Major giving officer

CASE; Worcester (MA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Assumption University seeks an accomplished advancement professional to serve as Major Giving Officer, building and maintaining relationships with alumni, parents, and friends capable of contributing $50,000 or more. The role qualifies; cultivates, solicits, and steward donors, aligning philanthropic interests with the University’s strategic needs.

The successful candidate will lead and collaborate with campus leaders, move prospects through the giving pipeline, and help grow the 1904 Legacy

Qualifications

• Five to seven years’ experience in major gift fundraising, preferably in higher education.
• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Experience in multi-year fundraising campaigns preferred.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Ability to manage volunteers and moves management.

Responsibilities

• Build, develop and manage a portfolio of 125 major/planned gift prospects.
• Conduct a minimum of 100 face-to-face meetings annually to qualify, engage, solicit or steward donors.
• Engage campus leaders to deepen engagement with top prospects.
• Serve as a partner to senior leadership in development strategies.
• Collaborate with fundraising teams to grow unrestricted and restricted annual support.
• Expand membership in the 1904 Legacy Society.
• Provide staff leadership for a reunion class giving initiative.
• Move prospects through the giving pipeline using moves management in Slate.

Skills

Major gift fundraising

Travel willingness

Interpersonal skills

Donor relations

Strategic thinking

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Job description

Assumption University was founded in 1904 as a Catholic, nonprofit, coeducational liberal arts university located in Worcester, Massachusetts on a 185-acre campus. Assumption offers an average class size of eighteen, where students study under the close mentorship of faculty and staff who are experts in their fields, with over 90 academic programs offered across five colleges. Assumption’s 26 athletics teams compete in the Northeast-10 Conference, with our academic and athletic success resulting in the NCAA Division II President’s Award for Academic Excellence. Marked by gritty determination, relentless curiosity, and a lack of entitlement, Assumption graduates are in demand exactly because our understanding of Catholic liberal education knits enduring ideas and professional preparation into a single fabric.

Assumption University strives to form graduates known for their critical intelligence, thoughtful citizenship, and compassionate service. Assumption University encourages a student’s sense of wonder, discovery, and purpose, forming graduates known for their intellectual seriousness, thoughtful citizenship, and devotion to the common good. Our curricular and co-curricular programs provide students with an education that shapes their souls, forms them intellectually, and prepares them for meaningful careers. Assumption is a diverse community that welcomes different points of view and embraces all who share its mission.

Under the leadership of President Greg Weiner, the first Jewish president of a Catholic university, Assumption University recently undertook a strategic plan for the next decade. This bold, ambitious, thoughtful, and strategic document, known as “Thrive,” is highlighted by the following. “In our next decade, Assumption University, will become a premier institution with national reach, not merely a Catholic university, but a particular type of Catholic university—one in diminishing supply but, because it speaks to enduring human needs, persistent demand.”

Now entering the fourth year of “Thrive,” the institution seeks a dynamic and experienced advancement professional with superb interpersonal, strategic, and operational skills and abilities to fill the key position of Major Giving Officer.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTION:

In support of the mission of the University, the Major Giving Officer (MGO) works to build and enhance relationships with alumni, parents, and friends capable of making a gift of $50,000 or more. The MGO is responsible for qualifying, cultivating, and soliciting prospects and stewarding donors. She/he will work with prospective donors to determine their philanthropic interests and how those interests align with the strategic needs of the University.

The successful candidate will have a positive, can-do attitude and the ability to work in a fast-paced environment. She/he needs to be able to juggle a wide-variety of tasks and projects simultaneously, make decisions independently, as appropriate, and always position Advancement and Assumption in the best way possible. She/he should have a deep understanding of philanthropy and the impact that it can make on higher education, and enjoy working with a wide variety of personalities and work styles.

• Build, develop and manage a portfolio of 125 major/planned gift prospects.
• Conduct a minimum of 100 face-to-face meetings annually to qualify, engage, solicit or steward donors. This includes meetings with individuals both on and off campus, traveling as appropriate.
• Engage and strategically utilize campus community members (VP’s, Deans, Department Chairs, faculty, coaches, etc.) in the advancement process to deepen engagement with top prospects.
• Serve as a trusted partner to senior leadership in the development and execution of thoughtful strategies designed to move top prospects closer to making a major gift to the University.
• Partner with Assumption Fund team and the Leadership Giving Officer for Athletics to identify new prospects and volunteers and support the goal of growing unrestricted and restricted annual support to the University.
• Collaborate with Major and Planned Giving Officer to expand membership in the 1904 Legacy Society, which recognizes individuals who have included the University in their estate plans.
• Provide staff leadership for one reunion class giving initiative. Focus is establishing fundraising goals and strategizing with the class volunteer group to actively solicit and steward class members.
• Move prospects through the giving pipeline by actively managing and documenting moves management strategies, including all donor interactions and activity in the University’s Advancement database (Slate).

• Must be willing to contribute actively to the mission of the University as well as show an understanding of and a respect for the Catholic and Assumptionist identity of Assumption University.
• Five to seven years’ experience in major gift fundraising, preferably in higher education.
  Bachelor’s degree required
• Experience working in a multi-year capital or comprehensive fundraising campaign preferred.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to effectively communicate with a wide range of individuals and constituencies. This includes being a good listener and thoughtful questioner.
• Willingness to maintain an aggressive travel schedule
• Proven track record of closing gifts of $50,000+.
• Ability to direct and manage volunteers, to include organizing, prioritizing, and scheduling work assignments
• Knowledge of tax laws related to charitable giving.
• Conduct research, gather data, analyze information, and prepare reports and other materials
• Exercise good judgement, to demonstrate and understanding of ethics related to development activities, and to use discretion in interactions with donors, prospects, volunteers, and others
• Maintain confidentiality
• Adjust priorities as necessary, independently as well as in conference with supervisor
• Foster effective working relationships within a team environment, leading by example
• Apply and explain rules, regulations, policies, and procedures.