Fundraising Director
Organization: Sikh Research Institute (SikhRI) Location: USA or Canada Reports to: CEO / Board of Directors Position Type: Full-time Senior Leadership Role Overview SikhRI is seeking a hands-on, strategic Fundraising Director to design and personally operate a predictable, diversified fundraising engine. As we move from our 20-year milestone toward a 50-year global journey, this role is critical to scaling our institutional impact and ensuring the long-term sustainability of landmark initiatives such as The Guru Granth Sahib Project. This is a player-coach role in a growing organization. While the Director will set a 3-5 year fundraising strategy and partner closely with the CEO and Board, they will also directly own core executional responsibilities, including donor reporting, CRM management, fundraising collateral, and performance tracking.
Key Responsibilities
- Strategic Leadership: Develop and execute a 3–5 year comprehensive fundraising strategy aligned with SikhRI’s organizational OKRs.
- Major Gift Cultivation: Personally manage follow-ups, stewardship cadence, and reporting timelines. Identify, steward, and close high-level donations (five- and six-figure "transformational gifts") from high-net-worth individuals, foundations, and grants.
- Board & Executive Partnership: Serve as a strategic partner to the CEO and Board of Directors, ensuring leadership is "Due Diligence ready" and actively engaged in donor networking.
- Project Alignment: Directly link SikhRI’s core programs to the specific philanthropic goals of major donors.
- Hands-On Fundraising Operations: Maintain and discipline the donor CRM, including data integrity and segmentation. Prepare donor reports, board dashboards, and impact updates. Develop donor collateral, proposals, and briefing materials. Track fundraising performance against targets and KPIs.
- Team Mentorship: Lead and mentor a small fundraising function, personally executing core responsibilities while laying the groundwork for future team growth.
Qualifications
- Experience: 10+ years of proven success in senior-level non-profit fundraising or executive management.
- Degrees and Certifications: Bachelor's degree required, degree in non-profit management a plus, and must be CFRE (Certified Fund Raising Executive).
- Track Record: Demonstrated ability to secure major gifts ($100K+) and build long-term donor loyalty.
- Travel: Must be willing to travel extensively (up to 20% of the time) across North America for donor meetings and fundraising events; a trip to the UK and Australia as well
- Mission Alignment: Deeply vested in Sikh teachings and the mission to provide Guru-inspired educational resources.
- Skills: Exceptional oral and written communication in English; fluency in Panjabi is a significant asset.
- Systems Thinking: Ability to master complex relationships and establish the processes required for a mid-size global institution.
- Builder Mindset: Demonstrated experience thriving in lean, growth-stage organizations where senior leaders are expected to both set strategy and personally execute.
Why Join SikhRI? You will be joining an organization poised for its next stage of growth, aiming to reach 30 million Sikhs and global audiences seeking Gurmat-based perspectives. This role offers the opportunity to shape the financial future of a globally recognized non-profit that is redefining Sikh education for the 21st century.