Foundation Director Jobs in California
Foundation Director jobs in California are in strong demand, with the state representing one of the most active markets in the country for this role, concentrated in philanthropy, higher education, hospital systems, and large nonprofit networks at every level from associate director through chief executive. Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego anchor most of the hiring, with major institutions like Kaiser Permanente, the University of California system, and the California Community Foundation regularly maintaining foundation director openings. The most sought-after specialties include healthcare philanthropy, capital campaign leadership, and community health foundation management. Find a role that fits below and apply directly.
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Showing 5 of 16+ Foundation Director jobs
About MISUMI Americas
MISUMI Americas, a division of MISUMI Group, is a leading provider of standard, configurable, and custom manufacturing solutions. By integrating a vast catalog of components with a world-class digital manufacturing platform, MISUMI Americas empowers engineers and procurement teams to accelerate innovation across the entire product lifecycle. With operations in the San Francisco Bay Area and Chicago, the company serves as a vital partner for the most innovative companies in the Americas.
About the Foundation
MISUMI Imprint Foundation is the first corporate giving organization in MISUMI Group's history. It launched in October 2026 with a $2 million seed investment from MISUMI Americas and a mandate to fund the people who will build the physical world.
The reasoning is straightforward. MISUMI supplies the components that engineers design into machines, and as AI moves out of software and into factories, vehicles, operating rooms, and orbit, demand is rising for engineers, machinists, and technicians who can build hardware that works safely and reliably in the real world. The United States is not producing enough of them. The Foundation exists to widen that pipeline.
We make grants in three areas:
- Scholarships & Access — need-based support for first-generation and underrepresented students in engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain, at four-year universities and community colleges alike
- Maker Programs — equipment grants for manufacturing labs, engineering team sponsorships, maker spaces, and student hackathons
- Industry–Academia Bridges — curricula built around real manufacturing problems, internship and apprenticeship pathways, mentorship and career support
The Foundation launched under the fiscal sponsorship of the SME Education Foundation and has filed for independent 501(c)(3) public charity status. Its defining structural feature is partner co-investment: MISUMI's global supplier partners are invited to contribute annually and join the Foundation Advisory Board, with seats at three tiers — Founding, Growth, and Community Partner.
About the role
This is a founding role. The mission is set, the seed capital is committed, and the board is in place. Almost everything else is yours to build: the first grant cycle, the review criteria, the partner program, the measurement framework, and the independent organization itself.
You will be the Foundation's first full-time employee and its public face — to universities and community colleges, to K–12 and robotics programs, to MISUMI's supplier partners, and to the press. You will report to the Board Chair and work closely with MISUMI Americas leadership, but the Foundation's day-to-day direction will be set by you.
We are looking for someone who wants the version of this job where the answers do not exist yet.
What you'll do
Build and run the grantmaking. Design the application, review, and award process across all three program areas. Source and evaluate grantees. Set award sizes and durations. Make the hard calls about what we fund and what we decline, and be able to explain both.
Grow the partner co-investment program. Recruit supplier partners into the Founding, Growth, and Community tiers. Run the Advisory Board, which convenes twice yearly to set grant priorities and announce awards jointly. Manage relationships with senior executives at some of the world's largest component manufacturers.
Complete the transition to an independent 501(c)(3). Work with counsel and the board to move the Foundation out of fiscal sponsorship into standalone operation — governance, policies, financial controls, audit readiness, and state charitable registrations.
Measure and report honestly. Define what success looks like beyond dollars granted, build the data to track it, and publish results — including the parts that did not work. Produce the Foundation's annual report.
Represent the Foundation externally. Speak at conferences and on campuses. Work with MISUMI Americas marketing on announcements and storytelling. Build relationships with industry bodies, workforce coalitions, and peer funders.
Build the team. Scope and hire the Foundation's next one to three roles as grant volume justifies them.
First-year priorities
- Open and close the inaugural grant cycle, with a defensible process and a portfolio you can stand behind
- Secure the first cohort of Founding Partners and hold two Advisory Board meetings
- Complete the 501(c)(3) determination and operational transition from fiscal sponsorship
- Publish a measurement framework and the Foundation's first annual report
- Establish institutional relationships with a target set of universities, community colleges, and K–12 programs
Desired Traits
- Seven or more years in philanthropy, workforce development, education, or a closely adjacent field, including direct ownership of a grantmaking or scholarship program — you have made funding decisions, not only administered them
- Experience building something from the beginning. A founding role, a new program inside a larger institution, or an organization you took from idea to operating. Comfort with ambiguity is not a nice-to-have here
- Credible with two very different audiences. You can hold a room of community college deans and a room of manufacturing executives, and you do not change your argument between them
- Fundraising or partner development track record. You have asked people for significant money and been told yes
- Working knowledge of nonprofit governance and compliance — 501(c)(3) requirements, fiscal sponsorship, board management, charitable registration. You do not need to be a lawyer, but you need to know what you are looking at
- Clear writing. Grant guidelines, board materials, annual reports, and declines all live or die on it
Genuine interest in manufacturing and engineering education. You do not need an engineering degree. You do need to find this industry interesting enough to learn it properly
Helpful, not required
- Background in engineering, manufacturing, or the skilled trades, or lived experience of a technical education pathway
- Familiarity with community college and technical program funding, CTE, or registered apprenticeships
- Relationships with FIRST, VEX, SkillsUSA, SME, NAM, the Manufacturing Institute, or similar
- Experience inside a corporate foundation, or navigating the relationship between a foundation and its corporate parent
- Japanese language ability or experience working across U.S. and Japanese organizations
What we offer
- The chance to build a foundation from its first grant, with committed capital and a board that wants it to be independent
- Competitive salary, health coverage, retirement contribution, and paid time off
- Remote-first, with travel to campuses, partner sites, MISUMI Americas offices, and the Advisory Board convenings
- A mandate that is deliberately broad, because the talent pipeline will change and we intend to change with it
Physical Demands
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- Ability to travel 25–30% annually within the United States for campus and grantee site visits, partner site visits, Advisory Board convenings (twice yearly), MISUMI Americas offices in the San Francisco Bay Area and Chicago, and industry conferences.
- Occasional international travel as the Foundation's work extends beyond the U.S.
Salary Range: $215,000 to $250,000 per year, based on experience and location
Interested in learning more? We look forward to hearing from you soon.
We're actively seeking teammates who:
- Bring diverse perspectives and experience to our culture and company.
- Excel at being part of a strong, empathetic team.
- Thrive in an environment emphasizing respect, honesty, collaboration, and growth.
- Have an 'always learning' mindset that celebrates learning, not just wins.
- Help us continue to build a world-class organization that values the contributions of all of our teammates
We encourage applications from members of underrepresented groups, including but not limited to women, members of the LGBTQ community, people of color, people with disabilities, and veterans.
About MISUMI Americas
MISUMI Americas, a division of MISUMI Group, is a leading provider of standard, configurable, and custom manufacturing solutions. By integrating a vast catalog of components with a world-class digital manufacturing platform, MISUMI Americas empowers engineers and procurement teams to accelerate innovation across the entire product lifecycle. With operations in the San Francisco Bay Area and Chicago, the company serves as a vital partner for the most innovative companies in the Americas.
About the Foundation
MISUMI Imprint Foundation is the first corporate giving organization in MISUMI Group's history. It launched in October 2026 with a $2 million seed investment from MISUMI Americas and a mandate to fund the people who will build the physical world.
The reasoning is straightforward. MISUMI supplies the components that engineers design into machines, and as AI moves out of software and into factories, vehicles, operating rooms, and orbit, demand is rising for engineers, machinists, and technicians who can build hardware that works safely and reliably in the real world. The United States is not producing enough of them. The Foundation exists to widen that pipeline.
We make grants in three areas:
- Scholarships & Access — need-based support for first-generation and underrepresented students in engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain, at four-year universities and community colleges alike
- Maker Programs — equipment grants for manufacturing labs, engineering team sponsorships, maker spaces, and student hackathons
- Industry–Academia Bridges — curricula built around real manufacturing problems, internship and apprenticeship pathways, mentorship and career support
The Foundation launched under the fiscal sponsorship of the SME Education Foundation and has filed for independent 501(c)(3) public charity status. Its defining structural feature is partner co-investment: MISUMI's global supplier partners are invited to contribute annually and join the Foundation Advisory Board, with seats at three tiers — Founding, Growth, and Community Partner.
About the role
This is a founding role. The mission is set, the seed capital is committed, and the board is in place. Almost everything else is yours to build: the first grant cycle, the review criteria, the partner program, the measurement framework, and the independent organization itself.
You will be the Foundation's first full-time employee and its public face — to universities and community colleges, to K–12 and robotics programs, to MISUMI's supplier partners, and to the press. You will report to the Board Chair and work closely with MISUMI Americas leadership, but the Foundation's day-to-day direction will be set by you.
We are looking for someone who wants the version of this job where the answers do not exist yet.
What you'll do
Build and run the grantmaking. Design the application, review, and award process across all three program areas. Source and evaluate grantees. Set award sizes and durations. Make the hard calls about what we fund and what we decline, and be able to explain both.
Grow the partner co-investment program. Recruit supplier partners into the Founding, Growth, and Community tiers. Run the Advisory Board, which convenes twice yearly to set grant priorities and announce awards jointly. Manage relationships with senior executives at some of the world's largest component manufacturers.
Complete the transition to an independent 501(c)(3). Work with counsel and the board to move the Foundation out of fiscal sponsorship into standalone operation — governance, policies, financial controls, audit readiness, and state charitable registrations.
Measure and report honestly. Define what success looks like beyond dollars granted, build the data to track it, and publish results — including the parts that did not work. Produce the Foundation's annual report.
Represent the Foundation externally. Speak at conferences and on campuses. Work with MISUMI Americas marketing on announcements and storytelling. Build relationships with industry bodies, workforce coalitions, and peer funders.
Build the team. Scope and hire the Foundation's next one to three roles as grant volume justifies them.
First-year priorities
- Open and close the inaugural grant cycle, with a defensible process and a portfolio you can stand behind
- Secure the first cohort of Founding Partners and hold two Advisory Board meetings
- Complete the 501(c)(3) determination and operational transition from fiscal sponsorship
- Publish a measurement framework and the Foundation's first annual report
- Establish institutional relationships with a target set of universities, community colleges, and K–12 programs
Desired Traits
- Seven or more years in philanthropy, workforce development, education, or a closely adjacent field, including direct ownership of a grantmaking or scholarship program — you have made funding decisions, not only administered them
- Experience building something from the beginning. A founding role, a new program inside a larger institution, or an organization you took from idea to operating. Comfort with ambiguity is not a nice-to-have here
- Credible with two very different audiences. You can hold a room of community college deans and a room of manufacturing executives, and you do not change your argument between them
- Fundraising or partner development track record. You have asked people for significant money and been told yes
- Working knowledge of nonprofit governance and compliance — 501(c)(3) requirements, fiscal sponsorship, board management, charitable registration. You do not need to be a lawyer, but you need to know what you are looking at
- Clear writing. Grant guidelines, board materials, annual reports, and declines all live or die on it
Genuine interest in manufacturing and engineering education. You do not need an engineering degree. You do need to find this industry interesting enough to learn it properly
Helpful, not required
- Background in engineering, manufacturing, or the skilled trades, or lived experience of a technical education pathway
- Familiarity with community college and technical program funding, CTE, or registered apprenticeships
- Relationships with FIRST, VEX, SkillsUSA, SME, NAM, the Manufacturing Institute, or similar
- Experience inside a corporate foundation, or navigating the relationship between a foundation and its corporate parent
- Japanese language ability or experience working across U.S. and Japanese organizations
What we offer
- The chance to build a foundation from its first grant, with committed capital and a board that wants it to be independent
- Competitive salary, health coverage, retirement contribution, and paid time off
- Remote-first, with travel to campuses, partner sites, MISUMI Americas offices, and the Advisory Board convenings
- A mandate that is deliberately broad, because the talent pipeline will change and we intend to change with it
Physical Demands
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- Ability to travel 25–30% annually within the United States for campus and grantee site visits, partner site visits, Advisory Board convenings (twice yearly), MISUMI Americas offices in the San Francisco Bay Area and Chicago, and industry conferences.
- Occasional international travel as the Foundation's work extends beyond the U.S.
Salary Range: $215,000 to $250,000 per year, based on experience and location
Interested in learning more? We look forward to hearing from you soon.
We're actively seeking teammates who:
- Bring diverse perspectives and experience to our culture and company.
- Excel at being part of a strong, empathetic team.
- Thrive in an environment emphasizing respect, honesty, collaboration, and growth.
- Have an 'always learning' mindset that celebrates learning, not just wins.
- Help us continue to build a world-class organization that values the contributions of all of our teammates
We encourage applications from members of underrepresented groups, including but not limited to women, members of the LGBTQ community, people of color, people with disabilities, and veterans.
See All 16 Foundation Director Jobs in California
Find roles in California that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Foundation Director JobsFoundation Director Jobs by City in California
Where California roles are concentrated, by current openings.
Foundation Director Job Market in California
A snapshot from current California openings, updated as new roles post.
Who's Hiring
Top Industries Hiring
- Science & Research
What California Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in foundation director jobs across California.
- Bachelor's or master's degree in nonprofit management, public administration, or a related field
- Demonstrated major gifts fundraising experience with a history of closing five- and six-figure donations
- Familiarity with California nonprofit compliance requirements and state charitable registration rules
- Proficiency with donor management software such as Raiser's Edge, Salesforce Nonprofit, or similar platforms
- Experience leading strategic planning, board relations, and foundation governance in California organizations
- Strong written and verbal communication skills for grant reporting, donor stewardship, and public representation
Foundation Director Jobs in California: Frequently Asked Questions
How do you become a foundation director in California?
Most foundation director roles in California require at least a bachelor's degree, with many employers preferring a master's in nonprofit management, public administration, or business administration. There is no state-issued license for this role, but California nonprofits expect familiarity with the California Attorney General's Registry of Charitable Trusts, which oversees charitable organizations operating in the state. Strong candidates typically advance through fundraising, program management, or grant administration roles at California foundations or hospital systems before stepping into director-level positions.
How much do foundation directors make in California?
Foundation directors in California earn a median of about $135,870 a year, based on May 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data, ranging from around $84,730 for the lowest 10% to over $257,500 for the top 10%. Pay rises with experience, specialty, and employer.
Which companies hire foundation directors in California?
Employers hiring foundation directors in California right now include Sharp HealthCare, Fictiv, and Illumina, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. California's density of major hospital networks, research universities, and community foundations means hiring is broad across the public, private nonprofit, and health system sectors.
Which California cities have the most foundation director jobs?
Orange, San Diego, and California have the most foundation director openings in California. Los Angeles leads because of its concentration of hospital foundations, arts endowments, and community nonprofits, while San Francisco's philanthropic sector is anchored by technology-sector family foundations and major health systems, and San Diego's activity reflects its large university and biomedical research presence.
Are there remote foundation director jobs in California?
Yes, but they're less common than in purely desk-based fields, since foundation directors frequently attend donor events, board meetings, and community engagements in person. About 100% of foundation director openings tied to California are remote or hybrid as of November 2026, with most flexibility found in grant strategy, donor communications, and foundation operations rather than frontline relationship management.
How can I get hired as a foundation director in California with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path is through a development associate or major gifts coordinator role at a California hospital foundation, community foundation, or large nonprofit. University of California campus foundations and health systems such as Cedars-Sinai and UCSF regularly hire entry-level development staff who build toward director roles. Earning a Certificate in Fundraising Management or completing a fellowship through the Association of Fundraising Professionals Golden State chapters strengthens candidates without prior director experience considerably.
Where can I find and apply to foundation director jobs in California?
You can find and apply to foundation director jobs in California on Migrate Mate, which lists current California openings from employers across the state. Find the roles that fit your background and apply directly.
See All 16 Foundation Director Jobs in California
Find roles in California that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Foundation Director Jobs