Position: Major Gifts Officer
Job Status: Part-time (20-25 hours per week), contract to hire, remote, flexible hours, paid time-off
Salary: $42,000-$50,000
The Raymond A. Wood Foundation (RAWF) is a growing nonprofit organization that works to improve the lives of hypothalamic brain tumor patients. Many of these patients – both kids and adults – survive these tumors only to suffer from long-term medical challenges and cognitive issues that severely impair their quality of life and the lives of those who care for them. RAWF’s mission is to advocate for these brain tumor survivors and their caregivers through innovative research, educational initiatives, and support systems. Not only does this work directly impact the lives of the brain tumor community we serve, but also the associated research discoveries and advancements have ripple effects on the larger ecosystem of research around brain tumors, obesity, endocrine issues, and more.
But, that’s enough about us. Let’s talk about you. If you are passionate about building and sustaining a donor community that is invested in the mission and future of RAWF, we want to hear from you! As RAWF’s Major Gifts Officer, you will be responsible for formalizing and managing the organization’s major gifts solicitation and stewardship processes, with a focus on the following responsibilities.
- Serve as a RAWF ambassador with an up-to-date, accurate understanding of RAWF’s programs, narrative, and impact in order to enhance donors and prospects’ relationships with the organization’s mission and values
- Synthesize existing donor and prospect research to develop a major gifts portfolio
- Actively expand the major gifts portfolio with new prospects
- Coordinate background and capacity research on identified prospects
- Ensure proper moves management steps for major gift prospects
- Make $1,000+ direct solicitations to prospects and returning donors with a steadily increasing rate of secured gifts
- Facilitate $1,000+ solicitations to be made by RAWF leadership (Executive Director, Board)
- Guide and execute cultivation and stewardship touchpoints for major gifts donors to boost retention
- Generate new ideas that increase revenue and donor loyalty
- Collaborate with the RAWF team to ensure aligned messaging around campaigns, programming, and impact updates
- Manage donor and prospect touchpoints, communications, research, and gifts (pledges/payments) through Bloomerang CRM
- Guide and execute gift acknowledgement processes and pledge-tracking processes
- Track and report major gifts progress on a quarterly with specific metrics, such as donor retention, new-to-file donors, lapsed donors, gift size (upgrades/downgrades)
- Provide a quiet, private working space with a computer (camera and sound ready for Zoom meetings)
- Comfortably work in Excel, Power Point, Word, Google Suite, Slack, Monday.com (with skills in Adobe Photoshop, Canva, Bloomerang CRM a plus)
With a firsthand understanding of RAWF’s day-to-day operations, donor base, and fundraising needs, we have identified the following qualifications that would make our Major Gifts Officer role the right fit for you.
- You are invested in and passionate about your fundraising practices and eager to help RAWF achieve our goals.
- You have at least 5 years of experience in nonprofit fundraising and development with a proven track record of donor-base expansion and retention.
- You are a self-starter who enjoys paving the way for new donor relationships, entrepreneurial strategies, and creative solutions.
- You are a strong verbal and written communicator who enjoys actively, consistently listening to and communicating with donors and prospects on a routine basis.
- You bring a mature, sensitive level of emotional intelligence to your work and daily donor interactions, prioritizing that donors and prospects feel heard, valued, and supported.
- You are able to work independently and carry projects from the early development stages to completion, while remaining open to collaboration and feedback from the small, but mighty RAWF team.
- You are tenacious and dedicated to following through on your work, ensuring all tasks are completed in a timely manner.
- You bring a strong attention to detail to your work, keeping typos to a minimum, aligning your communications with RAWF’s brand guidelines, and ensuring accurate donor interaction and transaction record-keeping in Bloomerang.
- You are invested in learning about RAWF’s mission, values, and brand; though we do not expect anyone to become an expert in medical terminology overnight, this role requires an eagerness to learn about and be able to confidently speak about the condition, key terminology, research progress, and more, as well as reflect clear brand guidelines in your communications.
- You are comfortable working in a variety of softwares and digital platforms (including but not limited to Google Suite, Slack, social media, Bloomerang, Monday.com), as well as open to learning and quick to pick up new programs.
- You can manage light physical demands (i.e. spending hours listening and talking, working on the computer and phone, driving to appointments and events)
The RAWF team is invested in your success in this role! We will provide…
- Direction and training from outside counsel and the Executive Director
- Key organizational documents and plans
- A general fundraising plan and success benchmarks
- Access to donor research and subscriptions to online research tools
- Professional development opportunities
Please submit a cover letter, resume, and 2-3 references to jobs@rawoodfoundation.org. Incomplete applications will NOT be considered. We can’t wait to hear from you and look forward to getting to know you!
Should you progress through subsequent interview rounds, you can expect the following interviews to be conducted and materials to be requested during the full application process for the Major Gifts Officer role.
- Interviews to be scheduled
- First round: 30 minutes with either the Executive Director or Outreach Coordinator
- Second round: 60 minutes with the Executive Director and Outreach Coordinator
- Third round: 60 minutes with the Executive Director, Outreach Coordinator, and additional RAWF leadership
- Materials to be requested
- First round: Cover letter, resume, and 2-3 references (as previously listed)
- Second round: Samples of a personal appeal letter for a specified RAWF campaign and a gift acknowledgement letter
- Third round: 90-second elevator pitch as delivered to a prospective RAWF donor (submitted as a video / audio recording or shared ‘live’ during the third round interview)
