Major Gift Officer

Major Gift Officer

Palm Beach Atlantic University - West Palm Beach - West Palm Beach, FL 33401

Position Type Full Time Education Level 4 Year Degree Category Fundraising - Development

In support of the university's mission and objectives, the Major Gift Officer manages a portfolio of major gift prospects and donors, focusing on cultivation and solicitation to secure support for the School of Ministry and Palm Beach Atlantic University. This role develops personalized strategies in collaboration with Advancement and School Of Ministry leadership, meeting activity metrics for donor meetings, and maintaining donor contact reports in the donor database. This position requires strong relationship-building skills, strategic thinking, and a focus on achieving fundraising objectives.

Major Gifts Cultivation and Solicitation

• Manages a portfolio of approximately 100+ major and potential donor prospects and donors with a goal of developing and nurturing relationships for cultivation and solicitation.
• Cultivate churches and ministries for potential partnership opportunities.
• Actively participates in Prospect Moves Management meetings to strategize tailored approaches for each donor in collaboration with Advancement leadership, philanthropy consultants, and the School Of Ministry.
• Meets monthly activity metrics, including in-person (and as needed virtual) visits with prospects and donors for purposes of qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
• Reports on weekly activity through documentation, enters written contact reports interactions into the donor database (Raiser's Edge); circulates reports and statistics on activity metrics to the internal team weekly and discusses in detail at Prospect Moves Management meetings.
• Develops solicitation strategies for donors and prospects that align with the University's strategic vision and School Of Ministry; meeting goals for overall fundraising metrics within the School Of Ministry (annual gifts, endowment support, scholarships, planned gifts, etc) and PBA's annual fund.
• Partners with the Advancement team to maximize opportunities within existing campaigns and appeals, ensuring donor solicitation strategies are consistent and integrated specifically for the School Of Ministry.
• Identifies, cultivates, and pursues philanthropic funding to support the Contextually Engaged Theological Education (CETE) Foundation of South Florida.

Strategic Collaboration & Reporting

• Works closely with members of the Advancement department to develop and maintain a detailed plan to cultivate and solicit support to meet goals.
• Stays current on major programmatic initiatives and overall University and School Of Ministry strategic plans.
• Collaborates with the Advancement Communications and Special Events teams to strategize on cultivation events for major donors and prospects.
• Provides regular and detailed reports on prospect activities, donor interactions, and tracks progress toward fundraising goals.
• Uses data-driven insights to adjust and optimize strategies, ensuring that donor engagement activities meet the University and School Of Ministry goals and donor expectations.
• Participates in internal and external meetings, providing feedback and discussing strategies for long-term donor cultivation and support.
• Develops strong positive relationships within the university community.
• Attends the Association Of Theological Schools workshops and gatherings for development team members.

Event Engagement & Stewardship

• Attends and engages in high-level cultivation events, donor recognition programs, and fundraising events to strengthen relationships with current and potential major donors.
• Supports event planning efforts, ensuring key donors are included and engaged in university-sponsored events.
• Provides personalized stewardship to major donors through tailored communication, recognition, and engagement opportunities, ensuring that donors feel valued and informed about the impact of their contributions.

Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, Public Relations, or related field, required; Master's degree preferred, or equivalent experience. Certified Fund-Raising Executive (CFRE) preferred.

3+ years' proven experience cultivating, soliciting, and securing major donor gifts of $10,000+, required. Theological educational institution experience, preferred.

Essential Competencies (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities)

• Customer Service Orientation Keeps internal and/or external key stakeholder(s), students, parents, faculty, staff and community partners in mind at all times.
• Professionalism Displays a high level of professionalism, e.g. timeliness, reliability, communication, and work ethic.
• Christ-first Faith Provides spiritual support to community members, including students, on their Christian faith journey.
• Adaptable/Flexibility Ability to change or adjust to change.
• Analytical Thinking & Decision Making Identifies and understands trends and/or issues, connects data points through analysis and logical conclusions/actionable strategies.
• Attention to Detail Ability to efficiently and accurately focus on a specific task or number of tasks. Reviews details with a critical eye.
• Business & Financial/Budget Acumen Demonstrates knowledge and understanding of financial concepts, accounting, marketing and organizational functions.
• Change Management Ability to drive and implement change both internally and externally.
• Confidentiality Maintains the necessary confidentiality and discretion required for the position.
• Continuous Improvement Implement or brainstorm ways to optimize a process.
• Creativity Ability to think creatively and design creative solutions to problems.
• Effective Communication Expresses ideas and information in a clear and concise manner both verbally and in writing to convey clear, well-articulated messaging across a wide variety of audiences.
• Establishes Trust Gains the confidence of others by actions and words that promote being honest, forthcoming, and vulnerable.
• Project and Time Management Effective planning and priority setting. Ability to manage several complex projects simultaneously while working under pressure to meet deadlines.
• Results Orientation & Accountability Takes accountability and identifies, executes and drives actions to consistently achieve desired results.
• Self-development Grow one's self-awareness, abilities, skills, and/or talent.
• Strategic Mindset Ability to step out of the everyday details, view the situation from above and provide an objective perspective.
• Teamwork & Collaboration Creates a climate that fosters commitment to a common vision and shared values that promote cooperation and working together through trust and support of others both departmentally and cross-functionally.

Additional Requirements

• Ability to operate a PBA vehicle, equipment, or transport groups of students, including operating a van, car, golf cart, utility vehicle
• Must possess a valid U.S. driver's license.
• Ability to travel up to 30% of the time.
• Ability to work non-routine hours during certain times of the year.
• Ability to sit for prolonged periods of time.
• Ability to traverse campus and stairs.
• Ability to lift/move objects up to 25 pounds.