Job Purpose

The Director of Development is Khalil Center’s lead fundraiser and the person responsible for moving the needle on contributed revenue. This is a hands-on, relationship-driven role — not a strategist behind a desk and not a manager of a large team. The Director personally cultivates, solicits, and stewards donors; reactivates lapsed support; runs the organization’s appeal and Ramadan cycles; and builds a major-gift and physician-network pipeline. In the early phase, the Director makes major-donor asks alongside the Founder and senior leadership, then progressively takes ownership of those relationships as trust transfers. The role is built to start lean and grow: as contributed revenue scales, so do the Director’s autonomy, scope, and compensation.

Khalil Center is a national Muslim mental health organization operating clinics, educational programs, and community initiatives across multiple markets. Like most mission-driven Muslim institutions, it runs lean. This role is the organization’s investment in a professional, sustainable development function — starting with one capable, self-directed leader who can produce results quickly, supported by an engaged Founder, a development associate, volunteers, and contract specialists rather than a built-out department.

Duties and Responsibilities

The following are the primary day-to-day responsibilities for this position. These are not exclusive or all-inclusive. Other duties may be required and assigned. During your shift, not to exceed 8 hours per day, you will be responsible for the following responsibilities:

Key Responsibilities:

•  Serve as Khalil Center’s lead fundraiser — personally cultivate, solicit, and steward donors.

• Stabilize and grow contributed revenue across individual, recurring, institutional, and community giving.

• Reactivate lapsed donors and run disciplined appeal, event, and Ramadan cycles for near-term support.

• Build and carry a major-gift and physician-network pipeline for sustained, longer-term growth.

• Develop the strategy and creative approach for how to reach the goals leadership sets — and execute it.

Fundraising Responsibilities:

• Build and carry a personal portfolio of major-gift prospects with disciplined moves management — identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.

• Co-ask, then own. Make major-donor asks initially alongside the Founder and senior leadership, then progressively take ownership of those relationships as they transfer.

• Run segmented annual, recurring, and digital giving, including a disciplined Ramadan campaign and well-chosen donor events.

• Cultivate Muslim physician and professional networks aligned to the mental-health mission.

• Pursue institutional and foundation grants — directing a contract grant writer as needed rather than carrying all proposal writing personally.

• Select the right fundraising vehicle for each opportunity — major-donor cultivation, small gatherings and living-room events, professional networks, foundations, digital, and select strategic events — based on donor behavior, not a single model.

• Make direct funding asks and close gifts.

Strategy & Recommendations:
Leadership sets the targets, phases, and direction; the Director designs how to get there, brings the plan forward, and defends it with data.

• Develop and own the annual fundraising plan and calendar, and the creative approach for hitting the targets leadership sets.

•  Bring proposals and recommendations to leadership — for example, national versus local emphasis — and defend them with data on results, networks, and donor behavior; execute once approved.

• Bring donor intelligence and market feedback back to leadership, and adjust tactics based on results.

• Recommend, over time, how to diversify revenue and reduce reliance on any single source.

Relationship & Stewardship Responsibilities:

• Maintain a personal portfolio of donor relationships with regular, substantive contact.

• Partner with the Founder on cultivating top donors and on the orderly hand-off of those relationships over time.

• Implement a lean stewardship system — timely acknowledgment, impact reporting, and a donor experience that drives retention and repeat giving.

• Engage the Founder and board in cultivation and introductions, drawing on their relationships to open doors.

• Host donor gatherings and represent Khalil Center to donors and the community.

Operations & Mobilization:

• Oversee the donor CRM. Review data quality, build dashboards and workflows, and use the system to drive decisions — directing the development associate, who handles day-to-day data entry, to pull data and reporting as needed.

• Build a culture of philanthropy — equip the Founder, board, staff, clinicians, and volunteers to act as ambassadors.

• Coordinate volunteers and contract specialists (such as a grant writer) rather than managing a standing team in the early phase.

• Partner with marketing on content and appeals, and with finance on gift processing and reporting.
  

Travel Expectations:
Based onsite in Chicago / Chicagoland, with regular travel to donor meetings, Khalil Center sites, and relevant events — including on short notice when significant fundraising opportunities arise. Relationship-based fundraising frequently occurs in the field and outside standard business hours.

Qualifications and Skills

Required

• Track record of personally raising money. Five or more years in fundraising with demonstrated success personally cultivating, soliciting, and closing gifts — not only managing campaigns or events.

• Ability to operate independently. Comfortable being the engine — self-directed, resourceful, and effective without a large team behind them.

• Community credibility and relationships. Established trust and relationships within the Muslim community, with the standing to open doors and make asks; fluency in the religious framing of giving.

• Strong relationship and communication skills; comfortable leading donor conversations and making direct asks.

• Organized, disciplined, resilient in the face of rejection, and comfortable traveling on short notice.

•  Comfort overseeing a donor CRM — reviewing data, building dashboards, and using reporting to drive decisions.

• Commitment to and identification with Khalil Center’s mission.

• Familiarity with Islamic theology, customs, rituals, and rules.

• Must be willing to successfully complete and pass a comprehensive background screening check.

Preferred

• Bachelor’s degree; a related Master’s or CFRE credential is a plus (a strong track record matters more than either).

• Existing relationships with Muslim physician or professional donor networks.

• Familiarity with mental health, healthcare, or clinical service organizations.

• Experience standing up lean development systems — a donor database, pipeline, and reporting — without heavy infrastructure.

• Experience fundraising across multiple markets.

Core Competencies

• Relationship builder. A people person — articulate, socially aware, trusted by donors and community.

• Self-directed operator. Produces results with minimal infrastructure; opportunity-oriented and comfortable with ambiguity.

• Resilient and disciplined. Operates with urgency; thick skin for fundraising rejection.

• Results-focused. Owns the number; when targets lag, explains activity, pipeline, and a corrective plan with data.

• Mobilizer. Galvanizes the Founder, board, staff, and volunteers toward shared goals.

• Board-deferent yet candid. Executes leadership priorities while recommending adjustments grounded in donor behavior.

Success Metrics:

• Contributed (donation) revenue versus historical baseline — stabilize, then exceed.

• Progress toward covering the fully loaded cost of the position.

• Lapsed-donor reactivation and donor retention rate.

• Major-gift pipeline value and conversion.

• Recurring / sustainer base growth.

Year One Priorities:

• Stabilize contributed revenue and make clear progress toward replacing historical levels.

• Reactivate lapsed donors and deliver strong appeal and Ramadan cycles.

• Build a qualified major-gift and physician-network pipeline, with first gifts co-closed with the Founder.

• Establish lean systems — CRM oversight, pipeline, and stewardship — the organization can sustain.

Working Conditions

• Professional office setting, relaxed business/Islamic attire (culturally attuned to Islamic work context).

• Working in office.

• Routinely use standard office equipment such as computers, phones, etc.

Compensation

•  Compensation: commensurate with experience, with clear growth as fundraising results and responsibilities scale.

• This position is full-time, exempt, salaried, senior individual contributor.

• This position is onsite — Chicago / Chicagoland, with regular travel.

• Professional development: support for continued growth, including enrollment in a recognized philanthropy or fundraising certificate program.

• Time off & benefits: paid time off including both Eids, plus additional benefits per Khalil Center policy.
  

Growth Path:
This role is hired lean and built to grow. Early on, leadership sets clear parameters and reviews strategy closely. As the Director earns trust and delivers results, they gain increasing autonomy — eventually owning the fundraising strategy end to end, building and leading a team, and bringing the board in to support a vision they drive. Compensation and scope grow with results. A Director who builds the engine is positioned to grow into senior development leadership as the function scales.

How to Apply

Interested candidates should apply via our website. Please visit www.khalilcenter.com and complete the online application. Be sure to include your resume and a cover letter detailing your relevant experience and why you are interested in this position.

*Applications without a cover letter will not be accepted.