Executive Director

Position Overview Reporting to the Board of Directors, the Executive Director serves as CFSJ’s chief executive and principal ambassador. The Executive Director will provide the vision, leadership, and energy necessary to strengthen the Foundation as a trusted philanthropic partner throughout South Jersey. This is a highly relational, externally facing leadership role. The Executive Director will be responsible for growing philanthropic assets and individual giving; cultivating donors, fundholders, professional advisors, institutional funders, businesses, and community partners; advancing meaningful community impact; and elevating CFSJ’s profile throughout the region. At the same time, the Executive Director will lead a small organization through an important period of organizational development. The successful candidate will establish clear priorities and measures of success, build a collaborative and accountable culture, strengthen staff capacity, and work closely with the Board to determine and execute the Foundation’s long-term strategic direction. The Executive Director will also help the Board assess the opportunities, requirements, and economics associated with potential independence from the Community Foundation of New Jersey and, if that path is chosen, lead the organization through the transition. Key Responsibilities: Strategic Leadership & Organizational Development

• Partner with the Board to define and implement a clear, compelling strategic vision for CFSJ and translate that vision into measurable goals and priorities.
• Clarify the Foundation’s identity, value proposition, and role within the South Jersey philanthropic ecosystem.
• Lead organizational development, including staffing, systems, infrastructure, technology, communications, and operational sustainability.
• Establish a culture that is collaborative, accountable, inclusive, energetic, and supportive.
• Provide the Board with clear recommendations, regular progress reports, and meaningful measures of organizational performance.
• Lead, develop, and grow the CFSJ team, building the capacity, talent, and organizational culture needed to achieve the Foundation’s strategic goals and sustain its growth.

Philanthropic Growth & Donor Engagement

• Make philanthropic growth a central leadership priority, with a particular emphasis on expanding individual and family philanthropy throughout South Jersey.
• Cultivate and steward major donors, fundholders, families of means, corporations, foundations, and professional advisors.
• Develop strategies for major gifts, planned giving, legacy giving, endowment development, donor-advised funds, and other charitable vehicles.
• Build a compelling case for CFSJ that connects donors to the needs and opportunities of South Jersey.
• Engage the Board as an active partner in donor cultivation, introductions, solicitation, and stewardship.
• Diversify the Foundation’s philanthropic base and reduce concentration risk.

Community Leadership & Impact

• Serve as a visible and credible champion for South Jersey and for philanthropy throughout the region.
• Build authentic relationships with nonprofit leaders, civic leaders, businesses, elected officials, funders, community organizations, and residents.
• Listen deeply to communities across all eight counties and ensure CFSJ’s work reflects their needs and aspirations.
• Identify opportunities for collaborative initiatives, community investment, and innovative approaches to regional challenges.
• Strengthen and communicate CFSJ’s community impact, including the lessons and opportunities emerging from initiatives such as the Camden Food Fund and South Jersey Resiliency Fund.

Board Partnership & Governance

• Build a transparent, trusting, and reciprocal partnership with the Board.
• Help the Board understand its role as a governing and philanthropic body and provide clear opportunities for members to contribute their time, expertise, relationships, and resources.
• Strengthen Board engagement, geographic representation, and effectiveness over time.
• Ensure appropriate governance, financial oversight, compliance, and risk management.

Potential Independence & Organizational Transition

• Work with the Board to evaluate the strategic, financial, operational, and community implications of independence from the Community Foundation of New Jersey.
• If independence is pursued, lead the development of the systems, infrastructure, staffing, financial model, and partnerships required for a sustainable transition.
• Maintain a strong relationship with the Community Foundation of New Jersey during any transition.

The Leader: The ideal candidate will be a relationship-driven, entrepreneurial, and community-minded leader who combines the strategic perspective of a chief executive with the energy and personal engagement of a successful fundraiser and ambassador. The next Executive Director will be a builder, someone who can strengthen what already exists while bringing fresh thinking, greater visibility, and new energy to the organization. They will be comfortable operating in a small organization where leadership is highly hands-on and where success depends upon the ability to move fluidly between strategy, fundraising, community engagement, staff leadership, and execution. The successful candidate will bring many of the following qualifications and attributes:

• Significant senior leadership experience in a community foundation, philanthropic institution, nonprofit organization, or related social-sector environment.
• Demonstrated success in fundraising, donor cultivation, major gifts, or philanthropic asset development.
• Strong understanding of community foundations, charitable giving vehicles, and the role of philanthropy in community development.
• Exceptional relationship-building and communication skills, with the ability to connect authentically with individuals from diverse backgrounds and across different sectors.
• Credibility and comfort with high-net-worth individuals, families, professional advisors, institutional funders, corporate leaders, and community stakeholders.
• A strong personal connection to South Jersey—or the demonstrated ability and commitment to become deeply embedded in the region and understand its distinctive communities.
• Strategic vision coupled with a strong bias toward action, accountability, and measurable results.
• Experience leading, developing, and motivating staff, ideally in a small or entrepreneurial organization.
• The ability to build trust through transparency, candor, accessibility, and follow-through.
• Strong financial and organizational acumen, including experience overseeing budgets and organizational resources.
• Comfort with technology, data, CRM systems, and the use of information to support decision-making and donor relationships.
• A collaborative leadership style and the confidence to make decisions, provide direction, and respectfully challenge assumptions when appropriate.
• An appreciation for the diversity of South Jersey and a demonstrated commitment to equity, inclusion, and community voice.

Most importantly, the successful candidate will be a connector and storyteller, someone who can articulate why South Jersey matters, why philanthropy matters, and why CFSJ is uniquely positioned to make a difference. Education: A bachelor’s degree is preferred, although substantial relevant professional experience and demonstrated leadership achievement will be considered in lieu of a traditional academic credential Location: The Community Foundation of South Jersey operates as a remote organization. The Executive Director is expected to be highly visible and regularly present throughout the eight-county region, with frequent in-person engagement with donors, fundholders, nonprofit and civic partners, Board members, and community leaders. Given the highly relationship-driven nature of the position, candidates should expect significant travel throughout South Jersey and an active presence in the communities CFSJ serves. Compensation: The anticipated salary range for this position is $160,000–$190,000, commensurate with experience and qualifications. A competitive benefits package will also be provided. Closing Perspective This is an opportunity to lead an organization with meaningful assets, strong community roots, and significant untapped potential at a pivotal moment in its history. The next Executive Director will not simply inherit an established institution. They will help shape what CFSJ becomes. Success will mean a Foundation with a clear identity and strategy; a broader and more diverse base of donors and fundholders; stronger relationships throughout all eight counties; meaningful and visible community impact; an engaged and effective Board; an energized staff; and a sustainable organizational model positioned for the future. For the right leader, this is an opportunity to become a highly visible champion for South Jersey and to build an institution that can have lasting philanthropic and community impact across the region.