Major Gifts Officer

Culver Academies, Inc.; Culver (IN); On-site; USD 60,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Culver Academies is looking for a Major Gifts Officer to join the Advancement team. This key role involves identifying and cultivating major gift donors, requiring extensive travel and a proven track record in fundraising. The ideal candidate will have strong organizational skills, excellent communication abilities, and a commitment to the mission of Culver. Competitive salary and comprehensive benefits are offered.

Benefits

Health benefits including medical, dental, and vision

403b retirement account with company match

On-site Health Clinic and free meals

Generous paid vacation and holidays

Professional development opportunities

Tuition Remission Program for eligible children

Qualifications

• Minimum of five years of demonstrated fundraising success at a secondary or higher education level.
• Knowledge of solicitation strategies and techniques required.
• Ability to communicate effectively and maintain confidentiality.

Responsibilities

• Identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward alumni for major gift commitments.
• Conduct 125 personal visits each year with major gift donors.
• Make a minimum of 25 solicitations of $10,000 or more.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Organizational skills

Communications

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Raisers Edge

Veracross

Job description

Mission: Culver educates its students for leadership and responsible citizenship in society by developing and nurturing the whole individual, mind, spirit, and body, through integrated programs that emphasize the cultivation of character.

Culver Academies is a private boarding school. We enroll students and employ faculty and staff from across the United States and around the world. We are seeking diverse talent to support our mission and enrich our learning environment. At Culver, we are always looking to strengthen our organizational leadership by adding outstanding talent to our faculty and staff whose passion is to serve our students.

Located on the shore of Lake Maxinkuckee, Culver Academies encompasses 1,800 acres of green hills and woodlands, and a historic collegiate-like campus with beautiful Gothic architecture. Our location in Culver, Indiana, offers the best of both worlds; a beautiful, serene setting with access to large cities nearby, including the home of the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. We are also less than two hours away from Chicago and Indianapolis.

SUMMARY:

This position at Culver represents a vital member of our 41 member Advancement team and will thrive in a goal-oriented and team-focused environment. This Major Gifts Officer is responsible for identifying, cultivating, soliciting and stewarding alumni for major gift commitments, defined as starting at $100,000. The position calls for a proven track record of personal solicitation experience, strong written and verbal skills, the ability to plan strategic moves with prospect management and a strong appreciation for the mission, traditions and history of Culver Academies.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Extensive travel is required to conduct 125 personal visits each year with major gift donors and prospects for the purposes of prospect identification, cultivation, stewardship and solicitation. Of these visits, 25% will be for new prospect identification.
• With the Director of Development, set aspirational major giving goals for new commitments based on professional experience and Culver tenure.
• Make a minimum of 25 solicitations of $10,000 or more in support of the Culver Fund, Culver’s top Annual Giving priority.
• Effectively manage approximately 150 assigned prospects through personal visits, correspondence, electronic and telephonic communication.
• Utilize strong strategic planning skills to develop, implement and track cultivation and solicitation plans for individual prospects.
• Assist the Chief Advancement Officer and Director of Development in providing support, when required, for the Head of Schools and other campus partners in the cultivation and solicitation of major and planned gifts.
• In cooperation with Alumni Engagement, serve a key role within your travel territory to support activities and Culver Club events which will eventually lead alumni, parents and friends to support the mission of Culver Academies.
• Possess a detailed understanding of Culver’s fundraising priorities and have the ability to articulate these in both written and verbal terms.
• Have a general understanding of commonly used planned gift instruments.
• Display in word and action the highest possible ethical standards.
• Continuous growth mindset as evident by setting and following through on annual professional development goals.

Please note, this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Education and Experience: Bachelor's degree required. Minimum of five years of demonstrated fundraising success at a secondary or higher education level, with a track record of closing major gifts; possess knowledge of solicitation strategies, techniques and highly developed interpersonal skills. Successful experience in sales or business will also be considered. General knowledge of secondary school fundraising, including Annual Giving, Planned Giving, Capital Campaigns, Foundation solicitations, Communications, and Special Events.
• Communications: This position requires writing and editing effectively and communicating the written and spoken word with tact, diplomacy, and authority when necessary.
• Organizational skills: This position requires discipline, an ability to meet deadlines, and the ability to work under the pressure of many priorities. Additionally, must be able to multitask between various job responsibilities.
• Interpersonal skills: This position requires the ability to meet people with ease and the ability to work effectively within every level of the organization.
• This position entails having access to highly confidential information. Must be discreet and able to maintain confidentiality.
• This position requires intermediate computer skills. This position requires the ability to learn and use Raisers Edge and Veracross. The employee understands operating systems, word processing, graphics, spreadsheets, and databases. Understand how to use flash drives and memory cards, knows how to insert hyperlinks and tables on word processing applications, insert links and videos into a presentation, modify their signature block, is able to recognize spam, recognize file formats when using email, conduct complex sorting, applying filters, and using different views on spreadsheets and databases.

TOTAL REWARDS: Culver offers much to complement your pay. Our health benefits include medical (Health Savings Account available), dental, and vision insurance options offered at extremely affordable rates and one of our most valued offerings is our FREE on-site Health Clinic including various FREE generic medications. Financial planning benefits include Life Insurance and a 403b retirement account with a very generous company match. At Culver we seek to support your whole self –mind, spirit, and body, which is why you have access to our on-site Fitness Center, impressive personal time off with 10 paid holidays, 200 hours of paid vacation time, and professional development opportunities to support excellence in your craft. Culver also offers FREE meals in the dining hall, limited laundry and dry-cleaning services and a discount at the Campus Store and Uniform Shop. A strong Tuition Remission Program and scholarship opportunities are available for your eligible children attending both schools and camps.

Culver Academies is an equal opportunity at will employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of age, race, religion, color, disability, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, pregnancy, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.