Chief Advancement Officer

Archdiocese of Saint Paul Minneapolis; Edina (MN); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Archdiocese of Saint Paul Minneapolis in Edina, MN seeks a Chief Advancement Officer to lead a comprehensive fundraising program aligned to mission, including annual giving, major gifts, endowment, grants, capital campaigns, and donor stewardship.

You will build a high-performance team, set goals, manage budgets, ensure compliance, and partner with clergy and school leadership to advance funding priorities while preserving donor trust.

Qualifications

• Experience leading comprehensive fundraising programs for parish and school communities.
• Proven success in annual giving, major gifts, endowment, grants, and capital campaigns.
• Ability to recruit, manage, and develop advancement staff; set performance expectations.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow a mission-driven advancement program aligned to parish and school priorities.
• Develop multi-year advancement plan with goals, KPIs, calendars, and budgets.
• Oversee grants pipeline and ensure timely, compliant submissions and stewardship.
• Build individualized cultivation plans and visit goals for top prospects and donors.
• Manage gift processing, acknowledgments, and donor intent with CRM accuracy.
• Collaborate with Pastor/Head of School and committees on fundraising strategy and capital campaigns.
• Produce dashboards on revenue, pipeline health, and ROI for leadership and governance bodies.

Skills

Strategic fundraising leadership

Donor relations

Staff leadership

Budgeting & KPIs

CRM & data analytics

Board collaboration

Grant writing

Education

Bachelor's degree in nonprofit management, communications, or related field

Tools

Salesforce CRM

Donor management software

Job description

Position Summary

The Chief Advancement Officer leads and grows a comprehensive, mission-driven philanthropic program for Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church and School (OLG). The role builds a culture of stewardship, oversees all fundraising functions (annual giving/offertory, major and planned gifts, endowment, grants, capital campaigns, and cultivation-focused events), and ensures excellent donor care and advancement operations. Note: This role does not lead or perform Marketing or Communications functions (e.g., branding, media, website, social, parish/school publicity).

Key Responsibilities

1) Strategy & Leadership

• Develop and execute a multi-year advancement plan aligned to OLG's mission and priorities (parish and school).
• Set annual goals, KPIs, calendars, and budgets for all fundraising programs.
• Recruit, supervise, and coach advancement staff; provide professional development and clear performance expectations.
• Serve as staff lead to the Pastor and Endowment and Stewardship Committees; prepare agendas, reports, and action plans.
• Maintain and enforce gift acceptance, counting, and recognition policies.

2) Annual Giving & Offertory

• Design and manage parish offertory enhancement and sustained giving programs.
• Oversee the annual fund for parish and school, including pledge drives, recurring giving, and targeted appeals.
• Coordinate volunteer ambassadors and ministry/parent leaders for peer-to-peer outreach and testimony.

3) Major Gifts & Campaigns

• Build and manage a robust major-gift pipeline (identify, qualify, cultivate, solicit, steward).
• Create individualized cultivation plans and visit goals for top prospects and donors.
• Develop and maintain own portfolio of annual giving prospects.
• Partner with Pastor/Head of School on leadership asks; coordinate feasibility studies and-when authorized-capital/endowment campaigns.

4) Planned Giving & Endowment

• Launch and grow a planned giving program (bequests, beneficiary designations, charitable trusts, etc.).
• Steward and report on endowment and restricted funds in coordination with Finance.
• Grow our legacy society to recognize planned-gift donors.

5) Grants & Institutional Funding

• Oversee grants pipeline: prospecting, proposal strategy, compliance, reporting, and renewals.
• Ensure timely, accurate submissions and post-award stewardship.

6) Capital Campaign Management and Complete Work as such

7) Donor Stewardship & Advancement Operations

• Ensure prompt gift processing, acknowledgments, and adherence to donor intent.
• Maintain an accurate CRM/database (gift coding, soft credits, moves management, prospect research).
• Produce dashboards on revenue, pipeline health, retention, and ROI for Pastor, Principal, Finance Council, and Endowment Committee.
• Safeguard donor confidentiality and data integrity; ensure GAAP/IRS and diocesan compliance (letters, receipts, restrictions).

8) Events & Volunteer Leadership (Cultivation-Focused)

• Plan and execute cultivation and gratitude events (leadership receptions, donor briefings, small salons).
• Recruit, train, and support volunteers/committee members for stewardship and endowment activities (not publicity).

9) Mission Integration & Collaboration

• Embed a spirituality of stewardship across parish and school; train clergy, staff, and volunteers on Catholic development best practices.
• Collaborate with leaders on funding priorities, cases for support, and donor impact reporting-without taking on marketing/communications work.