Major Gifts Officer

Healy World; Edmond (OK); On-site; USD 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Life.Church is seeking a Major Gifts Officer for YouVersion to cultivate and steward a portfolio of major donors, building strong relationships aligned with ministry priorities. You will collaborate with Development leadership and cross-functional teams to inspire generosity and secure sustainable funding.

You will lead strategy development, identify new donors, and maintain a healthy pipeline to support Life.Church’s mission and growth across ministry areas.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher required.
• Advanced CFRE or equivalent credentials preferred.
• 5–7 years of related work experience.
• Strong donor relationship management experience.

Responsibilities

• Develop and manage a portfolio of major donors with engagement strategies.
• Cultivate donor relationships and secure investments for ministry priorities.
• Collaborate with leadership and cross-functional teams to grow donor giving.
• Provide CRM tracking, reporting, and strategic insights on performance.

Job description

Life.Church wants to make a lasting difference in your life, in our community, and in the world. Our mission is to lead people to become fully devoted followers of Christ. That's how we’re able to make a difference, and it's the driving force behind everything we do.

The YouVersion Major Gifts Officer advances our vision of reaching everyone, everywhere, every day with God’s Word by leading the cultivation, stewardship, and growth of major donor relationships and strategic giving opportunities. This role develops and executes a comprehensive major gifts strategy, builds meaningful partnerships with current and prospective donors, and collaborates closely with Development leadership and cross functional teams to inspire generosity and accelerate ministry impact. The Director ensures donors remain valued members of the YouVersion Community while helping drive sustainable funding for key ministry priorities.

This role is responsible for collaborating with their leader to cast vision, provide direction, and lead ministry efforts within their area of influence to outcomes that further Life.Church’s mission and reach people for Christ.

What You'll Do

Build and Manage a Strategic Donor Portfolio

• Develop and grow a portfolio of at least 125 major donors, implementing individualized engagement strategies for each relationship.
• Build long‑term, trust‑based partnerships that ensure donors feel known, spiritually encouraged, and clearly connected to the impact of their giving.
• Conduct consistent and meaningful touch points with existing major donors through in‑person meetings, phone calls, handwritten notes, and personalized communication.
• Pastor and support givers through challenging seasons as a meaningful supplement to their spiritual community.
• Support and participate in strategic donor gatherings, including Accelerate and regional events.

Develop and Execute a Growth Strategy

• Create and lead a comprehensive major gifts strategy that identifies donor goals, personas, and opportunities to support YouVersion's annual budget stability and long‑term growth.
• Thoughtfully identify and engage new individuals and families, building meaningful pathways that invite them into deeper relationship and major donor partnership with YouVersion.
• Cultivate and confidently invite donors to invest at new and increasing levels in alignment with ministry priorities.
• Develop and maintain a healthy pipeline of prospective major donors to support future ministry growth and sustainability.

Drive Outcomes and Organizational Impact

• Track portfolio activity and progress within CRM systems to ensure strong follow‑through, measurable growth, and effective stewardship.
• Provide regular reporting and strategic insights regarding major gift performance, opportunities, and progress to YouVersion leadership.
• Proactively uncover stories of life change, share them with the Donor Impact Manager for broader communication efforts, and incorporate them into donor conversations to inspire deeper engagement with YouVersion's vision.
• Partner with Generosity, Marketing, and Creative teams to develop donor proposals, printed materials, investment opportunities, impact stories, and supporting data that effectively communicate ministry impact.
• Collaborate across teams to ensure donor engagement strategies align with organizational priorities and maximize opportunities for generosity.

Skills Needed to Succeed

• High capacity for independent judgment, strategic thinking, and creative problem‑solving in a fast‑moving, mission‑driven environment.
• Effective at multi‑tasking and time management to meet strict deadlines while remaining flexible and open to change.
• Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills to maintain and foster partnerships.
• Effective at process and organizational management to coordinate, structure, and provide vision to projects.
• Maintain flexibility and initiate processes and projects while exemplifying a high level of customer service.
• Bachelor's degree in a related field.
• Advanced degree, CFRE, or equivalent professional credential preferred.
• 5–7 years of related work experience.
• Proven track record of building and leading a major donor program or team, including experience setting strategy, coaching staff, and driving measurable results.
• Financial fluency in charitable giving vehicles, including cash, appreciated securities, donor advised funds (DAFs), stock transfers, and basic planned giving concepts.
• Strong working knowledge of tax considerations relevant to major donors—including capital gains implications, required minimum distributions, and charitable deductions, with the ability to lead confident, informed conversations while partnering appropriately with financial advisors.

Benefits We Offer

• Paid parental leave, including maternity, paternity, and adoption leave.
• Generous employer‑paid leave for the use of vacation, sick time, and other qualifying reasons.
• Innovative and comprehensive Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance that provides team members with useful resources and savings to navigate their holistic health.
• Life insurance policy provided for all staff members at 2x annual salary at no cost. Additional life insurance coverage is available to purchase.
• Short‑Term and Long‑Term disability is covered at 100% for full‑time qualified staff members.
• Comprehensive wellness and mental health benefits allow staff to proactively invest in their physical and emotional health.
• Generous 401(k) retirement plan allowing a team member to have up to 12.5% (including employee contribution, employer match, and employer discretionary contribution) contributed into their account in their first year. It doesn’t stop there—the more years on staff, the greater the investment!
• $160 annually in development dollars for team members to invest in their professional growth.
• Casual dress and work environment.
• And much more!

Our Beliefs, Culture, and Commitment to Diversity

At Life.Church, every staff member, and intern is a minister and is expected to engage in the church's ministry fully. We consider ministry readiness and an individual’s capacity to represent Life.Church’s beliefs as a minister during the selection process for all staff and intern positions. An essential function within every position held by a staff member or intern at Life.Church is to uphold and represent the beliefs of Life.Church. Learn more about what we believe at Life.Church.

While we unite around our mission, we know unity doesn’t mean uniformity. Our calling is too great, and our mission is too important not to be intentional about strengthening our team through diversity. We know that diverse perspectives in race, ethnicity, background, age, and gender are essential to reaching the world for Christ. To learn more about how we strengthen our team through diversity, visit our careers page.

All data collected in our application process, from resume collection to application questions, is used for recruitment purposes only.