Senior Major Gifts Officer

Reports to: Interim Director of Development

Location: Remote (US West Coast, Southwest or Midwest strongly preferred)

Classifications: Full-time, Exempt, Management (non-union)

Salary Range: $90,000-95,000

Projected Hire Date: October 6, 2025

Projected Start: October 20, 2025

About Bend the Arc

Bend the Arc is building a multiracial, multiethnic, intergenerational movement of Jews and allies across the country who are rising up to build an American future free from white supremacy, antisemitism, and racism. We’re investing in systems that keep our communities safe and divesting from systems that uphold white supremacy. We organize, advocate, tell stories, and develop the leaders that we need to finally build a true multiracial democracy in America. And we’re fighting for the joyful future we deserve: one where Black liberation is realized and where all of us — within and beyond our Jewish community — are safe and thriving.

The Bend the Arc family of organizations consists of Bend the Arc: Jewish Action, our 501(c)(4) organizing and advocacy arm; Bend the Arc Jewish Action PAC, the first and only Jewish PAC to advocate exclusively for progressive policies in the U.S.; and Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice, our 501(c)(3) education and leadership arm. We are proud to be a Union shop with our Bend the Arc Workers Union under the Non-profit Employees Union (NPEU).

Headquartered in New York City, we have remote staff nationwide, along with a network of chapters organizing across the country.

About the Position

Why this position matters

The six-person Development team responsible for revenue generation for Bend the Arc’s family of organizations, raising $4MM annually from individuals and institutions. The Senior Major Gifts Officer is a critical member of the team, building and nurturing individual donor relationships that sustain and grow the reach of Bend the Arc’s impact. The Senior Major Gifts Officer contributes towards sustaining the pulse of the organization by conveying the impact of Bend the Arc’s work, connecting donors to our mission and engaging with community supporters.

The ideal candidate will be a relational, strategic, and data-informed frontline fundraiser. They will be an enthusiastic and persuasive advocate of Bend the Arc’s mission and programs and a natural connector of people and their interests and passions.

What this role does

This role directly reports to Bend the Arc’s Interim Director of Development and works closely with the Development team, the CEO, the Executive Coordinator, the Digital Fundraising and Communications Manager, and the Assistant Director of Advocacy and Political Affairs. They will create, implement, and oversee a comprehensive stewardship program for a major gifts portfolio of donors west of the Mississippi, including prospecting, annual revenue projections and multiple opportunities for engagement. They will also support fundraising efforts for our grassroots and mid-level portfolios. A typical day might involve researching donor prospects, reviewing an email or direct mail appeal, evaluating metrics, and planning a trip to meet with donors. This position supervises the Individual Giving Manager.

Key Responsibilities

Fundraising Strategy and Project Management

• Develop relationships and execute strategies that result in major gift income (defined as donations of $2,500+ annually).
• Maintain a portfolio of 70+ donors. Over time, grow the portfolio to 125 donors, raising $600,000 - $800,000 annually.
• Work with the Senior Development Officer to develop an aligned major gifts fundraising strategy.
• Develop colleagues and stakeholders as it relates to fundraising skills.
• Help lead, recruit and staff campaigns and special project committees.

Individual Giving

• Create and implement a regionally specific major donor program for a portfolio of donors giving four, five, and six figure gifts.
• Strategically move current, lapsed and prospective major donors through the development cycle from qualification to cultivation to solicitation to stewardship.
• Increase recruitment and retention rates and maximize support by creating and implementing engagement plans, including donor meetings, house parties, donor briefings, etc.
• Work with the CEO and Executive Coordinator to schedule meetings, travel, and draft personalized updates and other correspondence to donors and prospects.
• Maintain up-to-date and accurate data to track performance and management of their portfolio, including correspondence, meeting notes, and profile information to track progress and results (Our current database is Raiser’s Edge NXT).
• Meet quarterly and yearly metrics with respect to donor visits, solicitations, and dollars raised.

Donor Communications

• Maintain fluency and stay up to date on Bend the Arc’s work and organizational activities, including the ecosystems in which we move and the time, place, and conditions under which we operate.
• Develop and prepare talking points, scripts and compelling donor materials, including collateral aimed at discrete donor segments.
• Support Digital Fundraising and Communications Manager to execute digital fundraising campaigns to solicit and steward our grassroots fundraising base, including direct and digital mail communications.
• Support team skill development around effective storytelling and donor communication.

Supervision

• Manage the Individual Giving Manager. Help set clear and achievable goals, implement best practices and accountability measures to meet the overall Development team’s needs.
• Work with the Individual Giving Manager to develop strategies for the mid-level portfolio prospecting, solicitation and stewardship.

Required Skills and Qualifications

Position Specific

• Minimum of four (4) years of progressively responsible experience in development, with at least two (2) years working directly with major donors.
• Minimum of at least two (2) years of experience as a direct supervisor.
• Experience engaging individuals and securing commitments at the major gift level and moving them up a ladder of engagement.
• Deep knowledge of prospecting and planned giving strategies are a plus.
• Ability to initiate and manage multiple complex fundraising activities simultaneously, meet established deadlines, with close attention to detail.
• Experience fundraising in an organization with a 501(c)3, 501(c)4, and political action committee (PAC) is a strong plus.
• Knowledge of and familiarity with some or all of the multiple ecosystems and contexts in which this position will work, including the national progressive movement, the cultures of the West Coast, Southwest, Midwest and surrounding states, and networks of high net-worth donors.
• Knowledge of Jewish communal ecosystem and/or Jewish philanthropy is a strong plus.
• Experience working with donor management software, preferably Raiser’s Edge.
• Able to collect, track, and analyze portfolio performance data.
• Excellent internal and external written and verbal communication skills and experienced storyteller.
• Experience working closely with Communications staff to draft and edit fundraising communications for various audiences.
• Strong interpersonal skills and relationship management experience, with a demonstrated ability to work effectively in a team environment.
• Proficiency in Google platforms and ability to learn new systems.
• Ability to work weekend and evening hours for special events and travel regionally and nationally as needed.

Staff Wide

• Demonstrated commitment to racial equity, inclusion, and anti-oppression practices, and ability to bring this orientation into all areas of the work, internally and externally.
• Developed racial equity praxis (analysis and skill) that can be applied to day to day work.
• Resilience and self-awareness to navigate power, responsibility and experience mindfully.
• Values and is open to giving and receiving feedback.
• Communicates effectively, honestly, and considerately.
• Works collaboratively and considerately with colleagues, within and across teams, to achieve goals and objectives.
• Completes administrative responsibilities in a timely manner.
• For managing positions: Experience supporting growth and development of direct reports through clear communication of expectations, frequent, timely and actionable feedback and building of trusting relationships grounded in an understanding of power.

Compensation, Benefits, and Work Schedule

This is a full-time, exempt position. The work schedule will include some evenings and weekends when needed. The annual salary range is $90,000-95,000 commensurate with experience. Statistics show that women and candidates from marginalized identities do not typically advocate for themselves, so to maintain equity, Bend the Arc has moved away from the culture of negotiation. When we make an offer, we offer the highest salary within the salary range that we assess matches the individual’s qualifications and fit for the role.

Our employees are offered a comprehensive benefits package:

• Medical, dental and vision benefits effective your first day (100% of employee coverage paid by employer, 80% of dependent/family);
• Flexible scheduling policy and generous paid time off for full-time employees including 20 Vacation days, 24 Sick and Safe days, 2 Floating Holidays, 32 office closures, 14 paid weeks for Parental Leave, 12 paid weeks for Family, Medical and Emergency Leave, and 12 paid weeks for Sabbatical after 7 years of employment;
• Monthly utilities stipend: $50 per month towards wifi, cell phone, electricity;
• Funding for professional development and home office equipment;
• 401(k) eligibility on first day; 2% employer contribution after one year
• FSA, HSA, DCFSA, and Adoption Assistance;
• Life Insurance, Long Term and Short Term Disability benefits fully paid for by Bend the Arc;
• Voluntary Accident and Injury Insurance;
• Employee Assistance Program provides access to resources, counseling, and discounted programs to support your mental, physical, and financial wellbeing;
• Commuter Benefits: option to allocate pre-tax income for public transit/parking.

Working Conditions

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to perform the essential functions of this job successfully. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Must be able to sit in a stationary position for prolonged periods of time. Constantly operates a computer; must be able to operate other office machinery such as copy machines, computer printers, and video and voice telecommunications. Must be able to make a high volume of phone calls to donors.

The person in this position must identify and discern the monitoring and tracking of revenue for all assigned donors, the maintenance and updating of donor files in Raiser’s Edge, conduct donor research and prepare donor packets, as well as identifying and cultivating new major donors.

This person must identify, discern and communicate with the CEO, the staff of Bend the Arc: Jewish Action PAC, and the Leadership Team, and brief solicitors before and after meetings and events. They must communicate with the Executive Coordinator to schedule meetings, travel, and correspondence to/contact with donors.

This person must occasionally move about to attend conferences and events in other cities and meet with donors. Must be able to travel by airplane and/or car or public ground transportation and detect and identify airport and public transportation signs. There is staff travel at least once a year to our conference and/or staff retreat; all work-related travel would be paid for by Bend the Arc.