Development Manager, Major Gifts and Prospects

Guttmacher Institute; Indiana; Remote; USD 117,000 - 125,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision insurance

Life insurance

Vacation time

Sick time

Paid parental leave

Tuition reimbursement

Commuting subsidy

401(k) employer match

Job summary

The Guttmacher Institute is seeking a Development Manager, Major Gifts and Prospects to qualify, cultivate, and close gifts from individual donors with major gift capacity, including physicians and academics. You will also manage a planned giving portfolio and secure bequest pledges.

You will write donor materials, support high-touch events, and coordinate with the development team to move prospects through qualification to solicitation while maintaining meticulous donor records.

Qualifications

• 7 years fundraising experience with a track record of closing major gifts of five figures or more.
• Frontend donor-facing role with proactive outreach and relationship-building.
• Experience with donor qualification and moves management.
• Ability to discuss planned giving and blended gift asks.
• Exceptional writing and communication skills for a discerning donor audience.
• Genuine interest in SRHR and a commitment to DEI.
• Strong organizational and time-management skills with attention to detail.
• Experience with CRM and Microsoft Office; familiarity with Salesforce.
• Strong initiative and ability to work in a fast-paced, multidisciplinary team.

Responsibilities

• Qualify and move major gift prospects through the pipeline.
• Identify prospects for portfolio and manage donor pipeline.
• Travel up to 30% within the US for visits and collaboration.
• Create outreach plans and conduct discovery to move prospects (≈100 donors).
• Collaborate across giving functions to engage family foundations.
• Qualify planned giving prospects and solicit bequests and blended gifts.
• Cultivate and steward mid- to major-level donors; close five-figure gifts.
• Write donor materials and plan donor events.
• Maintain timely donor records in the CRM.

Skills

Closing major gifts

Prospect qualification

Moves management

Donor communications

CRM systems

Salesforce familiarity

Written communication

DEI commitment

Organizational skills

Relationship building

Tools

Microsoft Office

Salesforce

Job description

Organization

Founded in 1968, the Guttmacher Institute is a global leader in advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights. Through a unique and interrelated program of high-quality research, evidence-based advocacy and strategic communications, the Institute works to generate new ideas, encourage enlightened public debate, and promote sound policy and program development; its overarching goal is to ensure the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health and rights for all people worldwide. The Institute is engaged in building a more inclusive, transparent and equitable organization.

Position summary

Reporting to the Director of Individual Giving, the Development Manager, Major Gifts and Prospects is a frontline fundraiser responsible for qualifying, cultivating and closing gifts from individual donors with major gift capacity, including a core group of physicians and academics giving at the mid-and major gift levels. In addition, the manager qualifies the Institute’s highest-touch planned giving prospects, managing a dedicated planned giving portfolio and working to secure bequest pledges and blended gifts alongside outright major gifts. This role also writes donor materials and supports events for high-touch donors across the development team’s major and principal gift portfolios.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a thought partner to the Director of Individual Giving on cultivation and pipeline movement strategies for donors with capacity, helping shape how prospects are advanced from qualification through solicitation
• Work with colleagues on the discovery process for major donors—identifying prospects for portfolio and facilitating donor pipeline management
• Travel up to 30% of the time primarily within the US for donor visits, events, and in-person collaboration with Guttmacher colleagues
• Create outreach and engagement plans specific to interests of prospects and donors. Conduct discovery and qualification outreach (calls, emails, and meetings) to prospective donors with major gift capacity, moving qualified prospects into an active portfolio of approximately 100 donors
• Work across Guttmacher’s individual and institutional giving functions to support engagement with family foundations connected to individual donors
• Qualify the Institute’s highest planned giving prospects, building and managing a planned giving portfolio of up to approximately 50 donors, and solicit planned giving and blended gifts, with an expectation of securing bequest pledges
• Cultivate, solicit, and steward a core donor group of medical doctors and academics giving at the mid- and major gift levels, with an expectation of closing gifts of five figures and above and moving donors further up the giving pipeline over time.
• Write elevated, donor-facing materials—including campaign emails, mailings, solicitation proposals, and stewardship reports—tailored to the division’s major and principal gift prospects and donors.
• Help plan and implement donor events in support of cultivating and stewarding major and principal gifts and planned giving donors and prospects.
• Maintain timely record keeping of donor interactions and plans within donor database.
• Perform other job-related duties as assigned by the supervisor.

Qualifications And Skills

• 7 years of experience in fundraising, with a demonstrated track record of closing major gifts of five figures and above and securing bequest pledges or other planned gift commitments, or demonstrated transferable experience
• Comfort with a frontline, donor-facing role, including proactive outreach and relationship-building with prospects
• Experience with, or strong interest in and willingness to learn, best practices in donor qualification and moves management
• Experience with, or strong interest in speaking with donors about planned giving and blended gift asks (combining major and planned gifts)
• Exceptional writing and communication skills, with the ability to produce polished, sophisticated materials for a discerning major-gift donor audience and to translate complex research and policy into accessible, compelling content
• Genuine interest in sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)
• Strong organizational and time management skills with exceptional attention to detail
• Strong initiative, sound judgment, and ability to work comfortably in a fast-paced environment with a multidisciplinary staff of professionals
• Strong CRM database and technical skills, including Microsoft Office. Familiarity with Salesforce a plus.

Salary and benefits

The salary range for this position is between $116,600 – $124,650 and will be commensurate with experience. This is a remote position. Candidates located in the Northeast or on the West Coast are preferred. New hires are typically brought into the organization between the minimum to midpoint of the salary range posted depending on knowledge, skills and experience, and qualifications. Internal equity considerations will be reviewed before making a final offer. This is a Unionized position.

We offer excellent benefits, including medical, dental, vision, and life insurance; vacation, personal, and sick time; paid parental leave; tuition reimbursement; commuting subsidy; and a 401(k) plan with employer match.