Director of Major Gifts – (Full-Time)
Classification: Exempt
Reports directly to: Chief Philanthropy Officer
Summary: The Director of Major Gifts is a strategic fundraising leader responsible for cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major gift donors in support of the Zoo's mission, conservation initiatives, educational programs, capital projects, animal care priorities, and strategic objectives. The position manages a team of frontline fundraisers and oversees a comprehensive major gifts program focused on securing philanthropic investments of $25,000 and above.
The Director of Major Gifts maintains a personal portfolio of approximately 150 major gift prospects and donors while providing leadership for grant fundraising, restricted giving opportunities, donor pipeline management, and moves management strategies.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Major Gift Fundraising
- Manage a personal portfolio of approximately 150 major gift donors and prospects.
- Develop and execute individualized cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies.
- Solicit and close major gifts for annual operations, capital campaigns, endowment, conservation initiatives, and educational programs.
- Collaborate with senior leadership and volunteers on major gift strategies and donor engagement.
- Prepare proposals, presentations, gift agreements, funding requests, and stewardship reports.
Leadership and Staff Management
- Supervise, mentor, and evaluate Major Gift Officers and other assigned development staff.
- Establish performance goals and fundraising metrics for team members.
- Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and donor-centered fundraising.
- Provide coaching on donor strategy, solicitation techniques, and relationship management.
Grant Fundraising
- Oversee institutional giving strategy, including foundations, corporations, and government funding opportunities.
- Manage Manager of Grants and Major Gifts who is responsible for grant development processes including prospect research, proposal development, submission, reporting, and stewardship.
- Collaborate with program staff to develop project budgets, outcomes, and impact reports.
- Ensure compliance with grant requirements and reporting deadlines.
Restricted and Strategic Giving
- Identify, develop, and market restricted funding opportunities aligned with organizational priorities.
- Partner with leadership to create donor investment opportunities related to:
- Animal care and welfare
- Conservation programs
- Veterinary initiatives
- Education programs
- Capital projects and exhibits
- Endowment funds
- Species-specific support funds
- Develop case statements and naming opportunities for major philanthropic investments.
- Ensure proper tracking and stewardship of restricted gifts.
Strategic Planning and Operations
- Participate in department strategic planning and annual budget development.
- Utilize CRM systems to maintain accurate donor records, activity tracking, and forecasting.
- Analyze portfolio performance, donor retention, pipeline development, and fundraising trends.
- Prepare reports and presentations for executive leadership and board committees.
- Support comprehensive campaigns and special fundraising initiatives.
Qualifications:
Education
- Bachelor’s degree required.
- Master’s degree, CFRE certification, or advanced fundraising training preferred.
Experience
- Minimum 7-10 years of progressively responsible fundraising experience.
- Demonstrated success securing five-, six-, and seven-figure gifts.
- Experience managing major gift portfolios.
- Experience supervising fundraising staff.
- Proven grant writing or grant management experience.
- Experience with capital campaigns, endowment fundraising, and comprehensive campaigns preferred.
- Experience in zoological, conservation, educational, cultural, healthcare, or nonprofit organizations preferred.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- Strong understanding of major gift fundraising principles and best practices.
- Expertise in donor cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, and moves management.
- Knowledge of planned giving and blended gift strategies.
- Ability to build relationships with high-net-worth individuals, foundations, and corporate leaders.
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
- Strong strategic planning and analytical abilities.
- Demonstrated leadership and staff development skills.
- Proficiency with donor database and CRM systems such as Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT, Salesforce, or similar platforms.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities while maintaining exceptional attention to detail.
- Commitment to confidentiality and ethical fundraising standards.
Physical and Work Requirements:
- Ability to attend evening and weekend donor events as needed.
- Ability to travel locally for donor visits and organizational meetings. Ability to move throughout zoo grounds and event venues.
- All successful candidates for this position will be required to undergo a criminal background check.
