Lawndale Christian Legal Center
Vice President, Advancement
Chicago, IL
Salary: $160,000-$190,000
BACKGROUND
The Organization
Lawndale Christian Legal Center (LCLC) is a community-rooted, justice-centered organization serving North Lawndale through holistic legal defense, restorative justice, housing, and wraparound support for youth 25 years old and younger. With an annual operating budget of approximately $10 million and a multidisciplinary staff of about 75 people, LCLC works at the intersection of public safety, community stability, and human dignity.
LCLC was founded out of Lawndale Community Church along with several other sister non-profits and is deeply embedded in the neighborhood it serves. Approximately 70 percent of staff live in or have strong ties to North Lawndale, bringing lived experience, long-term relationships, and cultural fluency to the work. This proximity shapes how LCLC shows up in the community and how it builds trust with clients, partners, and supporters.
The organization is at an important moment of transition and opportunity. Following a successful $22.5 million capital effort tied to new housing and facilities, LCLC is shifting from a period of expansion to a focus on sustainability, impact, and institutional strength. As part of this next phase, LCLC is advancing a justice innovation model that pilots new approaches, evaluates outcomes, publishes articles, and scales successful pilots.
This moment creates a compelling opportunity for senior advancement leadership. LCLC has a strong philanthropic foundation, a growing base of individual and major donors, and a powerful mission that resonates with supporters. At the same time, the organization is intentionally moving toward a more structured, team-based fundraising model.
You can learn more on the organization’s website, www.lclc.net.
Our North Lawndale Community
North Lawndale and its founding church is central to LCLC’s identity and work. The organization is committed to serving the community with respect, consistency, and accountability, and to building solutions alongside the people most impacted by the justice system.
The community is rich in local leadership, long-standing relationships, and neighborhood-based organizations working together to strengthen safety, stability, and opportunity.
For the Vice President of Advancement, community engagement is not necessarily about residency, but about presence and partnership. The successful candidate will take the time to listen, learn, and build authentic relationships with community members, clients, staff, and local partners, and will be able to speak about North Lawndale with care, fluency, and respect.
This community-rooted faith-based approach strengthens LCLC’s fundraising. Donors are drawn to the organization’s credibility, its accountability to place, and its commitment to long-term impact. The Vice President of Advancement will play a key role in translating community trust into donor confidence and sustained philanthropic support.
The Position
The Vice President of Advancement is a senior, hands-on fundraising leader responsible for building the systems, team, discipline, and relationships needed to support LCLC’s next phase of growth and growing individual giving and major gifts.
The Vice President of Advancement reports to the President & CEO and works in close partnership with the CEO and Board Fundraising Chair. This role serves as a key member of the senior leadership team and collaborates closely with executive, program, and operations leaders across the organization.
The Vice President of Advancement directly supervises the Donor Experience Officer and Grant Manager, and oversees the work of external consultants supporting grants, events, marketing, and communications. The role is accountable for setting clear priorities, strengthening moves management and forecasting, and ensuring consistent follow-up and stewardship.
This role is both strategic and highly practical. The VP of Advancement will personally manage and solicit a portfolio of major donors, partner closely with the CEO and Board on fundraising, and lead a small advancement team that includes individual giving and grants. While the role provides oversight across advancement functions, success will depend on strong frontline fundraising, relationship building, and the ability to move donors from interest to investment. The VP of Advancement will be responsible for building the development and marketing team needed to accomplish LCLC’s fundraising goals.
The VP of Advancement will play a central role in expanding LCLC’s fundraising base by growing the major donor pipeline, strengthening monthly giving, and unlocking untapped revenue across events, corporate and law firm partnerships, faith communities, and broader public engagement. This is a relationship-driven role for a practitioner who is comfortable being visible, building trust with a wide range of supporters, and partnering across fundraising, marketing, and communications to translate LCLC’s work into compelling, donor-centered narratives that reach new audiences.
ROLE OVERVIEW
Advancement Strategy & Organizational Leadership
• Develop and execute a multi-year advancement strategy aligned with LCLC’s strategic plan, annual budget, and long-term sustainability goals.
• Serve as a member of the executive leadership team, contributing to organizational strategy and decision-making.
• Partner with the Vice President of Finance to align revenue forecasts with the budget and ensure accurate tracking, reporting, and use of contributed revenue.
• Stay informed on philanthropic trends and best practices to inform strategy and continuous improvement.
Major Gifts & Individual Giving
• Personally manage and solicit a portfolio of major donors and prospects, leading cultivation, stewardship, and solicitation efforts.
• Partner closely with the President & CEO and Board Fundraising Chair to advance major gift strategies, donor relationships, and solicitations.
• Lead the growth of LCLC’s major donor and individual giving pipeline, including prospect identification, qualification, and long-term relationship building.
• Supervise the Donor Experience Officer and set clear annual goals for individual giving revenue.
• Strengthen moves management, forecasting, and portfolio discipline to ensure consistent progress and accountability.
Institutional Giving & Partnerships (Oversight with Select Execution)
• Oversee the grants program, ensuring timely, high-quality proposals and reports.
• Supervise the Grant Manager and grant-writing consultant, providing guidance and stepping in to support proposal development as needed.
• Cultivate and maintain relationships with foundations, law firms, faith institutions, and corporate partners, with a focus on alignment and long-term partnership rather than volume.
Events & Donor Experiences
• Provide strategic oversight of LCLC’s major fundraising events, including the Annual Gala and Wake Up Justice breakfast.
• Supervise and partner with PC Experiences to ensure effective planning, execution, and post-event evaluation.
• Ensure events support broader donor cultivation, stewardship, and revenue goals rather than operating as standalone activities.
Board & Volunteer Engagement
• Collaborate with the President & CEO and Board Fundraising Committee to engage Board members in meaningful fundraising activities.
• Support Board members in donor outreach, introductions, and solicitation efforts.
• Provide regular fundraising updates and insights to the Board of Directors.
Team Leadership & Advancement Operations
• Lead, supervise, and develop the advancement team, including the Donor Experience Officer and Grant Manager.
• Establish clear priorities, roles, and performance expectations across the team.
• Ensure strong fundraising operations, including CRM oversight, data integrity, reporting, and pipeline management.
Marketing & Communications Collaboration (Strategic Oversight)
• Provide strategic oversight of fundraising communications, including donor messaging, collateral, and the annual report.
• Manage and partner with marketing and communications consultants to ensure consistent, compelling, and donor-centered messaging.
• Collaborate across departments to ensure fundraising communications accurately reflect program impact and community priorities.
Organizational
Annual Budget Staff Size Raised in Recent
Capital Campaign
$10M 75 $22.5M
THE IDEAL CANDIDATE
The ideal candidate for the VP of Advancement position possesses the following competencies:
Additional Qualifications
• Significant experience as a hands-on fundraising practitioner, with a demonstrated track record of personally cultivating, soliciting, and closing major gifts.
• Evidence of progressive fundraising experience, including senior-level responsibility for individual giving and major gifts within a nonprofit organization.
• Proven success building and advancing a major donor pipeline, including prospect identification, qualification, moves management, and forecasting.
• Experience developing and executing advancement strategies that translate into measurable revenue growth.
• Fluency across advancement functions, including individual giving, major gifts, institutional giving, events, and donor stewardship, with depth in major gifts.
• Strong experience partnering with a Board of Directors and senior leadership, including engaging board members in donor cultivation and solicitation.
• Comfort supervising staff and external consultants, setting priorities, and holding others accountable for results.
• Working knowledge of fundraising CRMs and donor data systems, with the ability to ensure data integrity, reporting, and pipeline discipline.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to build trust in one-to-one donor conversations and produce clear, concise written follow-up and proposals.
• Alignment with LCLC’s mission and a demonstrated ability to engage respectfully and effectively with community-rooted organizations.
• A bachelor’s degree is preferred but not required. Relevant fundraising experience, judgment, and results are more important than formal credentials.
• CFRE certification or similar professional credentials are welcome but not required.
WHO WE ARE
Work Environment
Hybrid of onsite and remote office setting conditions may apply. Travel and evening and weekend work may be required.
Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
Lawndale Christian Legal Center is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, marital status, age, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic information, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other status protected under federal, state, or local law. All aspects of employment including the decision to hire, promote, discipline, or discharge, will be based on merit, competence, performance, and organizational needs. Our goal is to be a diverse workforce that is representative of those we serve.
North Lawndale residents and minorities encouraged to apply.
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
Salary: $160,000-$190,000
Benefits
LCLC offers a competitive compensation package designed to support employee well-being, financial security, and work-life balance.
Health & Wellness
• Medical insurance through Blue Cross Blue Shield, with multiple plan options; LCLC covers 75% of the employee premium
• Dental and vision insurance through Principal, with 75% of the employee premium covered
• Employer-paid life insurance policy of $50,000, including accidental death and dismemberment coverage
• Long-term disability insurance, 60% employer-paid, providing income replacement after 60 days
• Health Savings Account (HSA) and Flexible Spending Account (FSA) options
Retirement
• 401(k) retirement plan available on the first day of employment
• Employer match of 100% on the first 3% of employee contributions and 50% on the next 2%
• Roth 401(k) option available
Time Off & Leave
• Unlimited PTO for full-time employees after 60 days
• Paid sick leave and paid leave in accordance with Illinois law
• 16 paid holidays annually
• Bereavement leave for immediate family
• Up to 8 weeks of paid medical leave for eligible family or personal health needs
• Up to 8 weeks of paid parental leave for birth, adoption, or foster placement
Additional Benefits
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) offering counseling, legal support, and wellness resources
TIMELINE AND NEXT STEPS
If you are interested in this position, please click here. All applicants will receive an email confirming receipt of their application.
We encourage candidates of all backgrounds to apply even if you do not meet all of the qualifications outlined above. If you are selected to move forward for an initial screening call, we expect you to hear from us by March 2026.