Senior Major Gifts Officer

Senior Major Gifts Officer

Greenwich Country Day School is an independent, co-educational day school with a current enrollment of over 1400 students in grades N-12, and a faculty and staff of over 350. The original Old Church Road campus is home to grades N-8. The High School, established in 2019, is located less than two miles away on Stanwich Road. Founded in 1926, Greenwich Country Day School is a family school where innovative teaching is encouraged as teachers model and foster a love of learning, challenge and inspire children toward academic excellence, and cultivate students' interests and talents outside of the classroom. We value purposeful and personal learning in a joyful environment, with emphasis on the development of character, creativity, and a sense of personal value, along with strong academic skills. GCDS is committed to graduating ethical, confident leaders who possess a strong sense of purpose.

GCDS is fortunate to have built a large endowment, which helps to fund competitive salaries and benefits, a robust professional development program, and reimbursement for graduate school tuition. GCDS offers a substantial need-based financial aid program to support students from a range of socio-economic backgrounds.

Greenwich Country Day School seeks an accomplished, relationship-driven Senior Major Gifts Officer (MGO) to start immediately, to help secure transformational philanthropic support during a historic moment in the School's trajectory as we begin our second century of educating and developing what is finest in our students. GCDS recently concluded an enormously successful $145 million campaign, GCDS FIRST, that galvanized record community participation and delivered a far-reaching impact for students and faculty. Reporting to the Head of Advancement, the MGO will manage a robust portfolio of donors and prospects, primarily at the six- and seven-figure levels. The MGO will also cultivate new philanthropic relationships. This is a largely external-facing position, requiring travel both locally in the tri-state area and nationally. The MGO will help foster a culture of collaboration, transparency, and shared purpose among the Advancement Team and with the campaign leadership. With a philanthropic community that is highly engaged and deeply invested in the mission, a successful candidate will bring both the discipline of metrics-driven fundraising and the intuition to cultivate authentic, enduring relationships. This role requires confidence, intellectual credibility, and warmth, as well as the ability to navigate complex donor relationships with trustees, parents, alumni, former parents, grandparents, and senior volunteers. This is an opportunity to join a mission-driven school with extraordinary momentum, work closely with inspiring institutional leadership, and help secure the philanthropic resources that will shape GCDS's future. The position offers not only the chance to strengthen GCDS's culture of giving but also the opportunity to play a key role in advancing the mission of preparing young men and women to lead lives of purpose.

Key responsibilities: The duties and responsibilities of the MGO include, but are not limited to:

• Build and maintain meaningful relationships with a portfolio of approximately 100-125 constituents (a mix of current parents, former parents, alumni, grandparents, and friends capable of making six- and seven-figure gifts)
• Qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward prospects in portfolio
• Collaborate with the Director of Campaigns and others on the Advancement Team to develop strategies for donor meetings, engagements, and proposals
• Prepare proposals and materials for solicitation and stewardship, including written documentation for accurate gift recording and use, acknowledgements, and reporting
• Complete a minimum of 140 visits with assigned prospects each year
• Secure six- and seven-figure gifts, as well as top leadership annual gifts, from donors in the portfolio
• Assist Advancement Team with activities and events, such as Reunion, Giving Day/Week, New Family Events, and more, as needed
• Travel for events, volunteer meetings, and prospect meetings, and work evenings and weekends when needed
• Maintain accurate and detailed records of activities using the school's CRM, Raiser's Edge NXT/Blackbaud.

Key qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree required
• 8-12 years of advancement experience required, preferably in higher education or at a boarding/independent school, preferably in a frontline fundraising capacity
• Proven track record of developing, engaging, and managing a large portfolio of donors/prospects
• Positive track with soliciting and closing six-figure plus gifts

Other key competencies:

• Excellent communication skills (oral and written) and the ability to engage varied audiences through oral and written communications, including gift proposals
• A demonstrated ability to collaborate and communicate with people at all levels of an organization and with volunteers
• Knowledge of CRM system and donor-activity tracking
• An enthusiasm for the students, mission, programs, and aspirations of GCDS
• Demonstrated organizational and time management skills along with the ability to multi-task with great attention to detail
• Ability to travel within the tri-state area and US, as needed, and attend school functions during and after normal business hours

Salary range: 130-160K