Principal Gift Officer

Covenant House New Jersey; Newark (NJ); On-site; USD 94,000 - 127,000; Full time

Job summary

Covenant House New Jersey seeks an experienced, disciplined fundraiser to serve as a Principal Gifts Officer. This frontline role solicits five- and six-figure gifts from a qualified donor pipeline, while building relationships with current donors, seeking referrals, and engaging attendees at events and board meetings.

The Officer will leverage CHNJ programs like Asbury Park, Program Board, and Sleep Out as strategic assets for donor recruitment and visibility, manage a small portfolio, and

Qualifications

• At least 5 years of fundraising or frontline relationship-building experience, with major gifts preferred.
• Proven ability to solicit five-figure gifts and manage donor pipelines.
• Strong communication, initiative, and accountability to drive momentum.

Responsibilities

• New Donor Acquisition and Pipeline Development: build relationships with prospective donors and expand the pipeline for $25,000+ gifts.
• Cultivation, and Solicitation: manage full donor lifecycle, conduct meetings and solicit gifts.
• Collaboration and Internal Partnership: align with development leadership and program staff; maintain Salesforce records.

Skills

Fundraising

Major gifts

Donor relations

Salesforce

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

Salesforce

Job description

Covenant House New Jersey seeks an experienced disciplined, relationship-driven, entrepreneurial fundraiser to serve as a Principal Gifts Officer.

This frontline fundraising role is responsible for soliciting five- and six-figure gifts from a qualified pipeline of donors. The Principal Gift Officer will also contribute to this pipeline, by building relationships with current donors, seeking donor referrals, and interacting with attendees at events, volunteer activities and board meetings. The role will also use the Asbury Park program, Program Board, and Sleep Out as strategic assets for donor recruitment, relationship-building, and visibility.

Duties and responsibilities

New Donor Acquisition and Pipeline Development

• Actively and consistently reach out to prospective donors, seeking visits and calls to build relationships with new donors.
• Identify and pursue prospective donors with the capacity and inclination to make gifts of $25,000+, and specifically solicit gifts at this level.
• Use available tools, databases, events and community to add to our prospective donor pipeline.

Cultivation, and Solicitation

• Manage the full donor lifecycle for assigned prospects, through cultivation, solicitation, and early stewardship. The Principal Gift Officer will be responsible for making personal solicitations from this prospect group.
• Conduct introductory meetings, donor visits, tours, event follow-up, and other substantive engagement designed to assess fit, deepen interest, and advance prospects toward giving
• Qualify prospects based on research including CHNJ information, Covenant House International wealth screening, current donor feedback, etc.
• Maintain a disciplined approach to record keeping in Salesforce.
• Manage a small portfolio of existing individual donors using those relationships as a base for community visibility, introductions, and broader donor acquisition.
• Steward donors thoughtfully and consistently, ensuring a strong donor experience and a clear pathway to deeper engagement.

Collaboration and Internal Partnership

• Work closely with the Development Leadership Team to align donor acquisition efforts with CHNJ’s overall fundraising strategy.
• Partner with program staff, particularly at the Asbury Park ROP program when needed to deepen understanding of CHNJ’s work and help translate program impact into compelling donor conversations.
• Contribute to pipeline review, portfolio planning, and donor strategy conversations across the development team.
• Required to check company e-mail daily.
• All other duties assigned by management staff.

What Success Looks Like

• Creation of a $1M+ portfolio over an 18-month period.
• Number of discovery visits, cultivation meetings, and substantive donor moves completed, as the Principal Gift Officer is building toward the $1M portfolio.
• Number of new individual donors secured at the five-figure level.
• Longer term, retention of current donors and rate of growth of giving among current donors.
• Upgrade and retention of assigned donors.

Salary $ 110,000

Experience and Skills

• Demonstrated passion for the mission of Covenant House New Jersey and experience in being able to enroll new donors and community leaders in a non-profit organization’s mission.
• Successful and repeated solicitation of five-figure gifts.
• High level of initiative, persistence, and accountability; this role requires someone who can create momentum, not just manage assigned relationships.
• At least 5 years of fundraising, sales, business development, or related frontline relationship-building experience, with a strong preference for experience in major gifts.
• Strong interpersonal skills, sound judgment, and comfort engaging new people in person, by phone, and through written outreach.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present CHNJ’s work persuasively to individual donors and prospects.
• Experience using Salesforce or another CRM for moves management, donor tracking, and pipeline discipline.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience
• Valid driver’s license and willingness to travel regularly within New Jersey