Development Guild DDI Seeks Chief Development Officer for United South End Settlements

May 15, 2023 – Non-profit specialist recruitment firm Development Guild DDI was recently selected to find a chief development officer for United South End Settlements (USES). The chief development officer will be expected to build on the organization’s success of more than doubling the annual fundraising program and lead USES’ fundraising, donor relations, marketing, and communications. USES is embarking into a new phase of growth with its CEO to continue to build on the organization’s stability and strength and grow philanthropic support to at least 3 million-plus annually by FY23.

As a member of the executive team, the chief development officer will report to and partner closely with the CEO in a number of capacities. The CDO’s duties will include actively contributing to the development and implementation of the strategic goals and objectives, annual budget process, talent-related decisions, and overall organizational direction.

The ideal candidate will have a commitment to USES’ mission, vision, and values as well as demonstrated success cultivating, stewarding, and soliciting donors and direct experience managing a development department. They should have the ability to lead in an organization that is fast paced, growing, and changing. The search firm is seeking candidates with demonstrated experience in taking initiative and setting and achieving ambitious goals. They should have the ability to coach, lead, and inspire a team to achieve goals as well as experience working collaboratively with a board of directors and volunteer committees.

United South End Settlements offers programs that support the whole family in achieving economic mobility. Since its founding 140 years ago, the organization has helped parents and caregivers develop their own capacity to reach their goals, increase their income and assets, and connect with new networks of people through one-on-one coaching combined with opportunities for personal development through Family Mobility programming.

Development Guild DDI, which has offices in New York and Boston, was founded in 1978. The firm helps clients align leadership around a strategic vision with its planning, executive search, and fundraising services. The firm works with non-profits nationwide, partnering with leaders in academic medicine, higher education, arts and culture, human services and others.

Serving Non-Profits

Development Guild’s clients, which number more than 500, have included: Boston Children’s Hospital, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Tufts Medical Center, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Holocaust Memorial Museum, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Nature Conservancy, Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, College of the Holy Cross, Partners in Health, University of Rhode Island Foundation, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and the American Cancer Society.

President William Weber, who co-founded the firm with Suzanne Weber in 1978, has focused his career on the convergence of strategic planning, philanthropy and leadership development, as well as the transformational impact it can have on an institution. His many clients have included: Boston University, George Washington’s Mount Vernon, Johns Hopkins Medicine, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Mount Sinai Health System, National Coast Guard Museum Association, Union of Concerned Scientists, and Year Up.

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 one.

Recruiters continue to report that CDOs are in high demand. Fundraising prowess and having an ability to drive growth are essential parts of the job in nearly every competitive organization today. Recruiters generally say that the best training for these positions is experience, noting that there are many industry conferences and summits that are beneficial for benchmarking and sharing of best practices.

Here is a sampling of recent searches for chief development officers from the Hunt Scanlon Media archives:

Diversified Search Group (DSG), a leading search firm backed by private equity firm ShoreView Industries, has been enlisted to find a chief development officer for the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy in Washington, D.C. The assignment is being led by Gerard F. Cattie Jr., Manuel A. Gongon Jr., Ian McCray, and Beth Reeves. “The foundation is seeking a seasoned, entrepreneurial fundraising leader to propel its philanthropic future in a period of rapid growth,” said DSG.

Los Angeles-based Shelli Herman and Associates has been selected by Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County (SHFB) to lead its search for a chief development officer. At the start of 2022, Shelli Herman & Associates helped recruit Claudia Bonilla Keller as CEO. The new CDO will actively partner with Ms. Bonilla Keller, who aspires to uplift the mission and provide dignified, equitable, and consistent access to nutritious food, creating a foundation for community health. The chief development officer will play an important role in the creation and execution of the food bank’s future strategy, especially as it relates to philanthropy.”

Executive search and non-profit consulting firm KEES has placed Michelle Jimenez as the first chief development officer of the Maryville Academy Foundation in Des Plaines, IL. This was the first search partnership for KEES and Maryville Academy Foundation, following a competitive selection process to identify a search partner. The comprehensive search attracted several qualified candidates from across the Midwest. “The future holds enormous potential for Maryville Foundation, and we are thrilled to have led this search,” said Heather Eddy, president and CEO of KEES.