The Foundation has built a stable and diversified fundraising base, with revenue growing 36% over the past decade. Annual revenue averages approximately $1.5 million, balanced across individuals, corporations, foundations, and events. Thanks to strong family connections to prominent donors, a number of families and family foundations have given at significant levels for more than a decade, a loyal core to build from. There is significant opportunity to expand the donor pipeline with new audiences.
Specific responsibilities of the Senior Manager, Major Gifts include:
Fundraising Strategy & Major Gift Development
- Contribute to the development and implementation of annual fundraising strategy in collaboration with the Executive Team and other members of the Development team.
- Provide input into fundraising priorities and cases, revenue goals, donor pipeline strategy, campaigns, sponsorship opportunities, and donor engagement initiatives.
- Develop and execute individual cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies for major gift prospects.
- Identify and qualify new prospective donors, corporate partners, and sponsorship opportunities that align with the Foundation's mission and priorities.
- Work collaboratively with the President, Executive Director, Board members, and other organizational leaders to support donor cultivation and solicitation where appropriate, including leveraging the Zajac family's long-standing donor relationships.
Major Gifts & Donor Stewardship
- Manage an active portfolio of major donors and prospects, with a primary focus on gifts of $10,000 and above.
- Personally cultivate, solicit, secure, and steward major gifts from individuals, families, corporations, and other philanthropic partners.
- Develop customized engagement and solicitation plans that reflect donor interests, giving history, capacity, and connection to the Foundation's mission.
- Prepare compelling proposals, cases for support, briefing materials, donor correspondence, and other materials required to advance major gift conversations.
- Build strong, long-term donor relationships through meaningful communication, recognition, stewardship, and impact reporting.
- Use Zajac Ranch as a cultivation tool, hosting donor tours and site visits that bring the Foundation's impact to life.
- Ensure timely and appropriate follow-up after donor meetings, gifts, events, and other engagement opportunities.
- Identify and cultivate legacy and planned giving opportunities among long-time donors, in coordination with the Executive Director.
Corporate Sponsorships & Partnerships
- Identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward corporate sponsors and partners to generate significant philanthropic and event-related revenue.
- Develop sponsorship proposals and customized partnership opportunities that provide meaningful value to corporate partners while advancing the Foundation's mission.
- Manage sponsor relationships from initial outreach through agreement, activation, recognition, and post-event stewardship.
- Identify opportunities to deepen existing corporate relationships and develop multi-year or expanded commitments where appropriate.
Fundraising Events
- Lead the major donor strategy, planning, and execution for the Foundation's signature fundraising events, including Zajac Nights Gala, Lunch with a Legend, and other fundraising initiatives as assigned.
- Develop event revenue strategies, which may include sponsorships, major donor engagement, table and ticket sales, live and silent fundraising opportunities, and other revenue-generating activities.
- Engage event committees, volunteers, and Board members to extend the Foundation's reach and secure key donor and sponsor participation.
- Coordinate fundraising-related event timelines, donor and sponsor deliverables, recognition requirements, and stewardship activities.
- Lead post-event donor and sponsor follow-up and contribute to event evaluation, revenue analysis, and recommendations for future improvement.
Development Team Collaboration & Communications
- Work collaboratively with Development, Marketing and Communications colleagues to ensure fundraising activities, donor communications, events, and stewardship efforts are coordinated and aligned.
- Provide fundraising content and donor insight to support proposals, sponsorship materials, impact communications, campaigns, and other development initiatives.
- Maintain consistent, professional, and mission-aligned messaging in all donor and sponsor communications.
- Share relevant donor information, opportunities, and relationship updates with appropriate internal stakeholders to support coordinated engagement.
Pipeline Management, Reporting & Administration
- Maintain accurate and timely donor and prospect records, contact reports, moves-management activity, proposals, commitments, and stewardship actions in the Foundation's CRM system.
- Track progress against agreed fundraising goals and provide regular updates on donor pipeline activity, solicitations, sponsorships, event revenue, and secured gifts.
- Support forecasting, reporting, and analysis of fundraising performance in collaboration with the Executive Director and Development team.
- Manage assigned fundraising and event-related expenses responsibly and in accordance with approved budgets and organizational policies.
Desired Qualifications
The new Senior Manager, Major Gifts will ideally have:
- Significant progressive fundraising or development experience, with a proven track record of personally cultivating, soliciting, and securing gifts of $10,000 or greater from individual donors, corporate partners, or other philanthropic supporters.
- Demonstrated experience in, and understanding of, developing and securing corporate sponsorships and managing sponsor relationships.
- Experience leading or playing a significant role in successful fundraising events, including sponsorship acquisition, donor engagement, and revenue generation.
- Demonstrated ability to independently manage a donor portfolio and move prospects through identification, cultivation, solicitation, closing, and stewardship.
- Excellent relationship-building, interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills, including the ability to make persuasive presentations and direct solicitations.
- Strong proposal writing and storytelling skills with the ability to connect donor interests to organizational priorities and impact.
- Exceptional organizational and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities, deadlines, donor relationships, and event deliverables.
- Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with the Executive Team, Development colleagues, Board members, volunteers, and other stakeholders.
- Knowledge of the BC philanthropic landscape and established donor or corporate networks is considered an asset.
- Experience in a family- or founder-led organization, or in the children's health, disability, or camp sectors, is considered an asset.
- Experience with fundraising software and CRM systems; Raiser's Edge/Blackbaud experience is preferred.
- Bachelor's degree in a related field or an equivalent combination of education and relevant fundraising experience.
- High level of professionalism, integrity, judgment, and discretion when handling confidential donor and organizational information.
- The ability to travel throughout the Lower Mainland for donor meetings, and to the Ranch as needed for tours, donor visits, etc.
Traits and Competencies
To thrive in this role, the Foundation ideally seeks someone who is:
- A relationship builder who enjoys personally cultivating donors and is confident making direct asks.
- Genuinely moved by the Foundation's mission and inspired to help make camp possible for children of all abilities.
- Driven, self-motivated, and results-oriented, with a genuine passion for fundraising and the resourcefulness to meet ambitious goals.
- A persuasive communicator who can tell a compelling story and connect donor interests to the Foundation's impact.
- Highly organized, able to manage a donor portfolio, event timelines, and sponsor commitments at the same time.
- Warm, emotionally intelligent, and discreet, able to earn the trust of the Zajac family, long-time donors, and colleagues alike.
- Collaborative, contributing to fundraising strategy alongside the Executive Team and Development colleagues.
- Entrepreneurial and comfortable with ambiguity, excited to help build and shape a growing major gifts program as the Foundation evolves.
