Summary
Description
Who We Are
Leader Dogs for the Blind, an international organization based in Rochester Hills, Michigan, has been empowering
individuals who are blind or have low vision for over 87 years. We provide comprehensive guide dog services and
orientation and mobility training, equipping individuals with lifelong skills for independent daily travel. Our life-changing work is provided free of charge, and we are 100% philanthropically funded. Our mission is driven by
191 dedicated team members and more than 1,300 volunteers who advocate alongside our clients to create a more equitable world.
The Role
The Manager of Personal Giving is a remote role based in the Dallas-metro region and responsible for identifying,
cultivating, soliciting, negotiating, and stewarding Texas-based prospects and donors with the capacity to make major gifts. The successful candidate thrives in relationship-driven roles and excels at adapting messaging, building meaningful connections, and strategically aligning donor interests and philanthropic goals deepening connection to the organization. The Manager of Personal Giving will focus on cultivating and stewarding relationships with major donors in Texas through targeted outreach and engagement.
Portfolio & Relationship Management
● Strategically manages a personal portfolio of up to 150 major giving prospects in Texas.
● Executes a moves management process to identify, qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward prospective major
donors.
● Utilizes prospect research and wealth screening to create a strategic plan for donors in the portfolio,
including planned quarterly actions (calls, meetings, mailings, events, etc.) and solicitation goals.
● Builds relationships with existing major donors and encourages giving through various vehicles (cash, Donor
Advised Funds, IRAs, stocks, etc.).
● Maintains an active schedule of solicitations, cultivation visits, events, and stewardship activities resulting in
increased donations supporting the organization.
Major Gift Strategy & Solicitation
● Assists donors in evaluating gift opportunities, making recommendations that align with a donor’s giving priorities and the organization’s strategic priorities and funding needs.
● Develops individualized solicitation strategies based on a donor’s interests, philanthropic priorities, capacity, and relationship with the organization.
● Creates proposals and stewardship update reports and ensures donors receive documents in a timely manner.
● Develops customized funding opportunities and gift proposals in collaboration with organizational leaders and program staff.
● Solicits and negotiates major gifts and corporate partnerships, utilizing a variety of giving vehicles and philanthropic strategies.
● Creates and shares presentations with groups and individuals to communicate the organization’s mission, impact, and opportunities for philanthropic investment.
● Tracks solicitation activity, goals, and outcomes adjusting strategies to maximize philanthropic support.
Stewardship, Collaboration & Development Operations
● Facilitates introductions and ongoing relationships between potential and current major gift donors with members of the staff and volunteers.
● Engages in best practices (creating written solicitation strategies, documenting actions promptly and accurately using the organization’s development database, and participating in regular prospect reviews).
● Provides timely, personalized stewardship communications and impact updates that demonstrate the outcomes and impact of donor investments.
● Shares relevant donor insights, portfolio updates, and next steps with colleagues to support coordinated donor engagement.
● Stays current on trends, best practices, and emerging opportunities in major gifts, philanthropy, and charitable giving.
● Collaborates with Major Gifts team members during weekly meetings and other departments as required.
● Performs other duties as assigned.
Who You Are
● You are a highly motivated, strategically minded fundraising professional passionate about furthering the mission of Leader Dogs for the Blind.
● Building relationships and forging deep connections with an array of individuals is your superpower.
● You are an excellent listener who can quickly identify interests, priorities and philanthropic goals.
● You leverage your strong communication skills to be a caretaker of client stories while sharing them in a compelling and authentic way.
● Wearing multiple hats and managing competing priorities brings you to life.
● You seamlessly move between independent, head-down research and demanding, people-centered engagements, including events, weekends, overnight travel and air travel
● You enjoy collaborating with staff, leadership, volunteers, donors, partners and other stakeholders to move
mission-focused work forward.
● You light up at the idea of providing people with low or no vision their independence.
Qualifications
● Minimum of three (3) years of demonstrated success in nonprofit fundraising, major gifts, relationship management, or a related field.
● Bachelor’s degree in nonprofit management, business, communications, marketing, fundraising, or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience.
● Experience managing a portfolio of major gift prospects and donors utilizing a moves management process.
● Proven experience securing five- and six-figure individual or corporate gifts, with a demonstrated ability to build and manage a major gift pipeline.
● Ability and willingness to work evenings, weekends and travel approximately 25–50% of working time, including overnight and out-of-state travel and air travel.
● Demonstrated knowledge of major gift fundraising principles, ethical standards, and industry best practices.
● Experience developing and executing individualized donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies.
● Experience working with multiple giving vehicles, such as cash, donor-advised funds, IRA charitable
distributions, appreciated securities, or other complex gifts.
● Must be able to perform public relations duties, including conducting tours, answering general questions, and serving as a professional and courteous representative of the organization.
● Experience using donor databases or customer relationship management (CRM) systems to track prospects, donor interactions, solicitations, and stewardship activities; proficiency in Microsoft Office products.
● Must be able to establish and maintain professional, productive, and courteous interactions with employees, volunteers, donors, clients, and all constituents of Leader Dogs for the Blind.
What We Can Offer You
● Hiring Range of: $85,000 – 90,000
● Remote Dallas Metro-based position – requires some weekends, evenings and travel
● Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance after 30 days of employment
● Flexible spending account
● Employer paid life and disability insurance
● 401(k) with employer match
● PTO front loaded on first day of employment
● Vacation accrues on the first of every month, 9 paid holidays
● Annual merit-based pay increases
● Dog-friendly office
Work Environment & Schedule
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. Upon receiving notice, reasonable accommodations may be made, if
possible, to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to communicate and exchange accurate
information using various methods including in-person, telephone, and email. This position requires frequent
independent local, regional, and national travel.
Application Instructions
This position is being managed by Rooted Hire, a trusted recruitment partner.
Qualified applicants are encouraged to upload their resume and a cover letter summarizing interest in the position
and relevant skills/experience here: https://bit.ly/LeaderDogsManagerPersonalGivingApp
Application deadline is November 6, 2026. The position will remain open until filled. No phone calls, please.
This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, or qualifications
associated with the job. Leadership reserves the right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this position at any time as needed by the organization. This job description does not constitute an employment agreement between Leader Dogs for the Blind and the employee. Leader Dogs for the Blind is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to accessibility, inclusion, and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Applicants who require a reasonable accommodation or an accessible application format may contact HRAccessibility@leaderdog.org for assistance.
