Senior Principal, Principal Gifts- Remote
Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, 60290, USA
Listed on 2026-10-11
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Non-Profit & Social Impact
PR / Communications
At the American Cancer Society, we're working to end cancer as we know it, for everyone. Our employees and 1.3 million volunteers are raising the bar every single day. We are a culture comprised of diverse backgrounds and experience, to better serve our communities. The people who work at the American Cancer Society focus their diverse talents on our lifesaving mission.
It is a calling. And the people who answer it are fulfilled.
The Senior Principal, Principal Gifts serves as a senior fundraiser with a focus on securing gifts at the $5M+ level.
This position aligns organizational strengths and donor passions in ways that ignite transformational philanthropy, helping donors achieve their philanthropic goals while advancing the ACS vision to end cancer as we know it, for everyone. Designed to be entrepreneurial and collaborative, this role works with leadership, volunteers, and staff across the organization to create and implement personalized donor strategies that lead to long‑term partnerships and deep impact investment.
Senior Principals engage with ACS Inc. and ACS CAN board members, members of the ACS Executive Team and other ACS mission staff and are expected to work with these high‑level stakeholders to identify new macro‑level prospects, deepen donor engagement and facilitate successful macro‑level solicitations. In addition, Senior Principals work with assigned department leaders to develop, expand, and refine cases for support, supporting materials and strategy documents for use by the Principal and Foundation Relations Teams, as well as by other fundraisers in the field.
Finally, all Senior Principals are expected to understand and execute upon all phases of the ACS All in Against Cancer Campaign and special initiatives as requested by the CEO, CDO and other ACS senior leaders.
This is a Remote role based anywhere in the United States
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS- Strategic Portfolio Management and Fundraising (60%) Manage a portfolio of 15-20 high-net-worth individuals and private foundations, and select corporations to qualify, cultivate, solicit, close, and steward principal gifts of $5M+.
- Enterprise Alignment and Collaboration (20%) Partner across ACS leadership and enterprise teams to stay aligned on mission priorities and emerging opportunities. Translate organizational strategy into compelling, donor-centered engagement and solicitation strategies.
- Resource Development (5%) Assist in the development of principal giving materials and resources, including cases for support, funding proposals, and stewardship strategies that elevate consistency, clarity, and impact of donor engagement.
- Executive Engagement (5%) Engage senior leadership, national board members and key volunteers to strengthen donor relationships and support cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of transformational gifts.
- Strategy & Metrics: (10%) Utilize donor management systems (e.g. Salesforce) to track, measure, and analyze performance against KPIs.
- Minimum Degree
Required:
Bachelor's Degree - Preferred Degree:
Master's Degree - Certificate(s) or License(s):
Preferred CFRE - Years of experience:
At least 10 years of professional fundraising experience, with a proven track record in successfully closing 7 and 8-figure gifts.
- Demonstrated success in building a donor pipeline and securing major or principal gifts ($1M - $10M+)
- Exceptional ability to build and sustain high-trust relationships with ultra-high-net-worth individuals, family foundations, and institutional partners
- Experience curating personalized cultivation and stewardship strategies for principal giving donors
- Proven experience working in highly matrixed environments, with the ability to influence across teams,…
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