Major Gift Officer

Athens Area Humane Society

Job Description

The MGO secures funds for AAHS by fulfilling the interests and passions of donors by providing them with giving opportunities, encouraging them to give, and assuring that as many as possible are retained as continuing donors to AAHS are upgraded in their giving and involvement. The MGO oversees and manages all aspects of the major gifts campaign for AAHS’s annual fund in the $10,000-$50,000 range. In this role, you will work very closely with the CEO and will have success from and access to the board of directors.
Primary Roles & Responsibilities

• Qualify a caseload of 75-125 donors.
• Create and manage individual goals for each person on the caseload.
• Create and execute strategic planS for each donor, driven by that donor’s passions, interests, and communication preferences.
• Secure appropriate project information, including budgets, program impact data, and create donor offers, proposals, and asks aligned with donor passion and interest.
• Create monthly reports on caseload progress and periodic fundraising reports for development committee and board review.
• Serve as staff liaison to Donor Relations Committee.

Supportive Responsibilities
• Major Gift Prospecting: Identify and cultivate relationships with major gift prospects annually.

• Solicitation Strategies: Develop and execute solicitation strategies to secure major gifts that align with AAHS funding priorities.

• Donor Stewardship: Build and maintain long-term relationships with major donors through personalized stewardship activities. Ensure donors receive timely, personal, and high-touch acknowledgments and reports on the impact of their gifts.

• Proposal Preparation: Prepare detailed and compelling proposals and stewardship reports for major gift prospects and donors.

• Reporting and Tracking: Track and report on major gift activities monthly to monitor progress toward fundraising and donor engagement goals.

• Donor Data: Maintain accurate and up-to-date records of donor interactions, profile development, and contribution history in EveryAction® CRM.

• Goal Achievement: Regularly meet and exceed internal goals set for activity and revenue secured.

Performance Measurements

• Qualifying and Disqualifying donors, including appropriate documentation.
• Achieving overall agreed-upon revenue goal based on individual donor goals.
• Retaining and upgrading donors, including cultivation of transformational gifts.
• Developing personal contact and solicitation plans based upon individual donor interests, motivations, giving patterns, and ask and communication preferences.
• Securing project and organization information and creating and writing effective offers, proposals and asks.
• Creating timely reports that reflect caseload performance and progress toward organizational philanthropic goals.
• Managing people, processes, deadlines, and department budgets.
• Upholding the highest standards of fundraising ethics, codes of conduct, and donor privacy.
• Building productive, congenial relationships with peers, reports, and management.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant field, such as public relations, marketing, or communications. CFRE credential highly desirable but not required.
• Proven experience in fundraising, particularly in consistently securing $10K-$50K in gifts from individuals and corporations. 5+ years of fundraising experience.
• Experience in securing multi-year, blended gift commitments.
• Positive, can-do attitude, flexibility, teamwork, and attention to detail.
• Strong communication skills, strategic planning, and organizational acumen.
• Donor relationship management experience with donor database. Experience with EveryAction® CRM a plus.
• Solid understanding of revenue goal development, finances, and department budgeting.
• Valid driver’s license required.

This is a full time job