Major Gifts Officer

Ronald McDonald House Eastern Wisconsin; Milwaukee (WI); On-site; USD 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Eastern Wisconsin is seeking a Major Gift Officer to manage a donor portfolio and lead strategies for gifts from individuals and corporate partners. You will craft personalized engagement plans, coordinate solicitations, and collaborate with leadership and volunteers to secure meaningful philanthropic support.

The role requires strong relationship-building, donor communication, and the ability to travel locally for donor visits and events.

Qualifications

• Minimum five years of donor solicitation and stewardship experience.
• Demonstrated success managing donor portfolios and securing gifts.
• Ability to build trust, understand motivations, and make direct asks.
• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Experience with donor databases, documenting activity, and reporting results.
• Willingness to attend occasional evening and weekend activities and travel locally.

Responsibilities

• Manage a qualified portfolio of donors with goals for contacts, solicitations, revenue, retention, and upgrades.
• Develop individualized relationship plans based on donor interests, history, capacity, and engagement.
• Identify and qualify new prospects through referrals, research, events, and staff/board collaboration.
• Move donors through discovery, cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, renewal, and increased commitment.
• Prepare proposals, sponsorships, gift agreements, and materials for prospects.
• Coordinate with leadership/volunteers for solicitations and stewardship plans.
• Track activity and results; adjust strategies to strengthen engagement and outcomes.

Skills

Donor cultivation

Major gift solicitation

Portfolio management

CRM proficiency

Prospect research

Presentation skills

Relationship building

Travel locally

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

CRM system

Job description

Job Title: Major Gift Officer

Department: Development

Reports to: Director of Development

Status: Full-time, Salaried (Exempt)

Location: RMHC | 8948 W Watertown Plank Rd, Wauwatosa, WI 53226

(Position requires occasional nights and weekends)

Job Purpose

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Eastern Wisconsin (RMHC) keeps families together and promotes the health and well-being of children. Guided by our core values of communication, connection, community, and compassionate care, we serve families, engage supporters, and inspire belief in our mission.

The Major Gift Officer advances RMHC’s mission by building trusted, long‑term relationships with a portfolio of individual and corporate donors and prospects. Using a donor‑centric approach, this position connects each supporter’s interests and philanthropic goals with meaningful opportunities to strengthen services for families. The Major Gift Officer will work in a collaborative team consisting of the Development Director, Signature Events Manager, Community Events Manager, Storytelling and Impact Communications Manager, Group Volunteer Manager, Development Assistant, and a Grant Writing Consultant.

This position owns the full donor relationship cycle—identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, recognition, and stewardship—and develops individualized strategies that deepen engagement, retain support, and inspire increased investment. The Major Gift Officer is expected to make direct asks, secure significant gifts, and maintain consistent, meaningful contact with donors.

The role works closely with Development colleagues, executive leadership, board members, programs, and finance to align donor interests with organizational priorities, prepare compelling funding opportunities, and ensure every donor experiences timely communication, gratitude, transparency, and evidence of impact.

Primary Areas of Responsibility

Portfolio Management & Donor Strategy

• Manage a qualified portfolio of current and prospective individual and corporate donors, with clear annual goals for meaningful contacts, solicitations, gift revenue, retention, and upgrades.
• Develop and execute individualized relationship plans based on each donor’s interests, giving history, capacity, and preferred engagement.
• Identify and qualify new prospects through referrals, research, events, volunteer networks, and collaboration with staff and board members.
• Move donors thoughtfully through the relationship cycle from discovery and cultivation to solicitation, stewardship, renewal, and increased commitment.
• Maintain accurate, timely, and confidential donor records, contact reports, strategies, gift information, and next steps in the constituent relationship management system.

Donor Cultivation, Solicitation & Stewardship

• Build authentic relationships through personalized meetings, calls, correspondence, tours, events, volunteer opportunities, and mission experiences.
• Listen for donors’ motivations and priorities, then connect them with giving opportunities that are meaningful to them and responsive to RMHC’s needs.
• Prepare and present compelling proposals, sponsorship opportunities, gift agreements, and other materials for individual and corporate prospects.
• Make direct, timely, and respectful gift solicitations independently and in partnership with leadership, board members, or volunteers.
• Create personalized stewardship plans that include prompt acknowledgment, appropriate recognition, meaningful impact reporting, and consistent follow-through.

Individual & Corporate Donor Engagement

• Cultivate individual donors and families through highly personalized engagement that honors their values, experiences, and philanthropic goals.
• Develop relationships with corporate leaders, employee champions, community partners, and decision‑makers to secure philanthropic gifts, sponsorships, and deeper mission engagement.
• Coordinate benefits, recognition, reporting, and renewal strategies for corporate donors in partnership with Events, Communications, Finance, and Programs.
• Engage donors in ways that go beyond transactions, creating opportunities to understand RMHC’s work firsthand and see the impact of their generosity.
• Represent RMHC professionally at donor meetings, community gatherings, cultivation activities, and fundraising events.

Collaboration, Proposals & Performance Management

• Partner with Programs and Finance to develop accurate cases for support, budgets, impact updates, and donor reports.
• Prepare donor briefings, meeting strategies, talking points, proposals, and follow‑up materials for leadership and board members.
• Track portfolio activity and results, analyze progress toward goals, and adjust strategies to strengthen donor engagement and fundraising outcomes.
• Support a collaborative culture of philanthropy by sharing donor insights, coordinating outreach, and helping colleagues provide a consistent, donor‑centered experience.

What Success Looks Like

• A well‑qualified and actively managed portfolio with current strategies, documented next steps, and consistent donor contact.
• Fundraising goals are achieved through thoughtful qualification, meaningful engagement, direct solicitation, and diligent follow‑through.
• Individual and corporate donors feel known, valued, informed, and connected to the impact of their giving.
• Strong donor retention, renewed commitments, increased giving, and a healthy pipeline of new major gift prospects.
• Accurate CRM records and reliable reporting support sound forecasting, accountability, and coordinated relationship management.

Core Competencies

• Donor‑centered relationship building and stewardship
• Confidence and skill in direct gift solicitation
• Active listening, empathy, diplomacy, and sound judgment
• Strategic portfolio and moves management
• Persuasive written and verbal communication
• Goal orientation, initiative, accountability, and follow‑through
• Collaboration, discretion, and responsible handling of confidential donor information

Qualifications

Required

• Minimum of five years of demonstrated experience in donor solicitation, cultivation, and stewardship, preferably in a nonprofit or mission‑driven organization.
• Documented success managing a portfolio and securing significant gifts from individuals and/or corporations.
• Demonstrated ability to build trust, understand donor motivations, make direct asks, and maintain long‑term relationships.
• Excellent written, verbal, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Experience using a donor database or CRM to manage relationships, document activity, and report results.
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple donor strategies, priorities, and deadlines.
• Ability to attend occasional evening and weekend activities and travel locally for donor visits and events.

Preferred

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• Experience securing major gifts, corporate philanthropy, sponsorships, or multi‑year commitments.
• Experience partnering with executive leaders, board members, and volunteers in donor cultivation and solicitation.
• Familiarity with prospect research, wealth screening, moves management, and fundraising performance metrics.
• Knowledge of the southeastern Wisconsin philanthropic and business community.