Major Gifts Officer

The Shea Center; San Juan Capistrano (CA); On-site; USD 104,000 - 178,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

403(b)

403(b) matching

Health insurance

Paid time off

Vision insurance

Job summary

The Shea Center, in San Juan Capistrano, CA, seeks a Major Gifts Officer to lead a donor portfolio and drive significant philanthropic investments across annual, major, planned, and endowment giving. You will identify prospects, cultivate relationships, and steward supporters in partnership with the CPO and Development team.

Responsibilities include discovery visits, proposal presentations, and coordinated solicitations with executive leadership.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 5+ years progressively responsible experience in major gifts, fundraising, business development, sales, or relationship management.
• Demonstrated success building relationships that generate significant philanthropic or comparable revenue.
• Experience managing a donor, client, or prospect portfolio against measurable goals.

Responsibilities

• Manage a portfolio of donors and prospects, with cultivation and solicitation strategies.
• Lead donor engagements including discovery visits, meetings, proposals, and stewardship conversations.
• Collaborate with CPO and leadership to set annual goals and fundraising targets.
• Coordinate with event committees and volunteers to maximize fundraising results.
• Maintain accurate donor strategies and reports in Salesforce.

Skills

Relationship management

Fundraising

Donor engagement

Strategic thinking

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Salesforce

Job description

The Shea Center is a non-profit organization in Orange County, California since 1978. Our mission is to empower people with disabilities through equine assisted services and therapies. We are internationally recognized as a leader in our industry. Our staff are the heart of our services, and we value each and every person who is part of The Shea Center team.

Job Summary

The Major Gifts Officer (MGO) is a key member of The Shea Center's development team, responsible for building meaningful philanthropic partnerships that result in significant major gifts and advance the organization's mission of empowering individuals with disabilities through equine-assisted services and therapies.

This role manages a portfolio of major donors and prospects — developing personalized strategies to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward philanthropic investments across annual, major, planned, capital, and endowment giving. The Major Gifts Officer also provides strategic leadership guidance for select fundraising initiatives, including the Horse Sponsorship Program and event fundraising, to grow philanthropic revenue and deepen donor engagement.

Position Objectives

• Build and manage a portfolio of approximately 120-150 donors and prospects.
• Identify and qualify new major gift prospects from volunteers, client families, event attendees, and community partners.
• Secure significant philanthropic investments that advance The Shea Center's strategic priorities.
• Increase donor engagement, retention, upgrades, and long-term partnerships.
• Align donor interests with organizational priorities through individualized cultivation and solicitation strategies.
• Partner with leadership to strengthen a culture of philanthropy across the organization.

Responsibilities:

Portfolio Strategy & Relationship Management

• Serve as relationship manager for an assigned portfolio of donors and prospects.
• Assess donor capacity, interests, and readiness to guide engagement strategy.
• Build and maintain a robust prospect pipeline, regularly identifying and adding new prospective donors.
• Conduct discovery visits, cultivation meetings, proposal presentations, and stewardship conversations.
• In partnership with the CPO, set goals and action plans for the each annual cycle, including but not limited to: collaborative ownership of large event fundraising goals, 12-15 meaningful contacts/month, 12-20 solicitations/year.

Solicitation & Gift Strategy

• In collaboration with the CPO, develop customized cultivation plans for donor sand funding opportunities that align donor interests with organizational priorities.
• Prepare proposals, gift agreements, stewardship reports, and donor communications with the CPO and Development team.
• Lead solicitation strategies, coordinating participation of executive leadership, Board members, and volunteers as appropriate.
• Secure gifts supporting annual operations, programs, capital priorities, horse care, endowment, and planned giving.
• Collaborate with event committees and volunteer leadership to maximize results.

Stewardship & Donor Experience

• Deliver stewardship that demonstrates the impact of each donor's giving.
• Coordinate personalized recognition, reporting, and engagement to strengthen long-term relationships.
• Design donor experiences that connect supporters to The Shea Center's mission, clients, horses, and programs.
• Drive strategies that increase retention, multi-year commitments, and gift upgrades.
• Use donor analytics, wealth screening, predictive modeling, and prospect research in partnership with the CPO to identify new opportunities.
• Engage prospects through events, volunteer leadership, client families, corporate relationships, and community networks.
• Qualify and advance prospects through the pipeline toward meaningful investment.
• Maintain accurate donor strategies, contact reports, and next steps in Salesforce.
• Supervise support position(s) on the Development and Communications team as assigned.
• Partner with the CPO, CEO, Board, and volunteer leaders to advance fundraising priorities.
• Foster cross-departmental collaboration to enhance donor experience.
• Represent The Shea Center professionally at donor meetings, events, and community functions.
• Participate in department meetings, trainings, and other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 5+ years of progressively responsible experience in major gifts, fundraising, business development, sales, or relationship management.
• Demonstrated success building relationships that generate significant philanthropic or comparable revenue.
• Experience managing a donor, client, or prospect portfolio against measurable goals.

Core Competencies

• Passion for The Shea Center's mission and commitment to serving individuals with disabilities.
• Exceptional emotional intelligence, integrity, and professional judgment.
• Outstanding relationship-building skills across diverse audiences.
• Strategic thinking, translating organizational priorities into compelling donor opportunities.
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills.
• High initiative, accountability, and follow-through.
• Strong organizational and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Comfort using donor analytics, prospect research, and CRM tools to inform strategy.
• Collaborative leadership style and cross-departmental effectiveness.
• Discretion and confidentiality in all donor interactions.
• Flexibility and adaptability in support of team success.
• Willing to commit to The Shea Center’s Core Behaviors expected of all staff members.

Pay: $104,030.00 - $177,600.00 per year, commensurate with experience

• 403(b)
• 403(b) matching
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Work Location: In person, at The Shea Center in San Juan Capistrano, CA