Faith-Based Major Gifts Officer

Position Summary

The Major Gifts Officer is responsible for developing, cultivating, and maintaining relationships with major donors and prospective major donors. This individual effectively communicates the organization's mission, programs, and impact to generate financial support while increasing donor awareness, engagement, and long-term involvement. The role works closely with department leadership and executive management to develop and execute fundraising strategies that support organizational goals.

Essential Functions

• Manage an assigned portfolio of current and prospective major donors, including individuals, organizations, and other strategic giving partners.
• Identify and qualify prospective donors based on giving capacity, philanthropic interests, engagement, and likelihood of support.
• Develop strategies to cultivate, engage, and grow relationships with existing donors and prospective major contributors.
• Meet or exceed established activity expectations for donor outreach, including phone calls, virtual meetings, in-person visits, written correspondence, and other engagement initiatives.
• Achieve established annual fundraising, donor retention, activity, and portfolio performance goals in alignment with organizational objectives.
• Maintain strong communication with department leadership and executive management regarding significant donor interactions, relationship developments, fundraising opportunities, and recommended strategies.
• Develop and maintain long-term relationships with donors through consistent communication, personalized engagement, and thoughtful stewardship.
• Create annual donor engagement and cultivation plans in collaboration with leadership, identifying opportunities for in-person meetings and other strategic interactions.
• Strategically plan and coordinate travel and donor visits to maximize relationship-building opportunities and fundraising effectiveness.
• Utilize technology, CRM platforms, virtual meeting tools, automated communication workflows, personalized video messaging, and customized correspondence to cultivate and steward donor relationships.
• Identify high-potential prospects within newly assigned portfolios and develop strategies to convert qualified prospects into active donors.
• Evaluate donor engagement, giving potential, and relationship development to determine appropriate cultivation strategies, including ongoing relationship management, automated engagement, or alternative fundraising approaches.
• Identify opportunities for planned giving, estate contributions, and other legacy giving arrangements through ongoing donor conversations and follow-up.
• Maintain consistent communication and engagement strategies with current and prospective donors to identify areas of interest, strengthen relationships, and encourage new or increased financial support.
• Utilize donor management systems and fundraising pipelines to track solicitation activity, opportunities, progress, and results.
• Participate in special fundraising initiatives, including matching gift campaigns, capital projects, special appeals, and other organizational fundraising priorities.
• Plan and coordinate small-group donor events and gatherings designed to cultivate existing relationships and engage new prospective donors.
• Maintain a strong understanding of organizational programs, services, and initiatives to effectively communicate the organization's mission and impact.
• Provide donors with timely updates, progress reports, and information regarding programs or initiatives they support.
• Demonstrate professionalism, empathy, and strong interpersonal skills when engaging donors, including the ability to build trust and maintain appropriate professional boundaries.
• Identify and recommend process improvements that increase efficiency, strengthen donor engagement, reduce redundancies, and improve overall fundraising operations.
• Maintain accurate donor records, communication histories, engagement activity, and fundraising pipeline information within the organization's CRM system.

Additional Responsibilities

• Collaborate with fundraising leadership, executive management, marketing, communications, and other internal departments to ensure coordinated donor engagement and stewardship strategies.
• Assist in developing fundraising proposals, donor reports, presentations, and other written materials to support donor engagement and solicitation efforts.
• Complete expense reporting and maintain appropriate documentation in accordance with organizational policies.
• Follow established procedures and participate in cross-training to support departmental continuity and coverage.
• Identify opportunities to improve workflows, documentation, and departmental processes in collaboration with management.
• Perform other duties as assigned.