Chief Development Officer

Position Summary

The Chief Development Officer serves as the lead strategist and manager for the fund development staff, programs and activities. The CDO will oversee solicitations and fundraising goals for all fundraising events, annual giving, and will develop and steward a portfolio of major gift donors. The ideal candidate will be a self-motivated, authentic leader, and a dynamic professional with proven success in fundraising, knowledge of the Los Angeles Jewish community, as well as other philanthropic and corporate sectors.

This position reports to the CEO.

The mission of Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Los Angeles is to assist youth in achieving their full potential through innovative, impactful programs. Founded in 1915, Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Los Angeles (JBBBSLA) assists youth in achieving their full potential through innovative, impactful programs:
Youth Mentoring, Camp Bob Waldorf, and College Access + Success. Each year JBBBSLA serves more than 1,400 youth across three programs from a variety of backgrounds, races, religions, and socio-economic status. In the past 10 years, JBBBSLA’s Youth Mentoring team has made over 575 Big Brother and Big Sister matches.

JBBBSLA is led by its dynamic CEO, Cari Uslan, CFRE, who first joined JBBBSLA as their Vice President of Development, was promoted to Executive Vice President and has now served as its CEO since January 2021. Prior to JBBBSLA, she worked at MAZON, developing their national fundraising strategy to fight hunger in the U.S. and Israel. Cari is a passionate advocate for children and has served on several nonprofit boards.

She brings a wealth of fundraising experience to the role and will be a knowledgeable and successful fundraising partner to the new CDO.

The new CDO will be joining a financially stable, 110-year old organization with a long and rich history of impactful service to Los Angeles’ youth. JBBBSLA is currently raising $4 million annually through more than 3000 active donors, with an endowment of $20 million. The CDO will be joining JBBBSLA at an exciting time as the organization seeks to diversify and expand its philanthropic revenue, leveraging a robust donor pool of long-time supporters and an expanding pipeline of Major Gift prospects.

The CDO serves as the head of the development department overseeing a small team including a Senior VP of Philanthropy, a Director of Grants Management, a Development and Events Specialist, and a Donor Relations Manager. The CDO leads all fundraising activities including donor cultivation, major gifts, fundraising events, donor acknowledgment, fundraising campaigns and the marketing of those campaigns, etc. This role will be backed by a deeply engaged and generous board of directors, each committed to a $13,000 give-get policy—many contributing well beyond that threshold.

These individuals are not only financial supporters but also passionate champions and vocal advocates for JBBBSLA’s mission.

With a diverse portfolio of programming and the enriching experience of Camp Bob Waldorf, the organization offers a robust suite of case statements that resonate across communities, regardless of religious affiliation. This inclusive approach ensures broad appeal and meaningful engagement from a wide spectrum of supporters.

In addition, the case for philanthropic support is strengthened by a March 2025 study that demonstrates the profound, long-term benefits of mentorship programs. Spanning three decades of data, this research study, conducted alongside researchers from Harvard University and the U.S. Department of Treasury, underscores mentorship as a pivotal factor in enhancing educational, economic, and social outcomes for youth. Some of the key findings included:

• Higher College Enrollment: which fuels a skilled workforce.
• Increased Earnings: which strengthens financial independence.
• Enhanced Economic Mobility: which reduces the socioeconomic gap by two-thirds.
• Return on Investment: every dollar invested in BBBS’ mentoring pays for itself within 7 years, creating sustained economic benefit.

This is a hybrid position…