Major Gifts Officer

Job Description

Position: Major Gifts Officer

Reports to: Director, Individual Giving

Position Managed: N/A

Location: Hybrid/ Bronx Zoo, New York City

Department: Development

Position Type: Full-Time

WCS saves wildlife and wild places worldwide. We are the only organization that combines on
-th e ground field conservation programs in more than 55 countries with the world's largest network of urban wildlife parks, based in New York City.

WCS's five wildlife parks, led by our flagship Bronx Zoo, have educated and inspired over 425 million visitors since 1899. Each year, WCS welcomes about 3.5 million visitors to the Bronx Zoo, Central Park Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo, Queens Zoo, and New York Aquarium--opening people's eyes to the wonders of the natural world, while setting the gold standard for animal care and well being.

WCS has a lon g track record of achieving innovative, impactful results  scientists, veterinarians, and conservation experts have helped recover bison, tigers, gorillas, whales, coral reefs, and more. In the past century, we have helped governments create more than 430 protected areas around the world on land and sea, and we currently work with national governments and local communities to manage and monitor several hundred protected areas.

As a Major Gifts Officer (MGO), you will join a team of development professionals responsible for cultivating and securing significant major gifts to support the organization's fundraising goals, contributing to and growing $160M+ in annual department revenue. Reporting to the Director, Individual Giving, you will steward gifts beginning at $25,000, with the goal of growing a portfolio focused on gifts at the $100,000+ level.

This includes identifying, cultivating, and soliciting individuals, family foundations, and other philanthropic entities in support of WCS's mission, leading the entire donor relationship cycle. You will manage a high-value portfolio of donors with capacity to give at the five-, six-, and seven-figure+ levels, working directly with WCS Trustees and leadership around the world. If you are a highly motivated fundraising leader who has a passion for our mission and a track record of developing and executing strategies to solicit close to 6 and 7 figure gifts, we'd love to meet you.

• Manage a portfolio of 150-250 high-net worth individuals, including current donors and prospects. Develop bespoke cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship plans for each. Create and execute personalized strategies to successfully cultivate, solicit, and steward each prospect to support the WCS mission at their maximum capacity.
• Demonstrate exceptional stewardship of new and established donors, including developing personalized outreach plans for individuals. Continually assess portfolio health and make recommendations for donor moves to the Director, Individual Giving.
• Regularly meet with donors and prospects, including introducing them to WCS, briefing them on WCS and their impact, providing tours of WCS facilities, and making funding requests.
• Develop and maintain familiarity with programmatic needs, budgets, and priorities. Represent WCS's mission and persuasively articulate WCS's impact and strategies.
• Strategically activate and coordinate efforts with WCS Trustees, leadership, program staff, and other colleagues to create donor cultivation and stewardship strategies. For example, actively participate in donor strategy sessions with WCS leadership and program staff.
• Help develop inspiring proposals, reports, letters, and other correspondence, working with our fundraising communications team and program experts around the world.
• Attend WCS events to support donors and prospects, such as Gala events, lectures, salons and dinners, and similar convenings. These events occasionally include evenings, weekends, and holidays.
• Propose and implement strategies to engage new prospects. Work with the WCS Development Research Team to develop materials required for cultivation and solicitation of prospects.
• Actively participate in team meetings and collaborate with colleagues by providing feedback and suggestions to help advance donor strategies.
• With support from Development colleagues, effectively use Salesforce to track and evaluate key performance metrics and activities. Maintain an up-to-date record in Salesforce for each donor and prospect and follow best practices for data hygiene.