Philanthropy Officer

The Philanthropy Officer develops and manages a portfolio of individual prospects and donors at the $10,000 level and above in support of the Gardens' mission and with the goal of establishing donor relationships that lead to long-term loyalty and increasing generosity over time. Helps maintain and expand philanthropic support of the Gardens. Primary Functions: • Manage a portfolio of current prospects and donors capable of gifts of $10,000 and above, with an emphasis on person-to-person meetings. Responsible for raising a minimum of $1 million annually. • Develop and implement strategies for identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major individual gifts of $10,000 and above; assume a lead role in setting appointments with major gift prospects, conducting the meetings alone or as part of a volunteer or staff team, and coordinating appropriate follow-up. • Articulate the goals of the Gardens with enthusiasm, warmth, intelligence, and professionalism. • Respond to donor and prospect inquiries and maintain excellent donor relations. Be proactive and collaborative with prospect and donor research. Participate in donor acknowledgement, reporting, recognition, and other stewardship activities. • Work with the Philanthropy staff to prepare and execute strategies to move donors seamlessly along the member-to-major-donor continuum in ways that prioritize donor relationships and support long-term loyalty. • Develop collaborative relationships with colleagues throughout the Gardens. • Work to ensure appropriate allocation of resources to maximize organization, efficiency, communication, and accuracy in the Gardens' overall work. • Provide comprehensive and timely reports summarizing activity, project status, and workplan timelines. • Utilize the capabilities of the donor information system by recording all relevant donor data and interactions and by using the system's analytical capabilities. • Attend key Gardens events as necessary to steward donor relationships. Physical Requirements: This employee must possess the physical and professional capacity for working in a variety of environments. The employee may be required to sit, stand, or walk for extended periods of time. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Posting will remain open until the right candidate is hired. Requirements • Self-motivated with tremendous personal initiative and drive to succeed. Must be results oriented, detail and deadline focused, creative, resourceful and flexible, with attention to quality and excellence. • Dynamic and engaging conversationalist with exceptional interpersonal skills. Ability to interact comfortably with a wide variety of people. • Ability to navigate challenging conversations and varied perspectives. Capacity to treat confidential information with discretion. • Experience as lead solicitor in face-to-face solicitations of upper-level donors. • Proficient at using database software programs. • Proven ability to engage and interact with a wide variety of people; strong customer service orientation and inclination. • Able to manage multiple priorities, work under pressure, demonstrate a high degree of professionalism, integrity, loyalty, and service to the organization. • Strong presentation and public speaking skills. • Willingness to work as part of a team; proven ability to work collaboratively with internal team members for the purposes of achieving goals/objectives. • Scheduling flexibility that allows travel and working occasional evenings, weekends, and holidays required. • Excellent verbal and written communication skills. • Commitment to working across the organization to support the integration of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility principles into the Gardens' internal operations and its relationships with visitors and guests.