Senior Major Gift Officer

Wikimedia Foundation; United States; Remote; USD 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

A nonprofit organization focused on knowledge is seeking a Senior Major Gift Officer to lead major gift fundraising efforts. You will manage a portfolio of prospects and develop strategies to secure substantial donations. The ideal candidate has significant fundraising experience, strong relationship-building skills, and the ability to work independently. The position allows for remote work, with travel to key locations in the U.S. required.

Qualifications

• 4 years of successful fundraising experience, at least 3 years in major gifts.
• Track record of raising funds from individual major donors.
• Broad knowledge of development activities including solicitations and event planning.

Responsibilities

• Cultivate a portfolio of 75-100 major gift prospects.
• Solicit and secure major and planned gifts.
• Develop high-end donor cultivation events.

Skills

Fundraising experience

Relationship management skills

Strong writing skills

Ability to work autonomously

Confidentiality of donor information

Job description

Overview

The Senior Major Gift Officer is a critical part of the Wikimedia Foundation’s fundraising team, focused on raising major gifts and planned gifts for the Wikimedia Foundation and Wikimedia Endowment. The Senior Major Gift Officer will report to and work closely with the Senior Manager of Major Gifts & Planned Giving to develop and execute major giving fundraising strategies. They manage a dynamic portfolio of major gift prospects, serving as one of our front-line major gifts fundraisers. Succeeding in this environment requires comfort with both highly personalized cultivation strategies for individual donors in their portfolio as well as email outreach to a broad array of donors at scale. The Senior Major Gift Officer will work remotely, with ideal location enabling convenient travel into US East Coast or West Coast major metros and travel frequently.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a front-line fundraiser on a team charged with securing annually increasing revenue targets through major gifts
• Cultivate and steward a portfolio of 75-100 prospects who have the capacity to give between $1k-$25k annually, along with qualifying and disqualifying major donors from a large giving pool, with frequent reevaluation of the portfolio based on qualification meetings
• Solicit and secure major and planned gifts in support of the Wikimedia Foundation and Wikimedia Endowment, and build a pipeline for further giving and cultivation across the major gifts team
• Foster strong, long-term donor relationships, including those assigned based on geographic location or other factors
• Develop intimate, high-end donor cultivation events, including building invitation lists, assisting with program content, and executing post-event cultivation strategies, in conjunction with the Events Manager
• Create written materials to support fundraising (meeting/event briefings, activity reports, solicitation letters, proposals, and stewardship reports)
• Manage major donor communications, including project management, writing, and editing of materials, in collaboration with other staff across the Foundation
• Participate in donor identification, research, and qualification efforts
• Assist with gift processing, acknowledgements, donor recognition, and other gift administration tasks as needed
• Track donor contact in the donor database

Skills and Experience

• 4 years of successful fundraising experience, including at least 3 years of direct major gifts experience
• A track record of raising money from individual major donors through current and planned gifts in the 4- to 5-figure range
• Broad knowledge of development activities, including direct solicitations, event planning and management, and planned giving
• Excellent relationship management skills with a diverse group of donors and team members across geographies
• Strong writing skills
• Ability to work autonomously and with accountability
• Ability to maintain confidentiality of donor information and exercise discretion
• Ability to travel to meet with donors and attend Foundation events
• Comfort and experience in a technology-driven environment

Qualities that are important to us

• Strong values and vision fit with the Wikimedia movement and Foundation
• International perspective with cross-cultural communication experience
• Articulate and persuasive communicator, both in speaking and writing
• Active listening and strategic thinking; able to incorporate input to develop increased support
• Detail-oriented with ability to maintain systems, track progress, and follow up promptly
• Culture of constructive criticism and respect
• Self-motivated, able to work independently
• Gravitas and professionalism appropriate for interacting with high-level donors, board members, and C-level staff
• Willingness to travel frequently

Additionally, we’d love it if you have

• Experience with timezone-distributed workforces
• Experience with technical and/or scientific donors
• Experience with endowment campaigns
• Experience in marketing and/or securing planned gifts
• Fluency in languages other than English

About the Wikimedia Foundation

The Wikimedia Foundation is the nonprofit organization that operates Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia free knowledge projects. Our vision is a world in which every single human can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. We host Wikipedia and the Wikimedia projects, build software experiences for reading, contributing, and sharing Wikimedia content, support the volunteer communities and partners who make Wikimedia possible, and advocate for policies that enable Wikimedia and free knowledge to thrive.

The Wikimedia Foundation is a charitable, not-for-profit organization that relies on donations. We are a remote-first organization with staff and contractors in many countries. The Foundation is a United States 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization with offices in San Francisco, California, USA.

As an equal opportunity employer, the Wikimedia Foundation values a diverse workforce and strives to maintain an inclusive and equitable workplace. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy or related medical conditions, parental status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, protected veteran status, disability, genetic information, or any other legally protected characteristics.