Cook Silverman Search Seeking Chief Development Officer for St. Anthony’s Foundation
August 8, 2025 – Greenbrae, CA-based Cook Silverman Search was recently retained by St. Anthony’s Foundation in San Francisco to lead in its search for a chief development officer. The non-profit seeks a strategic, mission-driven CDO to lead all fundraising and donor engagement efforts. As a key member of the executive team, this executive will be a thought partner to the CEO and an architect of fundraising modernization. The CDO will be leading change management efforts following organizational restructuring and a reduction in force.
This is a moment of transformation for St. Anthony’s. The incoming CDO will join a newly aligned executive team and play a pivotal role in shaping a high-performing development function—one rooted in Franciscan values and built for long-term growth. The organization is seeking a dynamic leader with deep experience across all fundraising channels, a strong grasp of data-informed strategy, and a talent for cultivating meaningful, values-aligned donor relationships. The CDO will inspire others through collaboration, clarity, and a commitment to connecting philanthropy with purpose.
Cook Silverman is looking for candidates with seven years of progressively responsible fundraising experience, including a minimum one year of experience in planned giving and a minimum of five years of professional experience in managing projects and teams. Those applying should have demonstrated success overseeing all philanthropic revenue streams including individual, institutional, and planned giving as well as a proven track record of fundraising for a $25 million or greater annual budget. In addition, candidates should have experience in analytical, detail-oriented, story-driven, and relational fundraising, and should understand and evaluate each philanthropic revenue stream—including individual, institutional, and planned giving—to guide decision-making, optimize investments, and drive sustainable growth.
Founded in 1950, St. Anthony’s is the most comprehensive safety net service center in San Francisco, directly providing food, clothing, medical care, addiction recovery services, and access to technology, job training, and other critical resources to the community.
Cook Silverman Search focuses on many senior positions including but not limited to: development, CEO/COO/executive director and CFO’s for non-profit organizations, predominantly in Northern California. Its client base represents a broad span of organizations, including social service, museums, science. independent schools, universities, conservation, health care, and culture. The firm has placed advancement executives for Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health, Children’s Council of San Francisco, Eviction Defense Collaborative, The Unity Council, Earth Island Institute, among others.
Victoria L. Silverman is managing founder of the search firm. She has more than 30 years of experience in the philanthropic sector. Throughout her career, Ms. Silverman has worked in senior fundraising, advancement, and management positions at Stanford University, Washington University in St. Louis, the University of California, the American Film Institute, and the Buck Institute for Age Research, among others. Her search work focuses on higher education, the arts, biotech and environmental sectors. She has been a speaker for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and has served on fundraising advisory committees for several non-profit organizations.
Chief Development Officers
Virtually every industry needs top-drawer chief development officers. CDOs play a key role in planning, coordinating, and administering capital campaigns, corporate giving, and galvanizing new donors while keeping previous funders content. Implementing funding strategies that “keep the lights on,” according to recruiters specializing in the function, is job No. 1. Here is a sampling of recent searches for chief development officers from the Hunt Scanlon Media archives.
Lochlin Partners has helped to recruit Heather Lancaster as chief development officer of the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation (GWOTMF), a non-profit corporation formed in 2015 to honor the service and sacrifice of all individuals who have contributed to global counterterrorism efforts since September 11th, 2001. Ms. Lancaster most recently served at the U.S. Naval Institute, joining in 2012 as director of development and advancing to executive vice president in 2018. During her tenure, she led a small team focused on cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding donors. She also oversaw the planning and successful execution of the Institute’s first-ever comprehensive campaign.
TM² Executive Search (TM²) is currently looking for a chief development officer for the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF). The search is being led by TM² Executive Search’s managing principal, Dakota Doman. The chief development officer at TMCF serves as a critical member of the executive leadership team, directly reporting to the president and CEO. This role is charged with designing and implementing a robust fundraising strategy to amplify TMCF’s mission, impact, and sustainability. With a competitive salary range of $175,000–$230,000 and a bonus potential of 20 percent, this position offers an unparalleled opportunity for a dynamic leader to champion innovative development strategies, enhance donor relationships, and drive transformational change for historically Black community colleges (HBCCs), and predominantly Black institutions (PBIs) across the nation.
After a nationwide search, Boston-based Pearl Street Collective has assisted UMass Amherst Foundation (UMAF) in the recruitment of Robin Elkins as senior executive director and chief development officer for the UMass Amherst College of Social & Behavioral Sciences. Ms. Elkins is a highly regarded fundraising strategist and relationship builder whose experience spans higher education and the non-profit space. She joins UMAF from Emerson College where she led principal and major giving for the School of the Arts, the School of Communication, and the Marlboro Institute for Liberal Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies as associate dean for advancement, securing critical funding to advance institutional priorities. Prior to joining Emerson, Ms. Elkins was vice president, development at the New England Aquarium where she set the development strategy to support organizational goals for the institution.
Related: Lindauer Selected by Scouting America to Lead Chief Development Officer Search
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
