Major Gifts Officer

WHYY•Philadelphia, PA

About The Position

WHYY serves the Philadelphia region with trusted journalism, eye-opening storytelling and intimate local arts programming. Our curiosity and commitment to this community is what drives our programming. It’s also what drives our hiring. Below you’ll find an employment opportunity in the fast-paced setting of the Philadelphia region’s leading public media provider. The award-winning professional staff of WHYY sets the bar high in television, radio and online. Whether it’s preparing a program to air or a behind-the-scenes role in support, all positions are vital to continuing—and growing—our impact in our community. WHYY offers a voice to those not heard, a platform to share everyone’s stories, a foundation to empower early and lifelong learners and a trusted space for unbiased news. Learn more about our Social Responsibility Program. It’s how we live. About the Role WHYY’s Major Gifts team is a high-performing, collaborative, and mission-driven group of 11 individuals that is deeply committed to building meaningful relationships with donors and advancing public media’s impact across our tristate region. We value professionalism, creativity, teamwork, and a shared commitment to excellence, while also fostering a supportive and collegial environment where people genuinely enjoy working together. The Major Gifts Officer plays an important role in helping secure philanthropic support for WHYY by managing a portfolio of assigned, qualified, and prospective donors. The goal is to thoughtfully engage and retain donors while deepening their connection to WHYY and inspiring increased investment in our mission over time. In this role, the Major Gifts Officer develops authentic relationships with each donor in their portfolio to better understand donor interests, values, and philanthropic goals, while aligning them with WHYY’s organizational priorities and opportunities. The Major Gifts Officer plans and manages individualized relationship journeys that include qualifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding donors and prospects with care, strategy, and consistency.

Requirements

A Bachelor’s degree in a related discipline or the equivalent combination of training and experience.
A minimum of five to seven years’ experience of successful individual giving focused fundraising (preferred) or comparable relationship-based sales or business development experience.
Highly proficient use of Microsoft Office software and CRMs.
Must have the ability to research and correlate data; use judgment in the interpretation and communication of rules and regulations and policies and evaluate and interpret basic statistical reports; spreadsheets, etc.

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of ROI CRM software is a plus.

Responsibilities

Manage, and qualify as needed, a caseload of approximately 150 donors.
Qualify and build relationships with prospective major donors by taking them through a deliberate multi-step process over several months with the goal of portfolio creation of donors giving at $5,000 and above which is considered a major donor at WHYY.
Create individual goals for each person in the caseload based on the donor’s history of giving and organizational priorities.
Create a plan for each donor that will serve as a foundational communication and engagement plan for each person on the caseload.
Faithfully and on a timely basis execute that plan so that individuals on the caseload are retained and upgraded.
Maintain timely, accurate documentation of all donor interactions, strategies, and next steps within the CRM, ROI.
Partner with the Director of Philanthropy and colleagues across the organization to develop compelling donor proposals, funding opportunities, and customized gift requests aligned with donor interests and WHYY priorities.
Build a strong understanding of WHYY’s programming, journalism, digital initiatives, events, and strategic priorities in order to effectively communicate organizational impact to donors.
Become knowledgeable about a variety of charitable giving vehicles including stock gifts, donor-advised funds, estate planning, wire transfers, restricted and unrestricted giving, and gifts of appreciated assets.
Collaborate with departments across WHYY to gather timely information, stories, and funding needs to support donor engagement and solicitations.
Create personalized communications and touchpoints to share regularly with donors with a goal of 1 touchpoint per donor per month.
Engage donors through a variety of outreach efforts including meetings, phone calls, emails, events, lunches, home visits, handwritten notes, and other thoughtful stewardship opportunities.
Create monthly reports as required by management that accurately reflects caseload activity, goal progress, updates to anticipated revenue and performance.
Support overall membership or mid-level to major gifts fundraising strategies by designing and implementing custom cultivation opportunities and creating multi-step engagement plans.
Represent WHYY at events, galas, performances, and community gatherings throughout the region to strengthen relationships with donors and prospects.
Attend and support WHYY donor events and cultivation opportunities, including occasional evenings and weekends.
Support special projects and other major gifts initiatives as needed.
Contribute positively to a collaborative, high-performing team culture.
Maintain regular and reliable attendance.