Major Gifts Officer

Summary

The Major Gifts Officer plays a key frontline fundraising role within the Development team, helping to grow and sustain a pipeline of individual donors in support of the Downtown Women’s Center (DWC). This position focuses on relationship‑building, prospect research, donor engagement strategies, and solicitation, while also supporting the planning and execution of a comprehensive campaign. The ideal candidate is a strong communicator, detail‑oriented, and eager to learn and grow in a fast‑paced, mission‑driven environment.

The candidate is a motivated self‑starter who thrives when working independently, yet also values collaboration and contributes positively to a team‑oriented culture. The candidate must have prior experience soliciting and procuring major gifts of five figures or more.

• Maintain a portfolio of 100+ major, mid‑level, and planned giving prospects.
• Develop and implement strategic approaches to engage both new and existing donors, with a focus on deepening relationships and increasing philanthropic support.
• Document at least 15 in‑person or virtual visits per month.
• Support the Director of Individual Giving in identifying, cultivating, and stewarding major and planned giving prospects.
• Assist in preparing donor briefings, proposals, and stewardship materials for the CEO, Chief Development Officer, and other senior staff.
• Track donor interactions and moves management activity in the donor database (Bloomerang).
• Donor Stewardship & Communications
  • Draft and coordinate personalized donor communications including thank‑you notes, emails, proposals, and reports.
  • Ensure moves management efforts are being tracked in the agency’s donor database.
  • Cultivate relationships with donor advisors and wealth managers to facilitate giving through donor advised funds.
  • Steward relationships with existing donors, developing strategies to retain and deepen engagement.
• Campaign Support & Project Management
  • Support the CEO, CDO, and Director in advancing strategic major gift opportunities in support of the comprehensive campaign.
  • Help track campaign milestones, donor and prospect lists, outreach efforts, and fundraising progress.
  • Assist in producing materials and preparing meeting agendas and follow‑ups for campaign leadership and volunteer committees.
• Events & Prospecting
  • Develop prospect lists and solicit sponsor ships for DWC’s annual fundraising gala.
  • Support the CEO and CDO by developing pre‑ and post‑event stewardship and cultivation strategies for donors.
  • Work with the Director – Events to plan and execute donor stewardship and prospecting events.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills (both written and verbal)
• Highly organized, with strong attention to detail
• Self‑starter with the ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines
• Comfort with data entry and CRM tools
• Ability to build rapport with a variety of stakeholders and donors
• Adaptability and a growth mindset

This position does not have any supervisory responsibilities.

This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines.

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and ability to adjust focus. This would require the ability to lift files, open filing cabinets and bend or stand on a stool, as necessary.

The employee must be able to lift and carry items weighing up to 25 pounds.

This is a full‑time, exempt position. Days and hours of work are M‑F from 9am‑5:30pm, with some weekend and evening hours required.

This position requires local travel, as well as occasional travel within the United…