Major Gift Officer

American Ancestors is a national center for family history, heritage & culture based on Newbury Street in Boston and one of the world’s top destinations for family history research, according to USA Today. It is the global brand of New England Historic Genealogical Society, America’s oldest and largest genealogical society, founded in 1845. American Ancestors serves more than 500,000 members and subscribers and millions of online users engaged in family history nationally and around the world through its website American Ancestors.org

with more than ten billion names in its databases.

With spaces and resources dedicated to advancing family history, including the Brim-DeForest Library, the Family Heritage Experience, the R. Stanton Avery Special Collections, the Brue Family Learning Center, the 10 Million Names Project, and the Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center, we also maintain a publishing division that produces original genealogical research, scholarship, and educational materials. We strive to connect with our members and the public in meaningful ways, serving as respected expert genealogists and historians who care deeply about helping people.

Under the direction of the Chief Advancement Officer, the Major Gifts Officer will manage a portfolio of major gift prospects to support the vital work of American Ancestors. Using moves management and prospect tracking strategies, the Major Gifts Officer is responsible for the identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, recognition, and stewardship of assigned donors.

• Manage a portfolio of 120+ active and discovery prospects and execute cultivation, solicitation and stewardship strategies for each.
• Responsible for the meaningful cultivation and solicitation of capital campaign and annual giving donors, including face-to-face visits, as well as email, telephone, and mail communications. Goal of 10 face-to-face donor visits per month, with an emphasis on cultivating new support.
• Participate in events, programs and activities for donor outreach, cultivation and stewardship
• Manage a “moves management” program in your portfolio with a focus on cultivating, rating, soliciting, and stewarding gifts.
• Document all cultivation and solicitation activities with prospects/donors and employ prospect clearance policies. Maintain accurate and timely records of all activities in donor database.
• Work with the CAO to identify and strategize giving options and to structure gifts that accommodate donor interests and meet institutional needs/opportunities.
• Ensure that gifts are recorded, acknowledged, and recognized in a timely and appropriate manner.
• Collaboration with the team and across other departments will be important to create a strong and continuous portfolio.
• Provide additional assistance to Executive Leadership Team members and members of the Advancement team as requested.

• Minimum of 7+ years of progressively responsible experience in fundraising, with a proven track record of securing individual major gifts at the $100,000 level and higher.
• Experience using a donor database, prospect research and other wealth screening tools to support moves management process.
• Develop compelling proposals and gift strategies, including understanding various giving vehicles and planned giving options.
• Exemplary oral and written communications skills are necessary
• Ability to manage several development activities and strategies simultaneously while maintaining time frames.
• Must have strong organizational and project management skills, as well as the ability to establish priorities and apply available information and resources to complete assignments on a timely basis.
• Excellent social skills and ability to relate to persons from many different backgrounds.
• Significant administrative work, including travel planning, itinerary building, correspondence, and accurate and timely documentation of all work.
• Experience with using Tessitura highly desirable
• Experience with using Microsoft’s Office 365 suite required
• Interest in genealogy, history or related subject matter is a plus.

This exciting opportunity is a full time; exempt position located at our headquarters on Newbury Street in Boston.

Some of the outstanding benefits include

• medical
• dental
• vision
• disability
• life insurance
• generous paid time off
• paid holidays
• Employee Assistance Program
• tuition reimbursement
• FSA
• 403(b) Retirement plan
• and so much more!