Mission:
We change lives and communities by custom designing and fully furnishing home interiors for individuals, families, and veterans emerging from homelessness. Humble Design welcomes people home, so that lives are changed for good.
Purpose:
Founded in 2009, Humble Design has transformed the lives of over 12,000 individuals emerging from homelessness. Our typical client has secured permanent housing but may only have an air mattress and a few dishes when they move in. We provide personalized design services, then fully furnish their empty space using donated furniture and furnishings. Headquartered in Southfield, MI, Humble operates in Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, and San Diego. We currently have 50+ employees and an organizational budget of $4M+. The dedication of our volunteers, staff, donors, and agency partners helps us address an unmet need in the continuum of care for families experiencing homelessness in the United States. Without receiving the services of Humble Design, up to half of those who obtain stable housing return to shelters within the year. With Humble Design, less than 2% do. We help 98% of families stay in their new homes with dignity and love.
Key Responsibilities: The CDO will have comprehensive responsibility for all aspects of national fundraising, including major and annual giving, corporate partnerships, foundation grants, special events, donor relations, and stewardship.
Strategic Leadership & Vision
- Develop and execute an integrated national fundraising strategy aligned with Humble’s mission, impact, and growth goals.
- Serve as a strategic partner to the CEO and Board of Trustees in long-term planning, financial modeling, and resource development to support national expansion.
- Lead and strengthen a development operation that supports both national priorities and the needs of city-level affiliates.
- Build and sustain a culture of philanthropy across the organization by engaging leadership, staff, and board members in fundraising and donor engagement efforts.
Fundraising & Portfolio Management
- Develop and steward a national portfolio of high-capacity individual, foundation, and corporate donors; lead segmentation, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship efforts.
- Design and lead the national major gifts strategy; partner with and support city-level teams, as appropriate, to build leadership donor pipelines and multi-year giving initiatives.
- Set direction for and oversee national annual giving campaigns and year-end appeals.
- Establish and guide a national corporate partnerships strategy, encompassing sponsorships, cause-marketing, and other revenue-generating collaborations.
- Design and oversee the national grants strategy, ensuring alignment with organizational priorities and revenue goals.
Board & Leadership Engagement
- Partner with the CEO to support and activate Board of Trustees engagement in fundraising, donor cultivation, and external relationship-building.
Communications, Partnerships & External Relations
- In collaboration with the National Director of Development, ensure that Humble Design is represented at meetings, conferences, events, and other public forums to enhance the organization’s visibility and reputation.
- Lead national communications and marketing resources, while collaborating with city-level teams, to ensure compelling storytelling, donor messaging, and campaign materials that build fundraising cases reflecting both local and national impact.
Management & Operations
- Establish clear processes, metrics, and reporting to evaluate fundraising performance.
- Ensure accurate, timely donor data management and compliance with fundraising regulations and best practices.
- Oversee the national development budget, revenue projections, and pipeline analysis.
Required Qualifications
- Passion for Humble Design’s mission and values.
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience
- 7-10 years of progressive fundraising experience and at least 5 years in senior development leadership.
- Demonstrated success managing a comprehensive national fundraising program that includes major gifts, corporate giving, and grants.
- Proven track record of developing and implementing fundraising strategies and the ability to cultivate, solicit, and steward major donors and corporate partners.
- Experience engaging and partnering with CEOs, Boards, and high-level volunteers.
- Strong communication, relationship-building, and strategic planning skills.
- Ability to lead a distributed team in a hybrid or multi-location environment.
- Proficiency in budgeting, financial management, and donor database/CRM management (Salesforce preferred).
Desired Qualifications
- Experience working within federated or national/local affiliate organizational structures.
- CFRE credential.
- Capital campaign experience.
- Virtual and in-person event experience.
- Willingness to travel as needed, for conferences, meetings, and events.
Benefits: Comprehensive health insurance, generous paid holidays and PTO. Potential for Simple IRA retirement plan enrollment.
How to Apply
Interested candidates should submit a cover letter and resume to: jobs@humbledesign.org
Preferential review for resumes received by January 31, 2026. All resumes should be submitted by February 13, 2026.