Major Gifts Officer, Berks Catholic High School

Diocese of Allentown; Reading (Berks County); On-site; USD 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

DIOCESE OF ALLENTOWN, Berks Catholic High School in Reading, seeks a Major Gifts Officer to build and execute a robust major gifts program, aligning with the school's 2026-2030 strategic plan and mission.

You will cultivate, solicit, and steward significant donors, develop donor strategies, coordinate visits, prepare proposals, and report progress to the Director of Institutional Advancement. This role requires travel and collaboration with leadership.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent education and experience.
• Experience in major gifts fundraising and donor databases (Razor's Edge).
• Ability to cultivate donors and create strategies.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a major gifts strategy aligned to school goals.
• Cultivate a portfolio of major donor prospects and solicit gifts.
• Coordinate donor visits, prepare proposals, and report progress.
• Collaborate with leadership to steward long-term donors.
• Produce regular activity and revenue reports.
• Travel as needed to meet donors, including evenings/weekends.

Skills

Donor relations

Major gifts

Fundraising strategy

Relationship mgmt

Communication

Public speaking

Travel readiness

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

Razor's Edge

Job description

DIOCESE OF ALLENTOWN

Berks Catholic High School, Reading

Position Description

Job Title: Major Gifts Officer

FLSA: Exempt

Reporting Functions: The Major Gifts Officer reports to the Director of Institutional Advancement; no reports currently.

Job Function: The Major Gifts Officer will play a key role in building and executing a robust major gifts program for Berks Catholic High School ensuring the achievement of the goals as outlined in the 2026-2030 Berks Catholic High School Strategic Plan. They will be responsible for securing funds for the school by managing the cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of significant individual donors. This position develops donor strategies, conducts and coordinates donor visits and makes regular reports of progress. In partnership with the Director of Institutional Advancement, the Major Gifts Officer will plan and cultivate relationships by connecting donors with the mission and ministry of Berks Catholic High School.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop, in consultation with the Director of Institutional Advancement, a strategic plan for the cultivation and solicitation of donors and prospective donors to ensure the achievement of the Advancement goals outlined in the 2026-2030 Berks Catholic Strategic Plan. Develop strategies for long-term financial growth of the major gifts program.

• Personally cultivate and solicit a portfolio of major donor prospects and steward these individuals who become major donors. Make regular cultivation and solicitation visits and calls to major donors and major gifts prospects. Prepare visit reports and ensure that proposals and solicitation letters are sent and other appropriate follow-up actions take place.

• Prepare the School Principal, Board members and others, as deemed necessary, for visits with major donors and major gift prospects. Prepare strategy memos and review research before visiting. Accompany senior staff when appropriate. This includes suggesting donors for personal contact and preparing donor profiles.

• Coordinate visits and solicitations with the Director of Institutional Advancement.

• Work with Administrative staff to conduct research on donors and prospective donors as needed. Leverage Razor's Edge technology to support these efforts.

• Create ongoing call reports and monthly activity reports that accurately reflect caseload activity and performance.

• Travel as necessary to meet with donors; evening and weekend travel may be necessary.

• Work within Razor's Edge to obtain necessary information and ensure accurate record-keeping.

• Provide regular reports on portfolio activity, pipeline movement, and revenue.

• Create timely reports that reflect activity and performance

• Manage clients and donors, process, deadlines and budget while adhering to the policies and procedures of Berks Catholic High School

Additional Conditions of Employment

Due to the nature and mission of the Catholic Church, all employees are bound to exhibit respect for the teachings and discipline of the Church regarding matters of faith and morals.

Educational Requirements

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent education and experience

• Familiarity with the principles of fundraising including annual appeals, major gifts, planned giving and donor databases (Razor's Edge, ideally).

Other Requirements

• Ability to qualify donors that represent the highest giving potential for the school

• Ability to create reasonable financial goals for each donor, based on donor's giving and potential

• The ability to create personal contact, ask, upgrade and stewardship plans that take into account individual donor's interest, motivations, giving patterns and ask preferences.

• Ability to maintain a positive and constructive attitude as part of a team focused on the mission, goals and values of the school

• Ability to represent the vision, mission, goals and values of Berks Catholic High School

• Possess a high degree of integrity, confidentiality, strong work ethic and a willingness to quickly and continuously gain knowledge of the mission, vision and values of Berks Catholic High School

• Demonstrated skills in building solid relationships and the ability to work with a diverse array of people and personalities under pressure and deadlines.

• Possessing exceptional communication abilities including excellent oral and written skills.

• Valid driver's license.

Key Performance Metrics (KPIs)

• Annual Visits: 100-150

• Solicitations: 40-55 major asks/year

• Closed Gifts: $1M+ annually

• Portfolio Size: 100-150 active prospects

• Donor Retention Rate: 85%+ for assigned

EOE M/F/D/V