Major Gifts Officer

Position Summary

Join the expanding iNaturalist Fundraising Department in a new role! Reporting to the Head of Philanthropy, the Major Gifts Officer (MGO) plays a vital role in building a sustainable revenue stream that grows year over year. They are responsible for the identification, cultivation, solicitation, acknowledgment, and stewardship of major gifts (starting at $1,000+ but with donors and prospects at 6 figure potential) from individuals, family foundations, and donor advised funds. This is a front-line fundraising position and a successful candidate will bring a base-building orientation to fundraising to build and manage a portfolio of high-capacity donors and prospects. The role will require experience in direct donor cultivation and solicitation, pipeline management, prospect identification and research, and the management of related donor communications. This position also collaborates with the Head of Engagement to ensure a seamless pipeline from our lower dollar donors to major giving and the Executive Director to deepen our Major Gifts program, strengthening the long-term sustainability of our work and to align giving opportunities with the organization's strategic plan and priorities.

About iNaturalist

Protecting nature starts with noticing it. On iNaturalist, millions of people around the world share photos and audio recordings of the plants, animals, fungi, and more near them. After more than 18 years of noticing nature, the community has created one of the world’s largest open biodiversity databases — one that has informed over 7,000 scientific papers, supported on-the-ground conservation efforts, and connected people to the nature around them.

iNaturalist is an independent nonprofit with a mission to connect people to nature and advance biodiversity science and conservation. We believe anyone, anywhere can contribute — you don’t need to be an expert to make a difference — and that community science is critical to protecting global biodiversity. Our small, dedicated team builds technology to scale community science, with humans in the loop.

We’re growing, and we’re looking for people who want to help millions more around the world turn their everyday curiosity into lasting impact for nature!

Key Responsibilities

Portfolio Management & Donor Engagement

• Manage and develop a portfolio of current, lapsed and prospective donors, deepening relationships in person, over the phone, and in writing.
• Develop donor cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, renewal, and upgrade plans for assigned donors.
• Develop strategies to build the base of iNaturalist’s $1,000 plus donors and solicit gifts by phone, visits, events, mail and online.

Fundraising Strategy & Revenue Growth

• Work collaboratively to develop and implement an annual major donor cultivation and solicitation action plan, including methods of identifying new areas for donor prospecting and implementing solicitation strategies for current and prospective donors.
• Assist in the implementation of strategies to upgrade and convert community engagement donors (under $1,000) to the major gift program.
• Identify, research, and qualify prospective individual donors through prospect research, relationship mapping, referrals, events, and strategic outreach.
• Develop donor profiles and briefing documents, and maintain and manage database profiles.

Donor Engagement and Stewardship

• Support the Head of Philanthropy and the Executive Director and coordinate with board members, staff and volunteers in their fundraising efforts which include securing meetings, scheduling calls, and managing all necessary follow up.
• Design and plan donor events in coordination with Development Operations Associate. Recruit donors and prospects to a variety of fundraising and cultivation events.
• Write persuasive and personalized emails, letters and proposals to donors and prospects.
• Collaborate with the Community Engagement team to develop outreach strategies and materials for mid-level donors ($1,000-$9,999) via email and platform announcements.

Systems

• Assist with individual giving pipeline tracking, revenue forecasting, budgeting support, and performance reporting.
• Work in coordination with development staff to ensure all information on major donors, as well as all outreach and future tasks, is comprehensive and up to date.
• With the Development Operations Associate, coordinate logistics and follow-up for donor meetings, cultivation opportunities, fundraising events, and other individual giving activities.

Required Experience and Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and a minimum of five (5) years of relevant professional experience with a strong background and proven success in individual major gift fundraising or Associate’s degree with a minimum of seven (7) years of relevant experience required.
• Proficiency in fundraising software and CRM systems (experience with Virtuous preferred).
• Experience in, and enthusiasm for, face-to-face cultivation and solicitation of major donors and prospects.
• Experience in collaboration, preparation and accompaniment of executives in major donor engagements.
• Experience managing and supporting a portfolio of individual donors or major gift prospects required.
• Demonstrated success cultivating, soliciting, stewarding, renewing, or upgrading individual donors.
• Experience working with donors contributing or capable of contributing $10,000 or more annually.
• An established track record of soliciting gifts from a national pool.
• The ability and willingness to travel regularly to meet with donors and foundations.

Required Skills and Competencies

• Strong written and verbal communication skills required.
• Highly detail-oriented with the ability to prioritize multiple tasks and projects.
• Ability to exercise judgement, take initiative, follow through, and collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams and external parties from different backgrounds, identities, and experiences.
• High level of integrity with an ability to maintain the highest level of confidentiality.
• Strong research skills, including the ability to identify and qualify prospective individual donors and major gift prospects.
• Ability to communicate effectively in English sufficient to convey information to colleagues, external vendors, and donors in writing and verbally.

Research shows that marginalized groups may not apply for jobs unless they meet 100% of the qualifications. We encourage anyone who would be excited to work in this role every day to apply.

Why it’s Great to work at iNaturalist

A mission that matters.

With species going extinct daily, the need to protect and document biodiversity has never been greater. iNaturalist has become the go-to data source for most species.

A great team

We value and celebrate unique perspectives and contributions. We are committed to collaborating, supporting, learning from and learning about each other.

Flexible work.

We are a virtual team, and this position’s work can be performed from home or wherever you are comfortable with a strong internet connection. You’ll even get some funds to set up your office and a monthly stipend to defray some of the costs.

For this position, to facilitate collaboration across time zones, we require that you be a resident of and eligible to work in the lower 48 states (i.e., not Alaska or Hawaii).

Competitive pay.

The starting compensation for this position is $118,811.27 a year, non-negotiable.

Great benefits.

We offer a pretty awesome benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, and life insurance, plus an employer-funded health reimbursement account and employee-funded flexible spending accounts. There is a 401k plan with a 5% match and an employee assistance plan. This position is eligible for unlimited personal time off, and unlike some tech companies, we really mean it – everyone is expected to take off a minimum of three weeks a year.

Additional Information

A background investigation is required prior to employment for applicants who receive a conditional offer of employment. Applicants given a conditional offer of employment will be required to sign authorization and release forms enabling such an investigation.

Application process

All applications must be submitted via Applied.

Instead of a cover letter, we will ask you to answer a few questions that will be reviewed (by real people, not AI) and assessed separately from each other, your resume, and your name. Randomization and anonymization of each element in the initial review process allows us to focus on the content of your answers, which minimizes bias.

The application period will close on July 6, 2026. However, we may close it early after receiving 150 applications. In this case, we will notify anyone who has started the application that they have 48 hours to complete it.

Applied asks for your demographic information, but we never see it in association with you—it is only summarized in aggregate. We use it to assess the overall demographics of the candidate pool.

After initial review of applications on a rolling basis, advancing candidates will be asked to answer a few more questions before candidates are selected for interviews.

Timeline Summary:

• Application: due by July 6, 2026
• Interviews: Mid-July
• Offer: Late July
• Ideal Start Date: August 17, 2026

iNaturalist is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based on gender, race or color, ethnicity or national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other applicable characteristics protected by law.

iNaturalist is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities during the hiring process. If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in the application or interview process, please contact Director of Finance & HR Adrienne Pettit at adrienne@inaturalist.org.

We offer a pretty awesome benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, and life insurance, plus an employer-funded health reimbursement account and employee-funded flexible spending accounts. There is a 401k plan with a 5% match and an employee assistance plan. This position is eligible for unlimited personal time off, and unlike some tech companies, we really mean it – everyone is expected to take off a minimum of three weeks a year.