Director of Individual Giving

Director of Individual Giving

Rainbow Railroad 

Full-time, Permanent

ABOUT US

Rainbow Railroad was founded in 2006 to provide an additional solution to address the global refugee crisis, to which LGBTQI+ persons are uniquely vulnerable. Rainbow Railroad’s mission is to at-risk LGBTQI+ individuals to get to safety as they seek a safe haven from state-enabled harassment and violence. 

Rainbow Railroad is a registered Canadian charity and a USA 501(c)(3) organization with its headquarters in Toronto, Canada and an office in New York, NY, USA.

Since 2006, Rainbow Railroad supporters have helped more than 5,500 at-risk LGBTQI+ individuals get to safety.

Rainbow Railroad operates with staff based in Canada and the United States. Applicants in both countries are encouraged to apply, noting that regular travel will be required for this position. 

THE ROLE

The Director of Individual Giving leads Rainbow Railroad’s robust and growing individual giving program, with a particular focus on mid-and major gifts ($1,000+). Working with the Chief Development Officer, a staff team and senior volunteers, the Director of Individual Giving will conceive and implement Rainbow Railroad’s individual giving strategy. 

The role also personally manages a diverse portfolio of major gift donors ($5,000+) and plays a key role in identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major supporters across the team.

A key focus within this team will be the development of new opportunities at all levels, including large five and six-figure gift opportunities. An accomplished closer, the Director of Individual Giving excels at fundraising and is excited about the prospect of leading a group of individual giving fundraisers with the common goal of increasing funds to support Rainbow Railroad’s programming. 

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Major Gift Development

• Grow the current revenue stream through effective stewardship of existing donors, by strengthening development strategies and by implementing comprehensive plans to engage new donors. 
• Develop prospect lists for senior leadership.
• Maintain a proactive and effective leadership role in the identification, cultivation, and solicitation of major supporters. 
• Develop long-term cultivation and pipeline management strategies for Rainbow Railroad’s supporters to inspire growth in donor commitment through research, data mining and analysis, relationship-building, and use of ambassador networks.
• Lead a proactive prospect development strategy to convert prospects identified in our system to leading organizational supporters.
• Working across the team, integrate major donor activities into all aspects of Rainbow Railroad’s fundraising efforts, including at events and in marketing and communications.
• International & national travel for meetings with donors

Strategic Planning & Organizational Growth

• Support in the creation, development, and execution of organizational budgets, annual plans, and fundraising strategic plans.
• Utilize Rainbow Railroad’s expanding advocacy and programmatic efforts to increase support and interest in our work.
• Continually identify funding opportunities for donors and refine organizational case language.

Management

• Participate in the leadership of the Development Department by attending internal meetings and serving as a representative on any matter related to major donors within Rainbow Railroad.
• Assist other team members with supportive oversight of operations affecting individual giving/major donors, including budgeting, acknowledgement process, effective stewardship programs and other needs, as directed.
• Manage and lead a team of 4+ major gifts officers.

REPORTING

Reports to the Chief Development Officer and manages a team of four  Development Officers (as referenced above).  

QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS

• 5-7  years of fundraising management experience, with demonstrated success at the management level; CFRE is an asset.
• A degree from a post-secondary institution and/or relevant experience.
• A successful track record as a donor manager, including personally identifying, cultivating and soliciting donors to make significant contributions.
• Proven ability in team leadership and people management.
• Deep understanding of major gift fundraising practices.
• Experience working collaboratively with a volunteer Board of Directors and/or a senior volunteer-led fundraising committee.
• Capable of managing numerous initiatives at once, thriving in a fast-paced and dynamic work environment.
• Proficiencies in G-Suites and Salesforce (or other CRM).
• An excellent communicator in all mediums and channels.
• A self-starter that drives work, while also working collaboratively and cross-functionally with all members of the organization.

Application Deadline – December 15, 2025

Length of Contract – Full-Time, Permanent

Hiring Salary – $90,000 CAD

Application Process- Please make sure to submit your application to the portal link here in Collage

We thank all applicants for their interest in this position however we will only be contacting those selected for next steps. 

Rainbow Railroad is dedicated to building an organization that reflects the diversity of the communities we serve. This includes diversity in languages spoken, culture, race, sexual orientation and gender identity.

Requests for accommodation due to disability can be made at any stage in the recruitment process, please reach out to  hire@rainbowrailroad.org for any questions