Major Gift Officer

Major Gift Officer

La Salle University is dedicated to fostering a welcoming and respectful environment where all individuals can thrive. We seek candidates who will contribute to a positive, inclusive, and supportive community, and who are committed to working collaboratively with students, fostering critical thinking, supporting their success, and helping them realize their full potential. La Salle University offers its eligible employees comprehensive medical and dental plans, employer paid life and disability insurance, retirement benefits, generous paid time off (vacation, sick leave, and holidays), and tuition benefits such as no cost undergraduate and graduate degree programs for its employees (with no wait period) and no cost undergraduate degree programs for its employees' dependents (after completing the required years of service).

Position Title
- Major Gift Officer

Department
- Development

Position Type
- Regular

Position Classification
- Full-Time, 12 months

Grant/Gift Funded (all or a portion)? - No

Position Summary
- Serving as a key member of the University Advancement team, the Major Gift Officer (MGO) is responsible for identifying, qualifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major gift prospects and donors. The MGO develops and manages a portfolio, builds a sustainable pipeline, secures donor meetings, creates and executes individualized engagement and solicitation strategies, develops proposals, makes asks, and closes major gifts in support of La Salle University priorities.

Personally developing and managing their assigned portfolio, the MGO is responsible for securing major gifts of $50,000 or more, with a particular focus on gifts of $100,000 and above, in support of the University's strategic priorities. Each MGO will be assigned one or more areas of focus based on University fundraising priorities. Assignments may include, but are not limited to, one of the University's schools, Athletics, the Honors Program, a geographic market, a special initiative, and/or a portfolio of otherwise unassigned prospects.

Focus areas may be adjusted as institutional priorities and fundraising opportunities evolve. Regardless of assignment, all MGOs are University Advancement employees, report through University Advancement, and are accountable to Advancement's goals, strategies, standards, and performance expectations. The MGO builds strong, consistent partnerships with University leaders, deans, faculty, coaches, staff, and other campus colleagues. The MGO brings knowledge of each prospect's capacity, giving history, interests, relationships, and fundraising strategy, while campus partners provide insight into academic, athletic, programmatic, and institutional priorities and opportunities for meaningful engagement.

The MGO connects these elements and is responsible for moving donor relationships toward philanthropic support.

Essential Duties
- Portfolio Management, Cultivation, and Solicitation Develop and execute an annual work plan for identifying, qualifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major gift prospects and donors. Build and actively manage a portfolio of major gift prospects aligned with the officer's assigned area or areas of focus and broader University priorities. Proactively identify and develop new major gift prospects through referrals, research, alumni and donor networks, University relationships, events, and other prospect-development activities to maintain a healthy and sustainable pipeline.

Qualify prospects, secure substantive in-person and virtual meetings, assess philanthropic capacity and inclination, and move relationships through the major gift pipeline. Develop and implement individualized cultivation, engagement, solicitation, and stewardship strategies for assigned prospects. Develop compelling cases for support, proposals, and gift opportunities; make direct solicitations and close major gifts independently and in partnership with University leadership and other appropriate colleagues.

Identify opportunities for planned, blended, endowed, and other complex gifts and partner with appropriate Advancement colleagues and professional advisors to develop and execute gift strategies. Coordinate with Advancement leadership and appropriate University partners to ensure proposed gifts, gift agreements, donor restrictions, naming opportunities, and commitments are consistent with University policies and approval processes. Maintain appropriate stewardship…