Senior Major Gifts Officer, West Coast
- Employer
- The News Literacy Project
- Location
- California, United States
- Salary
- Salary Commensurate with experience
- Posted Date
- Aug 23, 2023
View more categoriesView less categories
- Position Type
- Fundraising, Corporate and Foundation Relations, Donor Relations, Fundraising Administration, Major Gifts, Planned Giving
- Fields
- Education
- Employment Type
- Full Time
Who we are
The News Literacy Project, a national, nonpartisan education nonprofit, is building a national movement to advance the practice of news literacy throughout American society, creating better informed, more engaged and more empowered individuals — and ultimately a stronger democracy. NLP is the leading provider of news literacy education to students primarily through our signature e-learning platform, Checkology®, and to the public through our website, RumorGuard™.
Where you fit in
NLP is poised to take on a greater national presence to meet the intense interest in its programs from school districts across the country while it works to build a national movement to advance the practice of news literacy in all sectors of American society. To reach our objectives, NLP is rapidly expanding its capacity. We’re looking for someone who can have an immediate and meaningful impact on our work by growing our major and leadership gifts portfolio on the West Coast.
The ideal candidate will have most, if not all, of the following:
- A proven track record of personally closing five- and six-figure gifts from individuals and family foundations (seven-figure, corporate or traditional foundation fundraising wins, a plus).
- Exceptional interpersonal skills, discretion, and integrity, particularly when working across stakeholder groups.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills with proven experience in creating compelling donor materials and pitches that inspire action and support.
- Collaborative spirit with the ability to work with peers and senior leadership to provide an exceptional donor experience.
- Deep knowledge of quality journalistic practices and the misinformation and disinformation landscape.
This position reports to the senior vice president, advancement and impact.
About the position
This position is a senior frontline fundraiser who will manage their own portfolio and closely support NLP’s founder, CEO and other senior leaders on priority donor and partner relationships. This role will also work closely with the senior director, institutional giving; senior manager, institutional giving; senior manager, donor engagement and the senior manager, development operations.
Specifically, in this job, you will handle:
Portfolio and Prospect Management
- Manage and develop an active portfolio of 75-125 major donors and prospects (individuals, family foundations and select institutional funders) to cultivate, solicit and close gifts in support of NLP’s organizational priorities.
- Routinely meet in-person or virtually with donors and prospects, aiming for 12-15 personal visits per month.
- Collaborate with the development team on compelling, personalized collateral and proposals to cultivate, solicit and steward relationships with a focus on multi-year commitments.
- Direct and participate in ongoing prospect research to proactively identify, qualify and cultivate new prospects.
- Develop and execute strategies to identify existing donors with additional capacity and secure increased philanthropic support by deepening their engagement.
Donor Engagement
- Leverage existing events and serve as the primary point of contact and support for new West Coast in-person events to recruit new prospects and engage existing donors. Event types include panel discussions, cocktail receptions, salons, fireside chats and other donor-directed ideas.
- Assist in developing and planning substantive virtual experiences for donors.
- Work closely with the senior manager, donor engagement on stewardship practices for annual fund and Visionary Circle members to ensure the most meaningful and compelling practices are utilized.
Data Management
- Ensure timely capture of fundraising data, share pertinent information with peers and senior leadership, and maintain impeccable donor records, including email communication, meeting notes, follow ups, written engagement and solicitation strategies and giving projections.
- Develop annual revenue projections based on donor and prospect profiles, capacity and engagement strategies.
About you
In addition to the qualifications noted above, the successful candidate will have all or most of the following:
- A minimum of eight years of major gifts experience building long-term relationships with high net worth philanthropists and soliciting and closing gifts above $25,000.
- Board or committee management experience, particularly related to supporting board or committee members’ efforts in creating connections for the organization.
- Planned giving experience is a plus.
- Ability to travel frequently across the West Coast and occasionally for team and organization staff meetings.
- Must be proficient in Microsoft Office suite and fundraising databases and tools, preferably EveryAction and Wealth Engine, and working knowledge of tools like Notion.
Compensation and benefits
This is a full-time position. The starting salary for this role is $120,000 and a final salary will consider a person’s experience and location. NLP also offers outstanding benefits, including bonus, health and dental insurance, a 401(k) plan match and more. For an overview of our generous benefits package, check out our HR benefits summary.
This position is largely virtual; however, candidates should reside in a major metropolitan area on the West Coast with strong preference given to the Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay areas.
To apply, upload a cover letter and a résumé at https://bit.ly/NLPJobs.
The application deadline is 5 p.m. PT on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. We hope to hire as quickly as possible for a start date no later than mid-November.
The News Literacy Project welcomes applicants from diverse backgrounds. We offer equal opportunity in employment for all qualified persons and prohibit discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), national origin, ancestry, age, veteran status, disability unrelated to job requirements, genetic information, military service or other protected status.
We deeply value diversity in the workplace and strongly believe that a diverse team enriches our organization and strengthens our ability to realize our mission (read/print NLP’s Organizational Values [PDF] and Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion [PDF]).
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