Director of Major Gifts

The Director of Major Gifts is a member of Friends of the High Line's Individual Giving team, which encompasses membership, major gifts, and planned giving. The Director manages the major gifts program, which raises $2-3 million annually. A key frontline fundraiser, the Director personally cultivates and stewards an existing portfolio of donors and prospects, while supporting major gifts fundraising by FHL senior leaders.

The Director also supports cultivation strategy, prospecting, and revenue projections for the entire major gifts program. This role reports to the Senior Director of Individual Giving and Board Relations, and works collaboratively with the Director of Individual Giving, Director of Development Operations, and others across FHL teams.

• Manage a portfolio of 150+ individual donors and prospects through personalized correspondence, proposals, and engagements, with an emphasis on cultivating and soliciting 5-to-6 figure gifts.
• Direct the Major Gifts program, working with the Senior Director of Individual Giving to set revenue projections and donor cultivation strategies for other senior FHL fundraisers including the Executive Director and Chief Advancement Officer.
• Supervise the Individual Giving Coordinator on the administration and execution of the Major Gifts program.
• Pursue an active schedule of donor engagements and meetings (5-10 meaningful donor interactions/month on average), and maintain a detailed donor pipeline report via CRM.
• Conduct regular analysis of FHL's donor and prospect pipeline to identify opportunities to grow philanthropic support, and collaborate with the Director of Individual Giving to identify upgrade prospects from membership program.
• Proactively identify and qualify new prospects, including for restricted program support, to grow the Major Gifts pipeline.
• Plan cultivation and stewardship events for the Major Gifts portfolio in partnership with the Director of Individual Giving and Special Events team.
• Work with Individual Giving Coordinator to prepare memos for senior leadership meetings with donors, including setting meeting objectives and talking points.
• Maintain current knowledge of organizational funding areas and identify prospective donors for those needs.
• Draft fundraising materials for a wide range of FHL priorities including general operations as well as restricted funding opportunities, to capitalize on major gift donor interests and support year-end major gift fundraising.
• Support the execution of FHL's growing Planned Giving program, including engaging 1:1 with planned giving donors and prospects.

• 8-10 years of experience in fundraising, with an emphasis on major gifts.
• Frontline fundraising experience and demonstrated success raising five and six-figure or more gifts.
• Proven track record of relationship management and using moves management to maximize revenue and donor retention.
• Experience in staff supervision and management.
• Knowledge of prospect research techniques and protocols.
• Outstanding oral and written communication skills, especially listening and targeting communications to the specific interests of varied audiences.
• Competence in the planning and implementation of multiple, concurrent projects and events.
• Personable, highly organized, detail-oriented, and collaborative.
• Ability to build and maintain relationships with a variety of internal and external stakeholders.
• Proficiency in computer applications, including Google suite, Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Raiser's Edge or similar fundraising database.

• Experience with volunteer leadership and committees.
• Entrepreneurial spirit and sense of humor.
• Knowledge of and enthusiasm for parks, public spaces, arts and culture, and public/private partnerships is a plus.
• An understanding of cultural fundraising and NYC philanthropic landscape is a plus.

• Excellent oral, written, interpersonal, analytical, and organizational skills.
• Ability to work in a dynamic and changing work environment.
• Ability to interact with a wide variety of individuals within and outside the organization, and to professionally represent the institution and its…