Director of Major Gifts

The Director of Major Gifts is a member of Friends of the High Line’s Individual Giving team, which encompasses membership, major gifts, and planned giving. The Director manages the major gifts program, which raises $2-3 million annually. A key frontline fundraiser, the Director personally cultivates and stewards an existing portfolio of donors and prospects, while supporting major gifts fundraising by FHL senior leaders. The Director also supports cultivation strategy, prospecting, and revenue projections for the entire major gifts program. This role reports to the Senior Director of Individual Giving and Board Relations, and works collaboratively with the Director of Individual Giving, Director of Development Operations, and others across FHL teams.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Manage a portfolio of 150+ individual donors and prospects through personalized correspondence, proposals, and engagements, with an emphasis on cultivating and soliciting 5-to-6 figure gifts.
• Direct the Major Gifts program, working with the Senior Director of Individual Giving to set revenue projections and donor cultivation strategies for other senior FHL fundraisers including the Executive Director and Chief Advancement Officer.
• Supervise the Individual Giving Coordinator on the administration and execution of the Major Gifts program.
• Pursue an active schedule of donor engagements and meetings (5-10 meaningful donor interactions/month on average), and maintain a detailed donor pipeline report via CRM.
• Conduct regular analysis of FHL’s donor and prospect pipeline to identify opportunities to grow philanthropic support, and collaborate with the Director of Individual Giving to identify upgrade prospects from membership program.
• Proactively identify and qualify new prospects, including for restricted program support, to grow the Major Gifts pipeline.
• Plan cultivation and stewardship events for the Major Gifts portfolio in partnership with the Director of Individual Giving and Special Events team.
• Work with Individual Giving Coordinator to prepare memos for senior leadership meetings with donors, including setting meeting objectives and talking points.
• Maintain current knowledge of organizational funding areas and identify prospective donors for those needs.
• Draft fundraising materials for a wide range of FHL priorities including general operations as well as restricted funding opportunities, to capitalize on major gift donor interests and support year-end major gift fundraising.
• Support the execution of FHL’s growing Planned Giving program, including engaging 1:1 with planned giving donors and prospects.
• 8-10 years of experience in fundraising, with an emphasis on major gifts.
• Frontline fundraising experience and demonstrated success raising five and six-figure or more gifts
• Proven track record of relationship management and using moves management to maximize revenue and donor retention
• Experience in staff supervision and management
• Knowledge of prospect research techniques and protocols
• Outstanding oral and written communication skills, especially listening and targeting communications to the specific interests of varied audiences
• Competence in the planning and implementation of multiple, concurrent projects and events
• Personable, highly organized, detail-oriented, and collaborative
• Ability to build and maintain relationships with a variety of internal and external stakeholders
• Proficiency in computer applications, including Google suite, Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Raiser’s Edge or similar fundraising database

Preferred skills:

• Experience with volunteer leadership and committees
• Entrepreneurial spirit and sense of humor
• Knowledge of and enthusiasm for parks, public spaces, arts and culture, and public/private partnerships a plus
• An understanding of cultural fundraising and NYC philanthropic landscape a plus

Abilities:

• Excellent oral, written, interpersonal, analytical, and organizational skills
• Ability to work in a dynamic and changing work environment
• Ability to interact with a wide variety of individuals within and outside the organization, and to professionally represent the institution and its programs across a wide range of circumstances
• Ability to see and understand the objectives of the major gifts group, the larger individual giving group, and the advancement division, and to integrate the major gifts program with those objectives
• Ability to make in-person solicitations and assist Executive Director, board and other staff with solicitations, through portfolio development support and strategic counsel

This position is based at the High Line headquarters in the Meatpacking District in Manhattan, New York City, with a hybrid schedule and a required on-site presence at least 3 days per week.

About Friends of the High Line:

The High Line is both a nonprofit organization and a public park on the West Side of Manhattan. We’re devoted to reimagining public spaces to create connected, healthy neighborhoods and cities through our work with communities on and off the High Line. Built on a historic, elevated rail line, the High Line was always intended to be more than a park. You can walk through the gardens, view art, experience a performance, enjoy food or beverage, or connect with friends and neighbors while enjoying a unique perspective of New York City. Nearly 100% of our annual budget comes through donations. The High Line is owned by the City of New York, and we operate under a license agreement with NYC Parks.

EEO Statement:

The High Line is guided by a series of values through which we make decisions, including hiring. These values include proactively creating access points for all people, regardless of age, sex, color, creed, race, income, country of origin, religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

As part of our commitment to living up to these values and advancing equity within our organization and through our work, we are committed to an equitable hiring process. Hence, we strongly encourage applications from people with a broad range of lived experiences. This description shall not be construed as a contract of any sort for a specific period of employment.

• If you are an individual with a disability and need accommodation during the application process, please send an email request for accomodation to
• peopleandculture@thehighline.org

Resumes sent to this email address will NOT be given any special consideration.