Major Gifts Officer

Type: Full Time, Exempt

Location: We are seeking to hire two people for this role; one position will be located in the San Francisco Bay Area and the other must be located in New York City region.

About Internet Archive & the Open Staffing Foundation


Open Staffing Foundation (OSF) is a nonprofit that provides staffing services for the Internet Archive and other mission aligned organizations.


Internet Archive is a non-profit library, headquartered in San Francisco, with an ambitious mission: to provide "Universal Access to All Knowledge" - the books, web pages, audio, television and software of our shared human culture. Our 150 team members have built one of the top 300 websites in the world, The Internet Archive digitizes thousands of books a day and collects a hundred million web pages a week. In its 25+ years, it has built one of the largest digital libraries in the world by working with hundreds of national and international libraries, archives, museums, universities, and non-profits.

Job Summary

Reports to the Director of Philanthropy and works as a member of the Philanthropy team. Responsibilities include: cultivating and soliciting a portfolio of relationships with existing major gift prospects, as well as identifying new major donor prospects; participating in weekly team meetings; persuading prospects to support Archive projects; and working collaboratively with the Development Director and team on external fundraising events.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Direct Solicitation: Secure five and six-figure gifts to reach an initial $1 million annual goal (with subsequent increases annually).
• Donor-Centric Philanthropy: Align the Internet Archive's needs with the specific philanthropic goals and ambitions of individual donors.
• Relationship Building: Acknowledge major donors through a variety of creative outreach implementation strategies and fundraising event plans.
• Creative Stewardship: Manage large gifts with an understanding that sustainability and "building loyalty" are equally important.
• Systems Management: Maintain and manage donor activities within the customer relationship management system (CiviCRM) database.
• Moves Management: Create and execute structured fundraising plans to move donors through the pipeline (from identification to solicitation).
• Strategic Tracking: Knowledge of database systems to track and cultivate donors and prospects, including using donor wealth screening tools to build donor prospect profiles and plans.
• Internal Reporting: Provide daily workflow plans and maintain a constant feedback loop with the Director of Development.
• Progress Monitoring: Track and report progress to the Development Director using specific metrics and relationship model frameworks, and ensure major gifts are cultivated and solicited on a weekly basis.

Competencies to Succeed in the Role

Basic Abilities

• A commitment to the mission - to provide "Universal Access to All Knowledge"
• Possesses a learning mindset and a flexible approach to work, and adaptability to a non-traditional and unique work culture.
• Possesses high energy, a creative outlook and innovative thinking.

Communication Skills

• Impeccable communication and writing skills, with an ability to communicate information and ideas clearly on paper and in a persuasive manner.
• Adept at writing proposals, solicitation letters, donor correspondence, and other fundraising offers and materials.

Interpersonal Skills

• Skilled people-person with an outgoing nature; capable of empathizing with donors, as well as inspiring and influencing them.
• Knows how to work as a team player who is willing to share knowledge and be open to learning and feedback from others.

Organizational Skills

• Possesses exceptional organizational and administrative skills with the ability to to stay focused and meet deadlines.
• Knows how to create effective development strategies.

Computer Knowledge

• Proficient in Google suite, Slack, Asana, and donor databases.

Able to Reason & Think Critically

• Capable of solving problems with sound judgment and practical approaches - solution-oriented.
• Knows how to perform data analysis.

Education and Experience

• Required: A minimum of 5+ years of working as a major gift officer with major donors and family foundations.
• Required: Documented experience and quantifiable success in raising five, six and seven figure gifts.
• Required: Experience managing a full-spectrum portfolio of donors with an emphasis on engaging major donors in long-term fundraising by offering opportunities to contribute multi-year gifts and engagement in the mission
• Required: Experience working with Google suite, Slack, Asana, and donor databases that aid in the moves management process.
• Required: Bachelor's degree required, Master's degree preferred
• Preferred: Experience with events management and prospect research

IMPORTANT: We like cover letters. It helps us see how you communicate and express yourself in writing. Candidates who provide a cover letter will be prioritized.

Benefits & Perks

Internet Archive works with Open Staffing Foundation to recruit, hire and retain staff. Open Staffing Foundation offers a comprehensive benefits package, including PTO, paid holidays, medical, dental, and vision benefits, health savings and flexible spending accounts, commuter benefits, short-term and long-term disability coverage, and retirement programs.


At the Open Staffing Foundation, we believe our best work happens when diverse perspectives come together. We strongly encourage applications from individuals in groups underrepresented in the tech and library industries. We are proud to be an equal-opportunity employer, committed to fair employment practices regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, marital status, ancestry, disability, genetic information, veteran status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

We also aspire to make the online job application process accessible to any and all users. If you have a disability that impacts your ability to complete the application process, and would like to request assistance or accommodation, please contact us: View email address on click.appcast.io

Lastly, pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.