The Everglades Foundation seeks an accomplished, strategic, and entrepreneurial advancement leader to serve as its next Vice President of Development. This executive will build upon a period of exceptional fundraising momentum—having exceeded annual fundraising goals for each of the past five years and surpassing the original $75 million endowment campaign goal in December 2024—to lead the organization into its next phase of philanthropic growth and impact.

Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer and serving as a key member of the executive leadership team, the Vice President of Development will provide vision, strategy, and execution across all fundraising functions. The successful candidate will lead a high-performing, geographically distributed development organization and will be accountable for annual fundraising results of no less than $15 million, in addition to consistently securing annual endowment contributions and delivering results on special initiatives, including but not limited to a Science and Policy center initiative, capital projects, and innovative ventures such as AI initiatives and a film project (e.g., an IMAX feature).

A central priority of this role is to build and grow the Foundation’s endowment through the fundraising of named funds, endowed positions, departments, and new programmatic priorities, while helping to shape and lead the next comprehensive endowment campaign. The Vice President of Development will bring the experience, vision, and discipline required to position the Foundation for an endowment of $100–$200 million, ensuring long-term financial sustainability and mission impact.

Central to this role is the ability to tightly align philanthropic strategy with the Foundation’s strategic pillars—science, education, and advocacy—ensuring that fundraising priorities directly enable programmatic success and long-term mission outcomes. This leader will bring the mindset and capabilities of a modern chief advancement executive—combining relationship-driven fundraising excellence with sophisticated use of Salesforce, analytics, dashboards, and performance metrics to inform strategy, uncover new opportunities, and drive decision-making.

The Vice President of Development will work in close partnership with the Foundation’s Board of Directors and Chairman’s Advisory Council (CAC), serving as a trusted advisor and facilitator of meaningful engagement. This includes supporting and enhancing board members’ own philanthropic commitments, enabling strategic introductions, and partnering with Board and CAC leadership to unlock new relationships and fundraising opportunities—particularly in support of endowment growth and transformational giving. The Vice President will be a compelling ambassador for The Everglades Foundation’s mission and a key driver of its philanthropic success.

All applications, nominations, and inquiries are invited. Applications should include, as separate documents, a letter of interest addressing the themes in the leadership profile and a CV or resume.

WittKieffer is assisting the Everglades Foundation in this search. For fullest consideration, candidate materials should be received by April 13, 2026. Application materials should be submitted using WittKieffer’s candidate portal, or directed to Mercedes Chacón Vance and Sarah Seavey via email at EvergladesVPDevelopment@wittkieffer.com.

The Foundation is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions with respect to employees, vendors, or contractors shall be based on merit, qualifications, and competence. Employment decisions and practices shall not be influenced or affected by an applicant’s or employee’s race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, marital status, disability, veteran’s status, or any other category protected by law.

This policy governs all aspects of employment, promotion, compensation, assignment, termination, and other terms and conditions of employment. The Foundation is committed to understanding, valuing, and incorporating diversity within the organization. Diversity enriches the performance and service to partners and donors.