Senior Major Gifts Officer

A community of more than 20,000 donors and members generously support Pacific Science Center’s mission. Their investment enables PacSci to deliver award-winning interactive science education. Among our many partners, the philanthropy of our PacSci Igniters (our community of $500-$1M leadership donors) helps ensure that PacSci continues to ignite curiosity in every child and fuel a passion for discovery, experimentation, and critical thinking in all of us.

The Individual Giving (IG) Team helps grow and nurture this community of investors by driving the continuum of strategies to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward individual donors at all levels of giving. The Senior Major Gifts Officer works in partnership with the Director of Individual Giving and Individual Giving Officer to actively cultivate and steward PacSci’s individual donors with diverse philanthropic goals while also identifying and cultivating prospective major donors. The IG Team collaborates closely with the Corporate & Foundation Relations team and Marketing team to promote a culture of philanthropy organization-wide.

The Senior Major Gifts Officer is a passionate relationship builder who manages a portfolio of current and lapsed major donors, including cultivating and soliciting donors one-on-one to secure annual support of $5,000-$100,000. This position also leads the IG team’s systemic efforts to research and qualify prospective major donors to help us meet PacSci’s growth goals for contributed revenue in the next 3-5 years.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

The Individual Giving portfolio includes annual fund, major gifts, PacSci Igniters Donor Society, and planned giving. The Senior Major Gifts Officer is responsible for:

Major Donor Cultivation and Proposal Solicitation

• Manage an assigned portfolio of approximately 120-150 donors and prospects capable of annual gifts in the $5,000 to $100,000 range. Implement moves management strategies to meet and exceed the overall Individual Giving goal of $1.7M.
• Cultivate and solicit donors through high-touch personal communications, visits, and exceptional customer service. Prioritize “substantive contacts” with assigned portfolio, with a goal of 20 visits per quarter.
• Analyze data to build and implement moves management strategies that will grow PacSci’s contributed revenue over time.
• Leverage fundraising events as opportunities to meet portfolio goals.

Prospecting and Donor Discovery

• Conduct prospect research and analyze data to identify prospective High Net Worth individual donors.
• Qualify donors through cold-calls and qualification conversations.
• Identify compelling opportunities for philanthropic investment.

Strategy and Administration

• Manage constituent records, maintaining up-to-date contacts, solicitations, and stewardship activities.
• Track and plan moves management in Tessitura database and participate in quarterly portfolio review/planning.
• In partnership with the Director of Individual Giving and VP for Development, implement strategies to meet annual revenue goals and develop metrics to measure effectiveness.

Other duties as assigned.

Position Requirements: Knowledge, Skills, Abilities

Knowledge of:

• Fundraising best practices
• Major Gifts principles, strategies, and trends, including trends among high-net-worth donors
• Wealth screening principles
• Community-Centric Fundraising principles and practices

Skills:

• Strong, persistent communicator (verbal and written)
• CRM database management and reporting
• Data analysis to inform portfolio strategy and creatively solve problems

Ability to:

• Center equity and inclusion practices to advance PacSci’s commitment to enabling science access for all
• Build relationships and inspire donors to support the mission
• Self-direct to build a portfolio strategy, monitor, and adjust to drive desired fundraising outcomes
• Collaborate across departments to support the work of our colleagues and understand PacSci’s impact in the community
• Work onsite at Pacific Science Center regularly and as needed for events, tours, and meetings. This position is a hybrid of in-office and remote work.

Qualifications

Required

• Four or more years professional fundraising experience, including two or more years managing a major gifts portfolio
• Recent responsibility for annual goals in excess of $500,000; experience soliciting five figure gifts face-to-face
• Proven record of success in bringing new donors to an organization and creating long-term donor relationships
• Experience using a fundraising CRM

Preferred

• Experience fundraising in a museum, arts or cultural institution, or university setting
• Prospect research skills using industry tools such as iWave
• Experience with Planned Giving  

Compensation 

Pay is based on several factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and years of experience.

Starting Base Salary Range: $88,000 - $93,000/ year

In addition to base salary, regular employees working 40 hrs/week can expect the following benefits: 

• Medical, Dental, Vision, basic life insurance, and disability insurance 
• 4 weeks of vacation, 12 floating holidays, and sick pay 
• 403(b) Retirement Savings 
• Commuter benefits 
• Employee Assistance Program
• Employee PacSci Membership

Pacific Science Center stands with those who are courageously fighting against hate, racism, and injustice. We recognize that not being racist is not sufficient. We must be actively anti-racist, and we commit to doing so. We prioritize inclusion, diversity, equity, and access in everything we do. Curiosity and critical thinking are essential to the dialogue and changes that need to happen.

Pacific Science Center complies with federal and state disability laws and makes reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact our HR Department.