor advisor interests and preferences, utilizing the foundation's CRM.
  • Participate in orientation meetings with new donor advisors to understand their interests and intentions.
  • Schedule annual reviews with existing donor advisors.
  • Collaborate with the Program department to plan and implement philanthropic educational programs and activities to develop relationships with donor advisors and prospects.
  • Partner with the RSFF team to provide individualized philanthropic services as requested by fundholders.
  • Facilitate family philanthropy meetings.
  • Maintain cross-functional working relationships with other departments to ensure timely and full-service philanthropic support to fundholders.

Other

  • Manage and facilitate special projects, as assigned.
  • Assist the President/CEO on other assignments as requested.

 

REQUIRED SKILLS

  • Minimum of five years of proven sales or major gifts fundraising success.
  • A solid understanding of growth strategies; experience soliciting existing and prospective clients.
  • Excellent organizational and prioritization skills, with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously while maintaining exceptional attention to detail. Proactive, self-motivated, and highly dependable, with a positive attitude and strong follow-through.
  • Excellent interpersonal and professional communication skills, written and oral; ability to work effectively with a variety of stakeholders.

 

PREFERED SKILLS

  • Experience in public speaking and delivering impactful presentations to engage and inspire diverse audiences.
  • An understanding of financial and investment principles to effectively support fundholder relations and foundation growth.
  • An understanding of planned giving principles.

 

LOCATION

 

This is a hybrid role with an office located at 162 S. Rancho Santa Fe Road, Encinitas, CA 92024. This position will work on-site a minimum of three days a week. To ensure that RSFF staff have collaborative time together, all staff are on-site every other Monday. The physical office is closed on Fridays.

 

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

 

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job.

  • Extensive use of the computer; this position requires the incumbent to be able to remain in a stationary position more than 60% of their time.
  • Frequent walking and standing are required.
  • Utilization of personal transportation required for San Diego county-wide visits up to 40% of the time.
  • Weights of up to 20 pounds are occasionally lifted
  • The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performance by the incumbent in this position. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills.

 

There are many perks to being on the team at Rancho Santa Fe Foundation – here are a few highlights:

  • Hybrid work schedule
  • Comprehensive medical, vision, and dental
  • 401K Match
  • 12 paid holidays
  • Accrued paid time off (First year: 12 days | 2nd year: 19 days | 3 years+: 24 days)
  • Quarterly team volunteer opportunities
  • 4 hours of paid personal volunteer time (monthly)
  • Monthly cell phone stipend

 

Salary Range:  $95,000 – $110,000

This position has been filled. Would you like to see our other open positions?