Major Gifts Officer

Overview

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, and donor engagement strategies, while also supporting the planning and execution of a forthcoming 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.

• Manage a portfolio of current and prospective individual donors.
• Develop and implement strategic approaches to engage both new and existing donors, with a focus on deepening relationships and increasing philanthropic support.
• Conduct at least 10 meaningful donor touchpoints per month (including calls, emails, tours, meetings, and events).
• 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).
• This role requires on-site and field-based work, as directed by Director of Individual Giving, to cultivate and steward donor relationships and to support events and external engagements.

• Draft and coordinate personalized donor communications including thank-you notes, emails, proposals, and reports.
• Help maintain timely and consistent stewardship efforts, including supporting updates to donor acknowledgment letters.
• Coordinate logistics for donor meetings and campaign-related activities.
• Ensure all donor interactions and touchpoints are recorded accurately in the CRM system.

• Provide administrative and project coordination support for the development and launch of a comprehensive fundraising 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.

• Conduct and synthesize prospect research to identify and qualify potential major donors.
• Support event-related outreach, including developing invitation lists and coordinating follow-up.
• Assist with donor cultivation and stewardship events, including pre-event prep and post-event outreach.
• Collaborate with other members of the development team to maximize donor engagement opportunities.
• Other duties as assigned.

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 but serves as a coach and mentor to other team members.

This role primarily operates in an office setting, utilizing standard office equipment such as computers, desks, and chairs. However, it also requires up to 30% field engagement, which may involve walking, standing, and sitting for extended periods throughout Los Angeles County. Must be comfortable presenting in front of large groups and public-facing environments.

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…