Location: San Francisco with some work-from-home allowed.
Compensation: Salary range from $165,000 - $185,000.
Applications considered on a rolling basis until Sunday Feb 8, 11:59PM
Target Start Date: April 1, 2026
Apply now: https://airtable.com/app2gBHgmUygAPUQs/pagJJbWQ6R2tDAt3T/form
KALW Public Media is at an inflection point.
KALW has always been more than a radio station. After more than eight decades on the air, we are now stepping fully into our role as an independent nonprofit public media organization with the freedom and responsibility that comes with it. Rooted in the Bay Area and shaped by its creativity and contradictions, KALW produces independent journalism, music, and cultural programming, trains emerging media makers, and shows up in places where public media rarely goes. We gather people through live events that create connection and belonging. In summer 2026, we will move into a new downtown San Francisco headquarters designed as a civic space for dialogue, culture, and community.
We are now seeking a senior fundraising leader to help carry this work forward. The title is flexible. The mandate is not.
This is a rare opportunity to shape the fundraising future of a respected, innovative independent media organization at a moment of growth, visibility, and possibility.
The Opportunity
The Director of Development will be a core member of KALW’s senior leadership team and a key partner to the Executive Director, who is deeply engaged in fundraising and brings a strong, hands-on track record of building donor relationships and securing support. You will lead strategy and execution across institutional giving, major gifts, listener membership, on-air and digital campaigns, and board engagement, while helping to build a sustainable, values-aligned public media funding model for the long term.
You will inherit real momentum. A newly engaged and growing board. A small, talented development team. Strong donor loyalty. Clear strategic priorities. A leadership culture that values fundraising as relationship building, storytelling, and shared purpose, not transactional extraction.
You will also help lead KALW into its next chapter, including our move into a new downtown building that will dramatically expand our visibility, programming, and community engagement.
If you are looking for a role where fundraising is central to mission, creativity, and civic impact, this is that role.
WHAT YOU WILL DO
Lead fundraising strategy
In close partnership with the Executive Director
- Design and execute a comprehensive fundraising strategy aligned with KALW’s mission, values, and growth goals
- Set clear revenue targets and build systems to meet them across individual, institutional, and earned revenue
- Evaluate current systems and tools to design fundraising practices moving forward
Lead institutional storytelling and marketing strategy
- Partner with communications, editorial, and senior leadership to shape and steward KALW’s institutional narrative
- Ensure fundraising, marketing, and public-facing communications are aligned, compelling, and values-driven
- Help translate complex work into clear, resonant stories for donors, foundations, partners, and the broader public
- Play a senior role in defining how KALW shows up as a brand, a civic institution, and a cultural force
Grow major, leadership, and listener giving
- Personally manage a portfolio of major and principal gift prospects
- Partner closely with the Executive Director on top relationships and solicitations
- Help donors and listeners see themselves as builders of public media and civic infrastructure
Advance institutional partnerships
- Lead institutional fundraising strategy and relationships with local, regional, and national foundations
- Personally engage with foundation partners as a senior representative of KALW, shaping multi-year investments aligned with our journalism, music, training, and civic impact work
- Oversee foundation and institutional giving in close partnership with program, editorial, and leadership staff
- Position KALW as a trusted, long-term partner for foundation investment in public media, culture, and civic life, and as a field leader in innovative, community-centered public media
Strengthen listener membership and on-air fundraising
- Provide strategic leadership for KALW’s listener membership program, including on-air drives and digital campaigns
- Partner with programming, editorial, and marketing teams to evolve on-air drives so they are mission-forward, compelling, and aligned with KALW’s values and voice
- Use audience insight, storytelling, and experimentation to grow listener revenue and deepen long-term member relationships
Lead and develop the team
- Manage and mentor a small, strong development team
- Build a culture of collaboration, accountability, and joy around fundraising
- Work with a highly engaged, evolving board to deepen giving, expand networks, and strengthen governance around fundraising
- Support board members as authentic ambassadors and fundraisers
WHO YOU ARE
You are an experienced fundraising leader who believes deeply in the power of independent media, culture, and public service. You are a long-term builder who wants to put down roots, steward relationships over time, and help grow an institution through its next chapter rather than move quickly from role to role. You are both strategic and relational. You are comfortable setting ambitious goals and rolling up your sleeves. While there is no hard minimum, we expect to hire someone with at least 8 years of experience in fundraising.
You likely bring many of the following:
- Proven experience building strong fundraising systems
- Campaign leadership and philanthropy networks
- Ability to manage staff, consultants, board fundraising, and storytelling
- Significant experience leading successful fundraising programs, including demonstrated experience in closing and shepherding major gifts
- Comfort working directly with executive leadership and boards
- A track record of building trust and engagement strategies with donors and partners over time
- A belief that fundraising is about relationships, storytelling, and shared values
- Excellent judgment, emotional intelligence, and follow-through
- A desire to build something durable, not just hit this year’s number
- Experience in public media is welcome but not required. Alignment with our mission is.
Compensation and Benefits
- Salary range from $165,000 - $185,000, with some flexibility
- Excellent benefits package
- Six weeks of paid vacation, plus holidays
- A flexible, humane work culture that values sustainability
This is a senior leadership role with real influence and room to grow.
Why KALW
KALW is not standing still. We are reimagining what a local public media station can be in this moment.
We are:
- A trusted Bay Area institution with national relevance
- A newsroom and music station that trains new voices and amplifies local truth
- A convener of live events and public conversation
- A civic space in the making, with a new downtown home opening soon
We are building something that matters. We are looking for a fundraising leader who wants to build it with us.
HOW TO APPLY
Please complete the application form and submit a resume and a brief letter describing your interest in KALW and this role. Application form link: https://airtable.com/app2gBHgmUygAPUQs/pagJJbWQ6R2tDAt3T/form
We are more interested in how you think and build relationships than in checking boxes.
KALW Public Media is an equal opportunity employer. We strongly encourage candidates from communities historically underrepresented in public media and philanthropy to apply.
Applications considered on a rolling basis until Sunday Feb 8, 11:59PM
Target Start Date: April 1, 2026
Email Eli Wirtschafter at eli@kalw.org if you have any questions or accessibility issues.