Major Gifts Officer

ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION AND THE OPPORTUNITY

EdTrust seeks a Major Gifts Officer to support the organization’s growing national impact across federal, state, and regional education policy and advocacy efforts. The Major Gifts Officer will join a mission-driven organization committed to closing educational opportunity gaps that disproportionately affect students of color and students from low-income backgrounds.

The Major Gifts Officer is a newly created, foundational role responsible for building and scaling EdTrust’s national and California major gifts strategy and capability. This role works closely with senior leadership across EdTrust and EdTrust-West to design and implement a major gifts program that expands EdTrust’s base of support, deepens long-term donor relationships, and strengthens the pipeline of unrestricted and flexible funding.

This is a unique opportunity for a fundraising professional who is energized by building a function rather than inheriting a mature program. The Major Gifts Officer will help establish the strategy, systems, processes, and donor engagement practices that will shape EdTrust's major gifts program for years to come. Working across both EdTrust and EdTrust-West, this role serves as a shared fundraising resource supporting aligned national and California fundraising priorities.

EdTrust is committed to advancing policies and practices that dismantle the racial and economic barriers embedded in the U.S. education system. Through research and advocacy, EdTrust improves equity in education from preschool through college, engages diverse communities dedicated to equity and justice, and increases political and public will to build an education system where all students will thrive.

This role, available immediately, can be based in either the EdTrust National Office in Washington, DC or our EdTrust-West Oakland, CA office and is eligible for telework up to 3 days a week per our current policy. California candidates unable to relocate to Oakland but who can work from a home office located in the state of California will also be considered. Significant travel (i.e., up to 50% time) is expected.

The Major Gifts Officer reports to the EdTrust Chief Development Officer and works in close partnership with the EdTrust CEO and EdTrust-West leadership. This position serves as a shared fundraising resource across EdTrust and EdTrust-West, requiring strong collaboration to advance both national and California fundraising priorities within a unified major gifts strategy.

ABOUT THE MAJOR GIFTS OFFICER ROLE

The responsibilities and objectives for this role include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Design and launch EdTrust’s national major gifts strategy, including portfolio structure, donor segmentation, and relationship management frameworks in collaboration with the Chief Development Officer
• Establish and refine major gift systems, processes, and moves management practices that support long-term fundraising growth and sustainability
• Develop portfolio management, prospect review, forecasting, record maintenance, and performance measurement practices within EdTrust’s fundraising systems that enable leadership to track progress and make strategic decisions
• Serve as the primary coordinator of major donor engagement strategies among the Chief Development Officer, EdTrust CEO, and EdTrust-West leadership, ensuring alignment and effective stewardship of executive relationships
• Work closely with EdTrust-West leadership to support regional major gift opportunities in California, within a cohesive national strategy
• Build and actively manage a portfolio of individual donors and family foundations with capacity for significant five, six, and seven-figure investments
• Attend donor meetings, regional events, conferences, and networking opportunities to cultivate relationships and expand EdTrust’s major donor community
• Develop and execute multi-year cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship plans for top prospects
• Partner with executive leadership to identify, qualify, and cultivate new major gift prospects aligned with organizational priorities
• Collaborate with leadership and staff on donor proposals, customized investment opportunities, and stewardship materials
• Travel up to approximately 50 percent of the time to build and sustain donor relationships across priority regions

IDEAL SKILLS & CHARACTERISTICS

The ideal candidate is a relationship-driven fundraising professional with experience building and growing major gifts programs. Ideal candidates will have a combination of the following skills and characteristics:

• Shared belief in Ed Trust’s mission and a commitment to improving educational equity with a focus on racial equity
• Dedication in contributing to and maintaining an equitable working environment
• Willingness to receive and act upon, as well as provide, constructive feedback
• A flexible, entrepreneurial mindset, with experience having developed and implemented new programs/systems that required piloting, testing, measuring, and adapting
• Strong relationship-building and management skills, including being able to represent the organization’s work compellingly and create different points of connection for donors, as well as identify ways to deepen/strengthen donor relationships based on individual interests
• Demonstrated success securing significant gifts (e.g., five, six, seven figure)
• Comfort partnering closely with executive leaders, managing up and ensuring alignment, and supporting decision making
• Strong project management and time management skills
• Willingness and flexibility to travel extensively, as well as to work outside of traditional office hours (e.g., evening events) to fulfill the requirements of this position

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• A bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience
• Significant (e.g., seven or more years) experience in major gifts fundraising
• Demonstrated experience building or scaling major gifts efforts
• Experience managing donor portfolios
• Experience fundraising for policy, advocacy, civil rights, research, systems change, or other mission-driven organizations strongly preferred
• Ability to translate policy and advocacy priorities into compelling donor investment opportunities strongly preferred