Major Gifts Officer

The Northside Achievement Zone (NAZ) is building a culture of achievement in North Minneapolis so that all children graduate from high school prepared for college, career, and life. Through deep partnership with families, schools, nonprofits, and community organizations, NAZ is transforming outcomes for children and reimagining what is possible for an entire community.

NAZ envisions a prosperous North Minneapolis- where all children of color are healthy, secure and academically successful, ultimately realizing their unlimited potential.

The Major Gifts Officer is a frontline fundraiser responsible for cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding a portfolio of individual donors and prospects capable of making significant philanthropic investments in NAZ.

The Major Gifts Officer builds authentic, donor-centered relationships; develops individualized engagement strategies; conducts meaningful donor meetings; and secures five- and six-figure gifts and multi-year commitments. The role maintains a strong portfolio and pipeline, connects donor interests with NAZ's mission and priorities, and helps expand the organization’s community of major donors and future principal donors.

Working closely with the Senior Director of Principal & Major Gifts and colleagues across Development, Communications, Finance, and Program, this position contributes to NAZ's comprehensive campaign and broader fundraising goals.

• Manage an active portfolio of major gift donors and prospects through identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
• Develop individualized strategies based on donor interests, capacity, giving history, relationships, and readiness.
• Conduct consistent, meaningful donor engagement through meetings, calls, events, correspondence, and other personalized outreach.
• Personally solicit and secure significant five- and six-figure gifts, multi-year commitments, and other philanthropic investments.
• Maintain a healthy pipeline by qualifying prospects and advancing relationships through the donor lifecycle.
• Develop compelling proposals, presentations, solicitation materials, and personalized communications.
• Build strong knowledge of NAZ's programs, outcomes, strategic priorities, and campaign opportunities and communicate them effectively to donors.
• Partner with the Senior Director on donors with significant or transformational giving potential and ensure timely follow-through and stewardship.

• Identify and qualify prospective major donors through prospect research, annual fund activity, referrals, events, Board relationships, community connections, and campaign activity.
• Partner with the Director of Annual Fund to identify donors with potential for deeper engagement and major giving.
• Assess prospects’ interest, capacity, affinity, and readiness and develop strategies to move qualified donors into the major gift portfolio.
• Identify opportunities to reengaged lapsed or under-engaged donors and build relationships with new supporters.
• Help develop a sustainable pipeline of major and future principal donors.

• Develop personalized stewardship strategies that demonstrate donor impact and strengthen long-term relationships.
• Ensure timely acknowledgment, recognition, impact reporting, and follow-up.
• Coordinate donor meetings, site visits, program experiences, cultivation gatherings, and other meaningful engagement opportunities.
• Partner with Communications and Program colleagues to develop compelling donor stories and impact updates.
• Identify opportunities for renewal, increased giving, multi-year commitments, campaign participation, and deeper engagement.
• Engage donors strategically through SOARNORTH and other organizational events, with intentional follow-up integrated into portfolio strategies.
• Support planned and legacy giving conversations in partnership with the Senior Director when appropriate.

• Maintain accurate and timely donor records, contact reports, prospect stages, next actions, proposals, projections, and other activity in NAZ's CRM.
• Use fundraising data, prospect research, and portfolio analytics to prioritize activity and inform donor strategies.
• Participate in regular portfolio reviews with the Senior Director to evaluate progress, identify opportunities, and establish next steps.
• Track performance…