Director, Major Gifts

Einstein; New York (NY); On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Einstein seeks an experienced Director of Major Gifts to advance philanthropic priorities by growing and stewarding a dynamic donor portfolio. The role focuses on leadership-level gifts and strategic engagement with alumni, parents, faculty, and friends of the institution.

The Director will manage a portfolio of ~120 donors capable of $100,000+ gifts, developing tailored cultivation and solicitation plans while collaborating across units to align donor interests with Einstein’s mission.

Qualifications

• Minimum of eight years of progressively responsible fundraising experience.
• Proven track record of securing and closing major gifts of $500,000+.
• Strong moves management and donor lifecycle strategy.
• Experience developing sophisticated cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship plans.
• Outstanding written and verbal communication and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to travel to meet with donors and prospects.

Responsibilities

• Manage a portfolio of approximately 120 major gift prospects and donors.
• Develop individualized cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies.
• Conduct donor interactions through in-person visits, virtual meetings, and events.
• Identify, qualify, and engage new major gift prospects through outreach and referrals.
• Collaborate with faculty, leadership, and volunteers to engage donors.
• Prepare compelling proposals and donor communications.
• Document prospect activity and outcomes in the development database.
• Represent Einstein at events and drive donor engagement.

Skills

Major gifts fundraising

Donor relations

Proposal development

Communication

Project management

Relationship building

Tools

Raiser’s Edge

Job description

About Us

Founded in 1955, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (Einstein) is one of the nation’s premier institutions for medical education, basic research and clinical investigation. A full-time faculty of some 2,000 conducts research, teaches, and delivers health care in every major biomedical specialty. The college has some 730 medical students, 193 Ph.D. students, 106 MD/Ph.D. students and 275 postdoctoral fellows.

Einstein’s major strength, in addition to training physicians and scientists, is its science. During fiscal year 2015, the faculty’s consistently high level of scientific achievement resulted in the awarding of more than $150 million in peer-reviewed grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Einstein is part of Montefiore Medicine Academic Health System, an integrated academic delivery system comprising seven campuses, including 8 hospitals, a multi-county ambulatory network, a new state-of-the art “hospital without beds”, a skilled nursing facility, school of nursing, home health agency, and the state’s first freestanding emergency department. As the University Hospital for theAlbert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore is a premier academic health system, employing Einstein’s clinical faculty and training Einstein’s medical students, over 1,300 residents, 420 allied health students, and 1,600 nursing students annually.

The Albert Einstein College of Medicine is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information. Einstein seeks candidates whose skills, and personal and professional experience, have prepared them to contribute to our commitment to diversity and excellence, and the communities we serve.

Position Responsibilities

Albert Einstein College of Medicine seeks an experienced, highly motivated fundraising professional to serve as Director of Major Gifts. Reporting to the Vice President of Development, the Director will play a critical role in advancing Einstein’s philanthropic priorities by developing meaningful relationships with alumni, parents, faculty, and friends of the institution.

The Director will manage a dynamic portfolio of approximately 120 current and prospective donors capable of making leadership-level commitments in support of Einstein’s mission, with the majority of these individuals as friends of the College of Medicine. Through strategic qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship efforts, the Director will guide constituents through the donor continuum, deepening their engagement with the College of Medicine and creating opportunities for transformational philanthropic investment.

The successful candidate will employ a donor-centered approach to fundraising, developing customized engagement strategies that align donor interests and passions with institutional priorities. Working collaboratively with academic and administrative leadership, faculty, volunteers, and development colleagues, the Director will identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward philanthropic support for key initiatives across the College of Medicine.

This position requires a proactive and highly organized fundraiser who is comfortable managing a robust portfolio, conducting substantive donor visits, and building long-term relationships that result in significant philanthropic commitments and sustained engagement with Einstein.

• Manage a portfolio of approximately 120 major gift prospects and donors, including alumni, parents, friends, and other key constituents with the capacity to make gifts at the $100,000+ level.
• Develop and implement individualized cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies designed to advance prospects through the donor continuum and deepen their connection to Einstein.
• Conduct a high volume of meaningful donor interactions, including in-person visits, virtual meetings, events, and personalized communications.
• Identify, qualify, and engage new major gift prospects through proactive outreach, research, referrals, and participation in institutional events and activities.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with donors and prospects, serving as a trusted partner and ambassador for Einstein’s mission, programs, and priorities.
• Develop compelling proposals and donor communications that effectively articulate institutional needs and philanthropic opportunities.
• Collaborate with faculty, academic leadership, administrators, and volunteers to create meaningful engagement opportunities and facilitate donor interactions with the institution.
• Partner with colleagues across development, alumni relations, annual giving, planned giving, and donor relations to ensure coordinated and comprehensive constituent engagement.
• Maintain accurate and timely documentation of prospect activity, strategies, proposals, and outcomes in the development database.
• Utilize prospect management best practices to assess portfolio performance, prioritize opportunities, and ensure consistent movement of prospects through the cultivation cycle.
• Achieve annual performance goals related to visits, solicitations, stewardship activities, proposal activity, and fundraising results.
• Represent Einstein at institutional, alumni, and donor events as appropriate.

Qualifications

• Minimum of eight years of progressively responsible fundraising experience, with demonstrated success in major gift fundraising within higher education, academic medicine, healthcare, or a similarly complex nonprofit environment.
• Proven track record of securing and closing major gifts of $500,000 or more and managing relationships with high-capacity donors and prospects.
• Strong understanding of moves management, donor lifecycle strategy, prospect qualification, and relationship-based fundraising.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and execute sophisticated cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship plans that result in philanthropic support and long-term donor engagement.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills with the ability to build trust, inspire confidence, and establish productive relationships with diverse constituencies.
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, including proposal development, donor correspondence, and presentations.
• Strong organizational and project management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and maintain attention to detail.
• Ability to work independently while contributing effectively within a collaborative and mission-driven development environment.
• Proficiency with fundraising databases and prospect management systems; experience with Raiser’s Edge preferred.
• Willingness and ability to travel as required to meet with donors and prospects.