- Job Title: Major Gifts Officer
- Department: Development
- Reports to: CEO/Deputy Director
- Location: Los Angeles, CA; Montebello, CA (On-site)
- Status: Exempt
Position Summary
The Major Gifts Officer is a senior member of the Development Department responsible for identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding donors capable of making significant philanthropic investments. The position manages a strategic portfolio of major gift prospects and donors, develops individualized engagement plans, and works closely with executive leadership to secure transformational and multi-year support that advances the organization’s mission and long-term sustainability.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
- * Develop and implement a comprehensive major gifts strategy aligned with annual and multi-year fundraising goals.
- * Manage a portfolio of approximately 75-150 qualified major gift prospects and donors, with a focus on gifts of $25,000 or more or the threshold established by the organization.
- * Identify, research, qualify, and prioritize new major gift prospects through prospect research, referrals, community engagement, and relationship mapping.
- * Create individualized cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship plans that reflect each donor’s interests, capacity, relationship, and stage in the giving cycle.
- * Conduct donor meetings, site visits, presentations, briefings, and other meaningful engagement activities with prospective and current supporters.
- * Prepare compelling proposals, case statements, donor briefings, sponsorship requests, impact reports, and other customized fundraising communications.
- * Partner with the CEO, executive leadership, Development Director and other key ambassadors to develop donor strategies, prepare for solicitations, and conduct joint donor visits.
- * Build philanthropic partnerships that support strategic priorities through major, transformational, and multi-year investments.
- * Coordinate high-touch donor stewardship, including timely acknowledgments, impact updates, recognition, and ongoing engagement designed
Additional Responsibilities
- * Collaborate with the Development Department, Communications Department, programs and events staff to align donor messaging, funding opportunities, and engagement strategies.
- * Build a major gifts program, soliciting six and seven figure gifts
- * Maintain accurate and timely donor records, contact reports, proposal activity, gift information, and next steps in the organization’s donor database.
- * Assist in the development of the organization’s donor database
- * Develop major gift revenue projections, monitor pipeline activity, and report progress against goals and key performance indicators.
- * Support and/or develop donor cultivation events, site tours, briefings, receptions, and other opportunities that deepen relationships with prospects and supporters.
- * Prepare briefing materials for executive leadership and Board members before donor meetings and ensure appropriate follow-up on commitments and action items. Identify planned giving and legacy giving opportunities and coordinate with donors and professional advisors as appropriate.
- * Maintain current knowledge of philanthropic trends, charitable giving strategies, and major gifts best practices, while protecting donor confidentiality and upholding ethical fundraising standards.
- * Represent A New Way of Life at community, philanthropic, and networking events as appropriate and perform other development duties as assigned.
