Chief Advancement Officer

Curebound | Chief Advancement Officer
San Diego, California – Hybrid work model CURES
IN OUR LIFETIME

Curebound is on a bold mission: to accelerate cures for cancer in our lifetime. To help further this mission, the organization is currently seeking innovative and intrapreneurial candidates for the role of Chief Advancement Officer (CAO). This is a once-in-a-career opportunity for a passionate, proactive change maker ready to unleash new models of philanthropy, build powerful partnerships, and fuel the next wave of breakthroughs.

Located in San Diego – one of the world’s premier biotech hubs – Curebound sits at the intersection of groundbreaking science, entrepreneurial spirit, and a deeply engaged community. Curebound believes San Diego holds the core elements needed to transform the way cancer is prevented, detected, and treated – and is building the movement to make it happen.

Curebound deploys a unique model to harness the collective power of patients, researchers, philanthropists, corporations, civic leaders, and world-class institutions to push beyond incremental progress and into transformational discovery, and has achieved extraordinary results since launching in 2021. With more than $43 million invested in research, 143+ innovative grants awarded, and community-driven events that rally tens of thousands, Curebound is proving that a united community can change the trajectory of cancer.

Curebound fuels its mission through fundraising and is seeking to increase revenues through ongoing diversification of fundraising channels, launch of a donor‑centric and major‑gifts‑focused moves management program, maturation of mid‑level and annual giving programs to grow the major gift pipeline, growth of corporate partnership revenue, and enhanced stewardship initiatives to improve donor retention. These key priorities for Curebound fundraising will be championed by the Chief Advancement Officer, who holds responsibility for the organization’s revenue generation through fundraising, development, and partnership efforts in collaboration with executive, scientific, and board leadership.

The CAO will serve as a critical thought partner to the CEO as the organization continues its progression from a founder‑led startup to doubling down on becoming a sustainable, community‑driven catalyst for cancer discoveries and cures. The CAO will be a central figure in achieving Curebound’s ambition for a unified movement for cures in our lifetime, a movement that serves as a force multiplier by transcending historical silos and bringing together various networks, campaigns, and an inspiring array of community partners, science, and philanthropy.

The CAO will join Curebound amid the heightened energy of new CEO Robin Toft’s recent appointment, effective January 1, 2026. A grateful colon cancer survivor, Toft is deeply committed to driving research innovation and investing in cancer studies that support Curebound’s vision to find cures in our lifetime. She succeeds founding CEO Anne Marbarger, who will join the Curebound Board of Directors and serve as an advisor to Toft and the leadership team, ensuring continuity as the organization enters its next decade of impact.

Curebound’s first CAO will step into an entrepreneurial, rapidly growing fundraising infrastructure and will continue to build and hone corresponding systems, processes, and management tools as they pursue the key priorities for fundraising. Additional areas of emphasis will include the following: enhancing the organization’s brand awareness; together with the CEO and Board, creating a compelling national fundraising strategy that scales the donor base beyond San Diego;

continuing to evolve from a primary focus on events to accelerating Curebound’s success in philanthropy and major gifts; partnering with CEO, the organization’s impressive Board of Directors, Scientific Advisors, and other senior Curebound leaders on high‑level fundraising initiatives and strategically orchestrating their participation therein; and exploring the strategic expansion from San Diego‑centric fundraising to other key geographies, consistent with annual goals and objectives.

This…