Major Gifts Officer

Bright Hope • South Barrington, IL

9d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Major Gift Officer (MGO) is a key member of the Relationship Management (RM) team raising funds for Bright Hope, managing a portfolio of key individual and organizational donors and cultivating prospective donors. The mission of this position is to increase revenue by 1) personally representing Bright Hope to key allies (donors) with charitable hearts and affluence, then igniting them to passion and action in support of our work, and 2) identifying, cultivating, and bringing in new, affluent allies that are aligned with our mission. Preference will be given to candidates that have connections to existing Christian philanthropic networks that they can leverage for prospective donors.

The MGO will work closely with the President and the rest of the RM Team in ramping up the organization’s philanthropic growth. This may include planning and strategizing events, fundraisers, and other donor engagement opportunities. The MGO will report directly to the Director of Development and Marketing and work closely with the President.

This position will help create opportunities for donors to experience transformation in their worldview and view of poverty, just as the program beneficiaries are experiencing transformation. This Mutual Transformation is a core value of the organization.

Lastly, we would ask that the MGO understand and align with our statement of faith.

Requirements

• 3+ years of development experience in a major gifts role.
• Experience with Salesforce or other donor CRM preferred.
• Strong competency with Microsoft Office (e.g. Outlook, Word, Excel).
• Ability to travel domestically approximately 5 days per month and internationally 2-3 time per year.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills; must care deeply for uplifting those suffering from extreme poverty using a Christian framework.
• Demonstrable ability to ignite passion for Bright Hope's mission and vision.
• Demonstrable ability to effectively cold call prospective benefactors.
• Demonstrable ability to engage and inspire high-net-worth individuals to give generously.

Nice To Haves

• Grant writing experience preferred.
• Connections to Christian philanthropic networks strongly preferred.
• Undergraduate degree preferred.

Responsibilities

• Developing relationships with major donors and crafting individualized cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies.
• Conducting in-person and virtual donor visits, locally and domestically.
• Preparing personalized gift proposals for donors, making gift solicitations, and having planned giving conversations with donors.
• Identifying and qualifying major gift prospects from existing donor base as well as from outside our existing donor base.
• In collaboration with the Deputy Director, Relationship Management, develop relationships with grantors, including: researching, identifying, creating and submitting grant applications, developing contacts with grantors, keeping grant calendar up-to-date, and reporting outcomes to grantors.
• Assist the RM team with the strategy, planning, and execution of donor events.
• In coordination with the RM team, support the planning and implementation of Hope Builders, Our client’s new mid-to-high level donor society.
• Track activities and moves management in Salesforce.
• Lead 2-3 international donor trips per year to program sites, creating a space for donors to be transformed through the impact of their support (mutual transformation).

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Associate degree