Philanthropy Officer

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens Inc; Boothbay (ME); On-site; USD 70,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Gardens membership

Health and retirement benefits

Paid time off (personal & sick)

Job summary

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens Inc. is seeking a results-driven Philanthropy Officer to build and manage a portfolio of donors at the $10,000+ level. The role focuses on expanding philanthropic support, donor relationships, and long-term loyalty, across Maine and nationwide.

The position is year-round, full-time, with outside travel, competitive benefits, and opportunities to participate in a vibrant gardens community.

Qualifications

• Self-motivated with initiative and drive to succeed.
• Experience leading face-to-face solicitations of upper-level donors.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines.
• Strong interpersonal and presentation skills.
• Willingness to travel and work some evenings, weekends, and holidays.

Responsibilities

• Manage a portfolio of current prospects and donors capable of gifts of $10,000+; aim to raise at least $1 million annually.
• Develop and implement strategies for identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major gifts.
• Lead appointments with major gift prospects, solo or with a team; coordinate follow-up.
• Maintain donor relations with timely responses, reporting, and stewardship activities.
• Collaborate with Gardens staff to move donors along the member-to-major-donor continuum.
• Provide reports on activity, status, and timelines; utilize donor data systems for analytics.
• Attend key Gardens events to steward donor relationships.

Skills

Donor relations

Major gifts

Prospect research

Public speaking

Team collaboration

Travel readiness

Donor management software

Tools

Donor database software

Job description

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is hiring a Philanthropy Officer!

Are you a results-driven fundraiser, excited about inspiring meaningful connections among people and nature in one of the most beautiful settings in Maine, and committed to supporting the Gardens’ Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility goals?

This is a Year-round, Full-time position that requires a combination of office duties as well as outside and travel-related work, both around Maine and nationwide.

Year-round employees receive personal and sick paid time off, health and retirement benefits, discounts in our culinary programs and Gardenshop, and a Gardens membership.

$70,000 – 120,000 salaried, exempt (compensation based on experience)

The Philanthropy Officer develops and manages a portfolio of individual prospects and donors at the $10,000 level and above in support of the Gardens’ mission and with the goal of establishing donor relationships that lead to long-term loyalty and increasing generosity over time. Helps maintain and expand philanthropic support of the Gardens.

Primary Functions:

• Manage a portfolio of current prospects and donors capable of gifts of $10,000 and above, with an emphasis on person-to-person meetings. Responsible for raising a minimum of $1 million annually.
• Develop and implement strategies for identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major individual gifts of $10,000 and above; assume a lead role in setting appointments with major gift prospects, conducting the meetings alone or as part of a volunteer or staff team, and coordinating appropriate follow-up.
• Articulate the goals of the Gardens with enthusiasm, warmth, intelligence, and professionalism.
• Respond to donor and prospect inquiries and maintain excellent donor relations. Be proactive and collaborative with prospect and donor research. Participate in donor acknowledgement, reporting, recognition, and other stewardship activities.
• Work with the Philanthropy staff to prepare and execute strategies to move donors seamlessly along the member-to-major-donor continuum in ways that prioritize donor relationships and support long-term loyalty.
• Develop collaborative relationships with colleagues throughout the Gardens.
• Work to ensure appropriate allocation of resources to maximize organization, efficiency, communication, and accuracy in the Gardens’ overall work.
• Provide comprehensive and timely reports summarizing activity, project status, and workplan timelines.
• Utilize the capabilities of the donor information system by recording all relevant donor data and interactions and by using the system’s analytical capabilities.
• Attend key Gardens events as necessary to steward donor relationships.

Physical Requirements:

This employee must possess the physical and professional capacity for working in a variety of environments. The employee may be required to sit, stand, or walk for extended periods of time.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Posting will remain open until the right candidate is hired.

Requirements

• Self-motivated with tremendous personal initiative and drive to succeed. Must be results oriented, detail and deadline focused, creative, resourceful and flexible, with attention to quality and excellence.
• Dynamic and engaging conversationalist with exceptional interpersonal skills. Ability to interact comfortably with a wide variety of people.
• Ability to navigate challenging conversations and varied perspectives. Capacity to treat confidential information with discretion.
• Experience as lead solicitor in face-to-face solicitations of upper-level donors.
• Proficient at using database software programs.
• Proven ability to engage and interact with a wide variety of people; strong customer service orientation and inclination.
• Able to manage multiple priorities, work under pressure, demonstrate a high degree of professionalism, integrity, loyalty, and service to the organization.
• Strong presentation and public speaking skills.
• Willingness to work as part of a team; proven ability to work collaboratively with internal team members for the purposes of achieving goals/objectives.
• Scheduling flexibility that allows travel and working occasional evenings, weekends, and holidays required.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Commitment to working across the organization to support the integration of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility principles into the Gardens’ internal operations and its relationships with visitors and guests.