Application Guide
How to Apply for Senior Director of Major Gifts
at Upwardly Global Inc.
🏢 About Upwardly Global Inc.
Upwardly Global (UpGlo) is a 25-year-old national nonprofit that helps immigrants, refugees, and asylees rebuild their professional careers in the U.S., operating at both direct-service and system-change levels. What makes it unique is its concrete, measurable case for support: donors can see the economic return on a placed professional, not just a sentiment. With a $14M annual budget and a major donor base far smaller than its modeled capacity, it offers a rare chance to build a major gifts program nearly from scratch.
About This Role
As Senior Director of Major Gifts, you will report to the Chief Revenue Officer and be responsible for finding, qualifying, and closing new major donors—especially those unfamiliar with UpGlo. This is a build role, not a maintenance role: you’ll create and execute a strategy to tap into a significantly underworked prospect universe and grow individual giving beyond its current ~$2M. You’ll work remotely from the SF Bay Area or Los Angeles, with ~30% travel to meet donors and attend events.
💡 A Day in the Life
You might start your day with a prospecting session, researching potential donors in the Bay Area who have shown interest in immigration or workforce issues. Later, you’ll have a virtual meeting with the CRO to strategize on a upcoming donor pitch, then travel to a lunch meeting with a prospective major donor to present UpGlo’s economic impact. You’ll end the day updating the CRM and drafting a follow-up proposal tailored to the donor’s interests.
🚀 Application Tools
🎯 Who Upwardly Global Inc. Is Looking For
- Proven track record of opening new relationships and securing major gifts from cold or unfamiliar prospects, rather than just stewarding existing donors.
- Experience building or scaling a major gifts program in a nonprofit with a compelling, measurable case for support—ideally in workforce development, immigration, or economic opportunity.
- Comfortable working remotely and independently while collaborating with a CRO and other revenue team members; based in SF Bay Area or Los Angeles.
- Strong prospecting and qualification skills, with the ability to articulate ROI-driven stories and close gifts at the five- and six-figure level.
- Willingness to travel ~30% and engage donors in person across the region and potentially nationally.
📝 Tips for Applying to Upwardly Global Inc.
In your resume and cover letter, quantify your success in opening new donor relationships—e.g., number of cold prospects qualified, dollars raised from new donors, or average gift size growth.
Explicitly state your residence in the SF Bay Area or Los Angeles; this is a hard requirement, and remote candidates outside these markets will be screened out.
Research UpGlo’s economic return model (e.g., cost per placement, salary gains) and reference it in your application to show you understand their unique donor pitch.
Highlight any experience with immigrant, refugee, or workforce development causes—even if not in fundraising—to demonstrate mission alignment.
Address the 'build vs. maintain' distinction directly: explain why you thrive in a build role and give an example of a program you grew from scratch.
✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter
["Your specific experience finding and closing new major donors, with metrics (e.g., 'qualified 50 new prospects and closed $1.2M in first-year gifts').", 'Why UpGlo’s measurable economic impact resonates with you and how you would translate that into compelling donor conversations.', 'Your familiarity with the SF Bay Area or Los Angeles donor landscape and your ability to travel ~30% to build relationships.', 'Your approach to building a major gifts program from a small base, including prospecting, qualification, and stewardship strategies.']
Generate Cover Letter →🔍 Research Before Applying
To stand out, make sure you've researched:
- → UpGlo’s program model: learn how they measure economic return (e.g., job placement rates, salary increases) and be ready to discuss it in donor terms.
- → Their current funding mix: individual giving is ~$2M of $14M; research who their major donors are and where gaps exist.
- → The leadership team, especially the Chief Revenue Officer, to understand their vision for growing major gifts.
- → Recent UpGlo reports, press releases, or impact stories that demonstrate system-change work and could be used in donor conversations.
💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics
Based on this role, you may be asked about:
⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Focusing only on maintaining existing donors—this role is explicitly about finding and closing new ones, so avoid language that suggests you prefer stewardship over prospecting.
- Ignoring the location requirement: if you don’t reside in the SF Bay Area or Los Angeles, your application will likely be rejected immediately.
- Using generic nonprofit fundraising language without tying it to UpGlo’s unique ROI-driven case for support; show you understand their economic impact model.
📅 Application Timeline
This position is open until filled. However, we recommend applying as soon as possible as roles at mission-driven organizations tend to fill quickly.
Typical hiring timeline:
Application Review
1-2 weeks
Initial Screening
Phone call or written assessment
Interviews
1-2 rounds, usually virtual
Offer
Congratulations!
Ready to Apply?
Good luck with your application to Upwardly Global Inc.!