Job titleMajor Gifts OfficerReports to Senior Director of Individual GivingFLSA Status Exempt Job PurposeReporting to the Senior Director of Individual Giving, the Major Gifts Officer serves as the strategic architect of the donor journey. This role is best suited for a seasoned gift officer who works collaboratively, approaches challenges with a problem-solving mindset, and brings a strong can-do attitude. Prior management experience is helpful. The ideal candidate is adaptable and able to pivot as needed, as the development function requires agile thinking and a flexible workflow.
This position focuses on building and managing a scalable system that converts first-time and current supporters into recurring partners, while identifying high net worth potential prospects for deeper investment. Specifically, this role is responsible for cultivating, stewarding and growing annually the mid-level donor and sustainer programs. Success is measured in part by pipeline velocity, defined as the strategic advancement of donors toward leadership level giving, but performance is not evaluated on efficiency alone. Success also requires the ability to anticipate and respond to current event cycles, identify and leverage timely opportunities, think strategically and creatively, and collaborate effectively across teams to amplify impact.
Equally important is a strong understanding of donor stewardship. The Major Gifts Officer engages donors in ways that are strategic, relevant, and meaningful to them, with the goal of strengthening long-term relationships, engagement, and sustained support - producing increased revenue growth year over year.
This is a hybrid position
Duties and Responsibilities30% | Mid-Level Program & Portfolio Stewardship- Targeted Cultivation: Focuses on donors who have moved beyond entry-level giving to maximize their long-term lifetime value.
- Concierge Stewardship: Provides a high-touch experience for mid-tier donors through personal phone calls, custom impact updates, and exclusive event invitations, raising annual growth of this portfolio by 25%
- Pipeline Movement: Systematically prepares and transitions top-tier donors to the Senior Director of Individual Giving once they reach the organization's highest capacity thresholds. Raising annual growth of this portfolio by 25%
- Engagement Tracking: Monitors interactions from email open rates to event attendance within EveryAction to prioritize outreach.
30% | Pipeline Management & Prospecting- DonorSearch Integration: Leverages DonorSearch to perform real-time wealth screening and philanthropic propensity modeling on the current database.
- Predictive Prospecting: Utilizes wealth markers and behavioral data to identify "hidden" high-capacity donors. Resourceful and creative in identifying leads.
- Qualification Cycles: Conducts "discovery" outreach to determine if a donor has the inclination and capacity for a significant gift upgrade.
- Portfolio Hand-off: Serves as the primary filter for the Major Gifts team, ensuring only "warm," qualified leads are moved into high-touch portfolios.
30% | Recurring (Sustainer) Program Growth- Conversion Strategy: Launches automated email journeys in EveryAction that trigger recurring giving asks based on specific donor behavior.
- Churn Mitigation: Proactively manages payment failures and expired cards to protect the organization's predictable cash flow.
- Sustainer Upgrades: Executes data-driven campaigns to encourage monthly donors to increase their commitment or transition to an annual leadership gift.
- Community Building: Manages the identity and "perks" of the monthly sustainers to foster loyalty.
10% | Annual Fund & Data Optimization- Direct Response: Leads the creative direction for high-volume appeals (Year-End, Giving Tuesday) across mail, email, and SMS.
- CRM Hygiene: Maintains meticulous data entry in EveryAction to ensure no prospect falls through the cracks.
Measurable Growth Benchmarks- Portfolio Movement: Number of donors successfully "graduated" to the Major Gifts pipeline and portfolio revenue increase.
- Prospect Qualification: Percentage of the database screened via DonorSearch and qualified annually.
- Sustainer Growth: Net increase in active monthly donors and total recurring revenue. Retention numbers as well as increased gift size or additional gifts.
- Pipeline Velocity: Average time taken to move a new donor from their first gift to their first mid-level gift.
QualificationsRequired- 8-10 years experience in major gift leadership, with a proven track record of success.
- Ability to hit the ground running: work effectively as a team member and independently.
- Tool Expertise: Mastery of EveryAction and DonorSearch to build and manage prospect lists.
- Strategic Prospecting: Experience using wealth screening to inform cultivation and solicitation strategies.
- Persuasive Communicator: Ability to write compelling, "donor-centric" copy that triggers immediate action.
- Analytical Mindset: Comfortable using data to pivot strategies and prove ROI.
This is a hybrid position.
Preferred- Strong communicator who collaborates effectively across departments.
- Self-driven and takes initiative to solve problems with the team.
- Understand that details matter and prioritizes accuracy.
- Values efficiency, but never at the expense of quality.
- Focused on delivering a personal, meaningful experience - because that's what the donor remembers.
Traits That Will Make You Successful In This Role:- Approaches challenges with a problem-solving mindset.
- Brings a strong can-do attitude.
- Adaptable and able to pivot as needed, as the development team requires agile thinking and a flexible workflow.
- Able to recover from setbacks inherent in a fast-paced work environment like fundraising.
Compensation and BenefitsThe starting annual salary range for this position is $125,000 - $131,000.
We offer a comprehensive and generous benefits program, including:
Insurance
We offer medical, dental, vision benefits, as well as an employee assistance program for physical and mental well-being.
Retirement
Save for retirement with our 401K plan with a 5% employer contribution. Other insurances include life and disability.
Time Off
- Year 1 (0-12 months): Eleven (11) days of vacation each year (3.66 hours per pay period), with a maximum accrual cap of 17 days
- Year 2-4: Sixteen (16) days of vacation each year (5.33 hours per pay period), with a maximum accrual cap of 24 days
- Year 4+: Twenty-One (21 days) of vacation each year (7.0 hours per pay period), with a maximum accrual cap of 32 days
Parental Leave
Eligible employees may take up to sixteen (16) total weeks of leave in connection with the birth of the employee's child, placement of a child with the employee for adoption, or gaining of a foster child. AFJ will provide eligible employees with twelve (12) weeks of fully paid parental leave for purposes of bonding with a new baby following a birth or placement of a child for adoption or gaining of a foster child.
Physical Demands While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to use a computer and communicate with others while doing so. On occasion, travel by car, train, and/or airplane may be required. Ability to work long hours when needed (though rare). All employees are required to satisfactorily perform the essential duties and responsibilities of their positions. The essential duties and responsibilities listed above are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals to perform the essential functions of the job.
Work Environment Geographic Location:
- Washington, D.C. metro area
Work Arrangement:
Typical Setting:
Travel Requirements:
- For employees located outside of Washington, DC or working remotely in the DC area, travel to events such as staff retreats and other work meetings will be required approximately one to four times per year.
Schedule:
- Full-time
- Days and hours of work are Monday through Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm.
- Some occasional evening and weekend hours will be required.
Direct Reports This position will supervise the Senior Development Associate.
Disclaimer This description is intended to provide an overview of this position and is not all-inclusive. The incumbent in this position will be expected to perform other duties as required. Responsibilities may change over time. This description is provided for informational purposes only and does not form the basis of a contract.
How to Apply Please submit a letter of interest/cover letter and resume on our website at https://www.afj.org/about/careers. (NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE).
If you require reasonable accommodations during any part of the hiring process, please email Wes Lin, HR Director at [email protected].
