Principal Gift Officer

Boston Lyric Opera • Boston, MA

46d • $150,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Principal Gifts Officer is a frontline fundraiser and is responsible for the successful development and execution of the Company’s program for all philanthropic gifts of $1 million or more from individuals, including family foundations and estates, planned gifts, and commitments to the organization for both general operating and campaign initiatives. Central to the Principal Gifts Officer’s role is evaluating various gift opportunities and giving vehicles and recommending the most suitable in line with the prospect’s philanthropic goals, interests, and financial situation and in keeping with BLO’s priorities and 50th Anniversary Campaign attainment. While general operating support is essential for BLO’s art form, the organization understands the importance of investing in a variety of funding vehicles, including the creation of an organization-wide planned giving program. The PGO rigorously manages a portfolio of principal donors and prospects, achieves annual fundraising goals, and helps to ensure the success of long-term capital and deferred goals. The PGO will partner with philanthropic counsel and BLO’s CFO to develop appropriate protocols and identify resources needed for contract creation and oversight of planned giving vehicles. This role reports to the Chief Philanthropy Advisor, who manages, stewards, and coaches the Philanthropy department in meeting their revenue targets. The PGO will work directly with the CEO and Board leaders. Along with the Director of Campaign and Philanthropy Operations, the PGO will co-lead the Campaign Committee.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree and a minimum of seven years of fundraising experience in moves management systems, or equivalent combination of education and experience
• Demonstrated ability to personally and consistently close six-figure or larger philanthropic gifts; experience at the seven-figure gift level strongly preferred
• Experience utilizing industry-standard best practices and a donor-centric approach in managing a donor portfolio of approximately 50 individuals and determining donors’ philanthropic interests related to specific fundraising goals, ideally in a campaign environment
• Proven ability to build and maintain long-term donor relationships. Ability to leverage relationships to strategically solicit donors, maximizing their full philanthropic capacity
• A high level of comfort and effectiveness working with high-net-worth individuals and corporate business leaders, domestically and internationally
• A sophisticated understanding of blended giving and complex assets that incorporate planned giving outreach, solicitation, and stewardship approaches and a solution-focused approach to philanthropy that subscribes to the idea that there are no dead ends, but multiple avenues to pursue
• Excellent written and oral communication skills; behavioral and linguistic flexibility as well as strong intellectual and social curiosity
• Demonstrated ability to synthesize and prioritize information from a wide array of sources while maintaining attention to detail and effectively managing overall workflow
• Ability and willingness to travel
• Experience using Tessitura (or similar) CRM software

Responsibilities

• Manage, grow, solicit, and steward a portfolio of approximately 50 households that can give at the principal gift level.
• Identify, cultivate, and solicit BLO donors and prospects for gifts of $1 million or more.
• Cultivate and solicit donors for multi-year commitments, creating sustainability for the organization in future years.
• Meet assigned activity and revenue goals.
• Develop and maintain a multi-faceted principal gift solicitation program, including a strategic operating plan, identifying priorities and prospects, assigning prospect ratings, and recommending goals for future support.
• Identify and leverage Board and other network links to prospects and donors.
• Devise and implement cultivation and solicitation strategies.
• Initiate and maintain contact with current, past, and prospective donors, promoting positive donor relations efficiently.
• Identify disaffected or disinterested donors and devise strategies to encourage/redirect their interests as appropriate.
• Engage volunteers proactively as needed.
• Prepare funding proposals, talking points and strategies, assessments of potential support, briefings for the CEO, and stewardship reports for all assigned prospects; ensure that all interested parties are involved in key efforts focused on specific prospects; document all substantive prospect contacts.
• Serve as a resource and role model to staff on matters of prospect strategy and offer new approaches and techniques; seek to provide creative solutions to complex solicitations; remain current with evolving trends in philanthropy as well as economic trends in the national and Boston business sectors.

Benefits

• Compensation is highly competitive and budgeted to start at $150,000 annually.
• Flexibility linked to experience and performance will be entertained for outstanding candidates.
• Boston Lyric Opera offers a competitive benefits package, which adds significantly to the employee’s total compensation package.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 11-50 employees