Major Gift Officer

AGENCY:

Founded in 1873 as the Avon Home, an orphanage for local children, Bridges Homeward has a long and distinguished history of serving children, adolescents, individuals and families in the Cambridge area, Greater Boston and its suburbs. Today Bridges Homeward provides services for foster care, adoption, developmental disabilities, and family support, all programs that support individuals and strengthen families in more than 100 cities and towns throughout Massachusetts.

PURPOSE & SCOPE:

Reporting to the CEO, this position is new and will have a tremendous impact on the organization's growth. The focus of the role is to retain and grow our base of existing individual donors as well as attract new major donors to support our mission. The Major Gift Officer will oversee the advancement team, overall corporate and individual giving strategy & implementation, and supervise the advancement team. As part of that, this position will oversee a portfolio of existing and prospective donors as well as support the CEO, Board Chair, and Board members with their stewardship.

The Major Gift Officer will lead the advancement of fundraising, corporate & major gifts strategy and will be expected to partner with the board of directors to leverage their connections and cultivate prospects. We are seeking candidates with experience and a verifiable track record in major gift fundraising/development, processes, and procedures; and great communication skills both internally and externally, a strong collaborative attitude. This role is for someone who is excited to partner with the Chief Executive Officer and take their development and leadership skills into to launch a strong major gifts program with a proven track record of major donor fundraising and development experiences.

The position is directly responsible for leading the fundraising direction, overseeing fundraising strategy and implementation, and supervising the Senior Development Manager, and the Foundation and Grants Manager; all working together to accomplish our financial goals and advance our mission.

The Major Gift Officer serves as a member of the senior leadership team that includes the CEO, Chief Program Officer, and Director of Human Resources. Works closely with other members of the Senior Leadership Team to cultivate a positive, mission-driven, work environment and advance the goals of the organization as a whole. This position must understand our mission, values, organizational culture, services, population we serve, and staff.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Leadership and Management (20% of the time):

Lead a partnership with the CEO, Leadership Team, Board of Directors, and advancement staff to design and fulfill fundraising strategy and goals

• Oversee the advancement team and achieve the annual fundraising goals
• Design strategies and tactics for growth and success across all areas (events, grants, annual giving, corporate sponsor, and communication) of fundraising
• Monitor fundraising results and consistently report progress to the CEO and the Board of Directors; participate in the Board Meetings and Committees, as requested
• Collaborate internally to develop budgets, monitor and forecast revenue and expenses, and drive financial results
• Manage and empower the advancement team in designing and fulfilling their goals
• Lead quantitative and qualitative evaluation of fundraising outcomes;
• Work closely and collaboratively with the CEO and the Board Advancement Committee to build the Board's capacity, capability, consistency, and confidence in fundraising
• Generate new ideas that increase revenue and investor longevity

Major Donor Gift, Corporate Sponsor & Strategy (80% of the time)

• Strategy: Partner with the CEO and the Board Advancement Committee to create and execute our fundraising strategy, and corporate & major giving strategies that align with our organizational strategic plan
• Existing major donors: Working closely with the Advancement team, CEO, and the Board, create individual goals for each major donor based on the history of giving and the level of knowledge of the donor's potential, develop a system to ensure proper stewardship and continued engagement. Provide support to the CEO and Board in the stewardship of major donors to create recognition opportunities.
• New major donors: Identify, qualify, solicit, and close new donors to achieve annual budget goals. For existing donors, identify the best targets within the existing portfolio to move to the major gift level. Cultivate relationships and activate strategies to move donors up to the major giving level.

Prospects research, identify and qualify prospects. Work in partnership with the senior development manager, and communications manager to develop donor communication strategy, to create and implement targeted campaigns. Manage the opportunity pipeline with a disciplined process. Cultivate relationships with a long-term view. Direct and execute a strong, consistent, relational major gifts program and systematize a planned giving program.

Lapsed donors: Develop and implement a strategy to engage lapsed individual donors to increase support to achieve our fundraising goals. Tracking system: Work with a team to develop and maintain a system for tracking and engagement of major donors across the organization. Tracking of activity and outcomes to be done consistently for management and reporting purposes.

• Campaigns: Collaborate with the advancement team, CEO, and the board to plan a growth campaign to fund current and future program expansion.

Duties and responsibilities are subject to change by Bridges Homeward as the needs of the organization and requirements of the job shift over time.

REQUIRED EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE:

• Experience: At least 5 years experience in professional fundraising, donor relations, and overseeing at least four staff, is preferred for this position. Proven track record of major donor fundraising/development experience including closing 5-6 figure gifts.
• Education: A bachelor's degree in Business Administration, or an equivalent combination of business administration and experience. Ability and desire to work independently andwith a small, fast-paced team entrepreneurial mindset.
• Skills:Excellence in building and maintaining relationships, strong negotiation skills, comfort with cold-calling, problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and strong organizational & project management skills, and interest in attending networking events. Proficiency with donor management software and fundraising platforms. Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Proficiency with applications for Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, and PowerPoint), and teleconferencing software, such as Zoom and Teams.
• Schedule flexibility: Ability and willingness to work a flexible schedule, including evenings, early mornings, and occasional weekends; and attend in-person fundraising/networking events.

Other Requirements:

• Valid Driver's License

Salary

Salary commensurate with experience; comp package includes health, dental, vision benefits, and 401k retirement.