Job Opening: Director, Major Gifts Office – Washington, DC

Job Summary

The Director of Major Gifts Office will manage a portfolio of approximately 125+ major gift donors. The Director of Major Gifts will be responsible for identifying strategic opportunities, developing, and implementing initiatives to identify, cultivate and solicit high-net worth donors to ensure a strong base of perpetual financial support. Provide direct management of the Major Gifts department Moves Management Process and the Individual Giving Officers.

Duties and Responsibilities

  • Design and implement innovative strategies to identify, cultivate and solicit high-net worth donors for major gifts ($25K and above).
  • Identify and rate individual major gift prospects. Obtain information concerning financial capability, special interests, giving history, and current connections to UNCF and other causes.
  • Effectively prepares meeting materials, stewardship reports and major gift solicitations including, but not limited to high-quality solicitation materials, proposals and investment decks. Manages communication and donor interactions.
  • Make direct, face-to-face solicitations (local and national).
  • Provides stewardship over existing and future individual donors in portfolio.
  • Maintains current and accurate files on donors.
  • Provide direct oversight and management of the Major Gifts Moves Management Process, develop prospect coding within moves management system and provide prospect progress reporting updates weekly. Work closely with prospect researcher to help grow the major gifts donor pipeline. Analyzes prospect research with a keen understanding of prospect readiness and assignment to Major Gifts Officers.
  • Provide oversight on cross team connections and collegiality within the development including direct mail to major donor prospects.
  • Provide direct oversight and management of the Individuals Giving Officers (4) in their fundraising efforts of “new” donors accredited to the area offices.
  • Utilize Raiser’s Edge to track and manage donor/prospect portfolio and monitor individual gift officers’ results toward fundraising goal;
  • Adhere to timely reporting of results to ensure accuracy of the fundraising pipeline and year-end projection forecasts.
  • Ensures compliance with UNCF policies, procedures, rules and regulations.

Supervisory Responsibilities

Successfully manage the solicitation process of the Individual Giving Officers.

Qualifications and Skills

  • A Bachelor’s degree from four-year College or university and at least 8-10 years of experience in fundraising, with 3-5 years of specific experience in cultivating individual gifts.
  • Quantifiable experience conducting major fundraising activities at the half million dollar level and above that may include capital and annual giving campaigns.
  • Excellent organizational, written and verbal communication skills.
  • Volunteer management skills.
  • Strong planning skills and the ability to multi-task.
  • Outstanding human relations and managerial skills.
  • Demonstrative initiative; the ability to work with minimal supervision.
  • A working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite and Raiser’s Edge.

UNCF is EOE M/F/D/V

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About UNCF

The United Negro College Fund (UNCF), the nation’s largest and most effective minority education organization, has been an engine of minority educational achievement for more than 75 years. UNCF’s mission is to build a robust and nationally recognized pipeline of black students who, because of UNCF support, become highly qualified college graduates. UNCF is committed to closing the educational attainment gap between African Americans and other populations by increasing postsecondary access and success for students from underrepresented groups, particularly low-income and first-generation students.