Major Gifts Officer

Major Gifts Officer

About Robin Hood

Founded in 1988, Robin Hood finds, fuels, and creates the most impactful and scalable solutions lifting families out of poverty in New York City. The largest poverty fighting organization in New York City, Robin Hood partners with top nonprofits in New York City and invests in legal services, housing, meals, workforce development training, education programs, and other vital services that give New Yorkers in need the tools they need to build better lives. The programs it funds are often the first of their kind and serve as demonstration models to identify what works before being replicated in other cities. Because its Board of Directors covers 100% of all administrative, fundraising, and evaluation costs, every dollar donated goes directly to organizations helping New Yorkers in need.

While Robin Hood’s primary focus is on New York, its impact extends far beyond the borders of the city. Its pioneering, metrics-based approach has become the gold standard for charities around the nation as Robin Hood works to understand and evaluate the impact of its partners to ensure that its philanthropic dollars are utilized to maximum impact. Robin Hood also supports its community partners and their leaders with financial and strategic support and management assistance that allows those organizations to maximize their impact.

Building on our 35 years of experience, Robin Hood is expanding our impact with an explicit focus on lifting families sustainably and measurably out of poverty through supporting the most effective community partners; influencing public policy; raising our thought leadership profile; importing and exporting effective ideas and strategies nationally; and building new collaborations with strategic partners. As New York City emerges from the worst of the global pandemic, we are focused on getting families back on their feet; getting kids back on track; and getting New Yorkers back to work.

Robin Hood also understands that if we are to support families living in poverty and find permanent pathways out of poverty and towards financial independence, we must become an effective partner with government, especially at the City and State levels. We do this by leveraging the expertise of those who are closest to the challenges of poverty, including community members, community-based organizations, and others with specialized skills and knowledge. We also aim to collaborate with New York City government to fund program and policy innovations that hold the promise of expanding economic opportunity in New York City – providing nimble “risk capital” for high-potential strategies. In this way, we seek to leverage our philanthropic investments by finding ways to advance the highest-impact strategies at scale.

Given its long-standing reputation among influencers and support of over 200 New York City non-profit organizations, Robin Hood has the unique ability to be a catalyzing force for households experiencing poverty, bringing distinct constituencies together to develop and spread the most effective strategies to advance economic mobility in New York City and beyond. 

Position Overview

The Major Gifts Officer is responsible for securing five- and six-figure gifts from individual donors and prospects to support the broad scope of Robin Hood’s mission. The Major Gifts Officer will engage, solicit, steward and cultivate a portfolio of donors and prospects, implementing targeted strategies they develop, resulting in gift closures at maximum levels of support. This group is a highly valuable community of supporters and potential source of significant growth for Robin Hood, some as major givers and others as long-term donors and/or planned giving candidates.   

This role involves working collaboratively across different fundraising programs, and with Development, Marketing & Events (DME) leadership, recognizing that success will include significantly increasing revenue for other programs.  

As an individual contributor, the Major Gifts Officer is responsible for managing a pool of 150 major donors. 

The Major Gifts Officer reports to the Director, Major Giving & Engagement. 

Responsibilities

Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

·      Donor Engagement and Solicitation: Manage a pool of 150 major giving donors acting as primary contact to steward, cultivate, and solicit. Using both quantitative and qualitative data along with research, create customized short-, intermediate-, and long-term strategies for existing donor/prospect portfolio. Build strong relationships to retain and/or upgrade donors through strategic meetings, phone calls, personalized email communications, ongoing written contact, and events. Organize face-to-face discovery, engagement, and solicitation visits by various stakeholders. Collaborate with donor relations team to develop compelling fundraising materials, appeals, and campaigns that resonate with target audiences. 

·      Stewardship: Nurture donor loyalty through personalized communications and outreach, including phone calls, emails, written contact, and events. Tailor stewardship efforts based on donor giving levels and interests. Proactively stay abreast of Robin Hood’s model, key priorities and funding needs. 

·      Cultivation: Conceptualize and launch recruitment for “learning and action” affinity groups to acquire new donors and to steward and upgrade current donors. Partner with the Director of Major Giving to co-lead exploratory conversations, develop strategy and framework for giving and member benefits. In the first year, focus on enlisting a group of generous and passionate women to join Robin Hood’s first Women’s Collective. 

·      Reporting and Analysis: Maintain accurate and confidential records of donor interactions in Salesforce. Monitor and report on program metrics and goals, modifying strategies as necessary to meet objectives. Identify success and assessment metrics, analyzing rates, retention, and upgrades. Conduct midcourse (January or June) and yearly review and assessment of pipeline program, making adjustments as necessary. 

Qualifications

·      Minimum of 7 years of relevant experience in fundraising, donor engagement, major giving, or a closely related field  

·      Commitment to Robin Hood’s mission  

·      Proven track record of soliciting, closing and stewarding five and six-figure gifts  

·      Experience managing a large pool of donors and skilled at cultivating strong relationships with donors through personalized communications and outreach to retain and upgrade their support. 

·      Strong background in using both quantitative and qualitative to inform fundraising strategies 

·    Ability to conceptualize and implement a strategic plan for creating and launching affinity groups, setting clear goals and outlining actionable steps. 

·     Excellent oral and written communication skills and ability to be an effective spokesperson for Robin Hood 

·      Strong attention to detail with an analytical mind and superb problem-solving skills

·      Ability to exercise flexibility and discretion 

·      Strong interpersonal skills: ability to influence others to achieve objectives, both internally and externally at all levels of the organization 

·      Willingness to jump in where needed while staying positive and flexible 

·      Team player and collaborator 

·      Exceptional project management and execution skills 

·      Self-starter skilled at completing tasks with minimal support 

·      Volunteer management skills and experience are a plus 

·      Ability to travel locally and work occasional evenings and weekends 

·      Excellent Microsoft Office suite skills (Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint) 

·       Bachelor’s degree preferred, but not required 

This role entails stewarding and soliciting a robust donor pipeline, enhancing brand visibility within philanthropic circles, and nurturing relationships with current contributors. The ideal candidate thrives on data-driven strategies and engaging prospective donors at the highest levels of philanthropy while supporting and managing existing donor relationships. 

If you are an experienced fundraiser with a deep understanding of New York philanthropy, driven by measurable outcomes, adept at portfolio development, and passionate about helping New Yorkers escape poverty permanently, then this role is for you. 

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Robin Hood is committed to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and representation in all aspects of its work. As New York City’s largest poverty-fighting organization, Robin Hood believes that building a diverse team is fundamental to its ability to effectively serve and strengthen organizations serving the most vulnerable communities in the city, and to influence the policies that affect them.

Robin Hood believes in the potential that diversity creates – deep and responsive relationships with its community partners; the ability to solve complex problems efficiently and effectively; and, most importantly, the ability of its diverse staff to work to its full capacity.

Robin Hood builds diversity, inclusion, and equity practices into all aspects of its work. Its practices, values, traditions, and beliefs are embedded in the inclusive culture that it creates. Operationally, its formal and informal structures support a work environment that advances the professional development of staff at all levels, allows for innovation, and grounds its work as poverty fighters.

In its workplace, diversity equals representation. Robin Hood seeks to attract and retain a staff that reflects the communities that it serves. Racial and ethnic diversity matter to it, as does diversity among other cultural identifiers (ability, educational background, generation, gender, gender expression religion, immigration status, military status, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status).

Diversity within Robin Hood's staff is enhanced by its efforts at meaningful inclusion. It ensures that team members are empowered to make decisions, offer actionable feedback, and share credit for team success. Further, Robin Hood seeks to develop its talent professionally and has created an intentional focus on mentorship and sponsorship, particularly of junior staff. Its goal is to encourage long term talent retention and engagement, while fostering a culture of innovation.

Robin Hood Guiding Principles

As an organization committed to economic mobility, our work is grounded in the

following Guiding Principles:

·      Diversity, equity, and inclusion

·      Proximity and humanity

·      Risk-taking and innovation          

 Our professional community reflects myriad demographic characteristics, perspectives, and backgrounds, which includes various identities that reflect diversity in gender identity and expression, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, ability, and socioeconomic status.  Our colleagues have access to opportunity and advancement, as we promote fair and equitable treatment and have encouraged participation by underrepresented groups. As a team, we promote a sense of belonging, high levels of engagement, and shared respect.

·      Robin Hood puts people first. Always.

·      Robin Hood is unafraid to take action and create solutions.

·      Robin Hood is data driven and heart led.

·      Robin Hood works the coat check.

Salary and Benefits

Robin Hood provides a competitive compensation package with extensive benefits, including medical, dental, vision, and life insurance. Employees benefit from a 403(b) retirement plan match and an additional 12% employer contribution to a 401(a) retirement plan. We support a healthy work-life balance, offering new hires 20 days of accrued paid time off. This position is based in New York City.

The salary range for this role is $116,184 - $145,000.

To Apply

Please visit our website to complete our online application.

Robin Hood is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants from diverse backgrounds and identities are encouraged to apply.

Please note that Robin Hood Foundation has adopted a COVID-19 vaccination policy to safeguard the health and well-being of our employees. As a condition of employment, Robin Hood employees are required to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, unless a reasonable accommodation is approved or as otherwise required by law.