Major Gifts Officer

Who We Are:

The Alliance for Decision Education (“the Alliance”) is a non-profit education organization leading the growing call to have decision-making skills taught in schools across the country by 2030. Increasingly, teachers, parents, and business leaders all are advocating for students to learn the skills for good decision-making, improving their lives and those of others around them. We are dedicated to the understanding that better decisions lead to better lives and a better society. Our mission is to improve lives by empowering students with essential decision skills. For more information, please visit www.AllianceForDecisionEducation.org.

The Alliance for Decision Education is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer that celebrates diversity, promotes equity, and encourages inclusivity. We are committed to building and fostering a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. The more diverse we are, the better our work will be, and the more impact we will have.

The Role:

As a key member of the Development team and reporting to the Deputy Director of Development, the Major Gifts Officer (MGO) will cultivate and solicit philanthropic gifts to fund the Alliance’s short- and long-term strategic goals.

The MGO will qualify donors, build a donor pipeline, create and implement cultivation strategies for new and existing major gift prospects, solicit annual and major gifts, and steward donors. Working closely with colleagues in the Development department, as well as colleagues across the organization, the MGO will develop, execute, evaluate, and refine strategies for assigned priority projects or regions to maximize their development potential.

We expect the MGO to work primarily from the Alliance office in Bala Cynwyd, PA once the organization returns to a hybrid schedule, likely this spring. In special circumstances, we will consider long-term remote work for candidates who are not local to our office.

Core Responsibilities:

• Manage a portfolio of individual prospects and donors using moves management strategies and evidence-based best philanthropic practices
• Identify new prospects through research and data mining
• Contact, cultivate, solicit, and steward major gift prospects to meet specific revenue and activity goals
• Work with key stakeholders to cultivate prospects and build solicitation and cultivation strategies;
• Establish specific individual fundraising plans, including developing and executing a full range of donor cultivation activities
• Answer current and prospective donor inquiries; maintain relationships with existing donors through regular contact in order to maintain ongoing engagement
• Write correspondence, reports, and proposals
• Enter data in the donor database and assure accurate electronic and hard copy files of major gift donors and prospects
• Participate in donor recognition events
• Participate in monthly moves management strategy meetings
• Perform other duties as assigned or needed to move forward the Alliance’s funding priorities

Ideal Qualifications:

• Experience
• Bachelor's Degree
• 5+ years of proven successful experience in individual fundraising
• Experience with prospecting, pipeline building, and prospect development (geared toward securing five-figure and six-figure gifts)
• Experience managing a major gift prospect pool
• Proven track record of soliciting and securing major gifts in the five- and six-figure range
• General Attributes
• Strategic thinker with strong execution skills; performance and target driven
• Excellent writing, editing, and verbal communication skills
• Responsible, diligent, and conscientious, with outstanding organizational skills and attention to detail
• High energy, emotional maturity, and integrity; gracious professionalism and interpersonal skills
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and handle sensitive materials
• Committed to building credible and lasting relationships with prospects and donors
• Actively open-minded and intellectually curious; committed to becoming well-versed about the field of Decision Education
• Self-starter with an entrepreneurial attitude; ability to initiate and innovate
• High-level collaborator with a passion for the mission of the organization
• Commitment to success in the role and success of the organization
• Actively open-minded and intellectually curious
• Flexible and willing to adapt to changing conditions and focus

Salary and Benefits:

Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience. Alliance employees receive a comprehensive benefits package (including health and dental insurance completely covered for you and your family, a 401k with up to 5% match, and long term disability insurance), generous paid time off and sick-time policies, a laptop, and other tools and resources to help employees do their best work.