Director, Major & Planned Giving

Los Angeles LGBT Center•Los Angeles, CA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Director, Major & Planned Giving leads the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s major gifts and planned giving fundraising efforts. Reporting to the Chief Philanthropy Officer, the role manages a portfolio of approximately 75 high-capacity donors and prospects, develops donor engagement and solicitation strategies, and oversees a team of two Major Gift Officers and one Planned Giving Officer. The Director collaborates with senior leadership, board members, and volunteer leaders to advance fundraising goals aligned with the Center’s mission and strategic priorities. The role leads major gift strategy and personally solicits significant gifts for annual, strategic, campaign, capital, and endowment priorities. It provides strategic oversight of planned giving, including initiatives to increase bequest intentions and other deferred gifts, and strengthens the Center’s legacy society and planned giving stewardship. The Director is also a key leader in campaign planning and execution, including leadership gift fundraising, prospect strategy, volunteer engagement, campaign stewardship, and systems for tracking progress and outcomes. As a senior member of the Philanthropy leadership team, the Director supervises, coaches, and develops fundraising staff; establishes performance goals and metrics; contributes to department strategy, budgeting, and evaluation; and collaborates across departments to align fundraising with organizational priorities. The position includes donor and community engagement, local regional travel, and occasional evening and weekend events. Work is primarily performed in an office environment.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field or an equivalent combination of education and directly relevant experience.
8–10 years of experience in major gifts fundraising.
Experience working with donors on planned giving strategies, independently or with planned giving colleagues.
Proven track record managing high-capacity donor portfolios and securing six-, seven-, and transformational gifts.
Experience leading and managing fundraising teams, including coaching and performance management.
Experience collaborating with senior leadership, board members, and volunteers in fundraising efforts.
Proficiency in donor management and fundraising software systems.
Strong skills in developing fundraising reports, proposals, and presentations.
Competence with office productivity tools, including word processing, spreadsheets, and email.
Ability to manage data and track fundraising metrics effectively.
Knowledge of major and planned giving fundraising principles and practices.
Understanding of donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies.
Familiarity with philanthropic trends and fundraising campaign management.
Commitment to the mission and values of the Los Angeles LGBT Center.
Understanding of nonprofit fundraising regulations and ethical standards.
No license or certification is required.
Ability to remain stationary and work at a computer or workstation for extended periods; repetitive hand use and manual dexterity for office equipment and technology.
Ability to read screens, documents, and printed materials; effective verbal communication for in-person and virtual donor engagement.
Ability to attend meetings, events, and community activities, travel locally in the region, and handle and transport ordinary work materials as needed.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree or specialized training in nonprofit management, fundraising, philanthropy, or a related field.
Experience leading major fundraising and capital campaigns.
Experience working in LGBTQ+ or social justice-focused nonprofit organizations.
Experience managing larger teams or multiple fundraising programs.
Professional fundraising certification such as CFRE or equivalent.
Advanced proficiency with donor management systems and fundraising analytics tools.
Experience with digital fundraising platforms and social media engagement for donor cultivation.
In-depth knowledge of planned giving vehicles and estate planning.
Understanding of campaign leadership and volunteer engagement strategies.
Knowledge of the regional philanthropic community and major donor networks.

Responsibilities

Lead strategies to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward major gift donors and prospects.
Manage a personal portfolio of approximately 75 high-net-worth individuals and family foundations capable of six-, seven-, and transformational gifts.
Develop individualized donor engagement strategies and personally solicit and close significant gifts for annual, strategic, campaign, capital, and endowment priorities.
Build and maintain a pipeline of major gift prospects and leadership-level donors; monitor fundraising results against revenue goals and performance metrics.
Provide strategic leadership and oversight for the planned giving program, including initiatives to increase bequests and other deferred gifts.
Partner with donors and professional advisors on planned giving opportunities and strengthen legacy society stewardship and recognition.
Lead campaign planning, strategy, execution, leadership gift fundraising, pipeline development, prospect strategy, volunteer engagement, and campaign stewardship.
Collaborate with the Chief Philanthropy Officer, CEO, Board members, and campaign volunteers to secure major campaign commitments.
Develop donor-aligned campaign strategies and maintain systems to track campaign progress, donor engagement, and fundraising outcomes.
Directly supervise, coach, mentor, and develop two Major Gift Officers and one Planned Giving Officer.
Establish team and individual performance goals, fundraising metrics, and professional development plans; conduct portfolio reviews and strategy meetings.
Support fundraising staff recruitment, onboarding, retention, and performance management; foster collaboration across the Philanthropy Department.
Partner with the Chief Philanthropy Officer and CEO on fundraising strategy and key donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
Engage and support Board members in fundraising and donor relationship-building; prepare briefings, talking points, donor strategies, and follow-up plans.
Present fundraising strategies, results, and donor opportunities to senior leadership, board committees, and volunteer leaders.
Represent the Center at donor meetings, cultivation events, community gatherings, and philanthropic forums.
Contribute to department-wide strategic planning, goal setting, budgeting, and performance evaluation; identify philanthropic trends and opportunities.
Align fundraising activities with the Center’s mission, values, strategic plan, and organizational priorities.
Oversee direct reports’ hiring, performance evaluations, corrective actions, termination recommendations or approvals, scheduling, training, donor portfolios, prospect strategies, work plans, and solicitation and stewardship plans.