Director of Major Gifts & Planned Giving – Lakeland College
Reporting to and working in close collaboration with the Vice President for Advancement, the Major Gifts & Planned Giving Officer will be responsible for soliciting and securing major gifts for capital campaigns, special projects, and ongoing fundraising efforts. S/he also will play a significant role in developing fundraising strategy. - Responsible for primarily soliciting gifts of $10,000 and higher from alumnae and non-alumnae friends.
- Manage relationships with approximately 75 qualified prospective donors and will be expected to identify, qualify, cultivate, solicit and steward these very important alumnae and friends of the college.
- Be a team player. Works collaboratively with and in support of volunteers, other development and advancement staff, and other College representatives to cultivate and solicit donors for college-wide priorities.
- Monitors all prospect contacts to ensure positive and purposeful prospect and donor relations.
- Recommends and assists with programming involving the president, vice president for college advancement, other vice presidents, and campaign volunteer leaders.
- Must be a highly energetic professional with a track record of building donor relationships and closing major gifts.
- Must be familiar with planned giving strategies and working to secure planned gifts for the college.
- Reports to the Vice President for College Advancement and works collaboratively and strategically with the College President, other fundraising professionals, faculty, and other campus leaders.
- Manage a portfolio of primary prospects in the primary territory.
- Manage prospect activity in the primary territories.
- Manage prospects in a secondary territory
- Participate in all aspects of the gift cycle:
- Initiate contacts with potential leadership and major gift donors
- Develop appropriate cultivation strategies for them, including working with volunteers
- Move potential donors in an appropriate and timely fashion toward solicitation and closure
- Make solicitations when appropriate
- Maintain stewardship contacts with donors; adhere to the highest ethical standards; demonstrate empathetic disposition, and perseverance; reflect optimistic and positive attitude, and convey sensitivity to needs of the donors - Work collaboratively with college development and advancement officers. Offer prospect strategy counsel to the president, vice president, development and advancement staff who are managing other prospects. Be a resource for development/advancement staff, from identifying potential volunteer connections to knowing about meeting and event spaces in key locations.
- Focus on securing support for a set of campus-wide priorities that include academic programs such as the sciences, endowed chairs, scholarships, unrestricted support, facility renovations, new facilities, and campus improvements. Provide counsel to the vice president for advancement and director of alumnae relations on outreach programming in the Major Gift Officer’s primary territory.
- Bachelor’s Degree, Masters preferred
- Five to seven years successful experience in major or planned gift fundraising preferably in higher education
- Ability to understand the needs and interests of leadership and major gift donors in order to develop relationships between them and the college
- Interest in all aspects of education and a dedication to promoting the college’s fundraising priorities through developing excellent relationships with faculty, senior academic leaders, trustees, volunteers, and the advancement office team
- Demonstrated leadership and the ability to successfully manage multi-functional or diverse areas.
- Successful experience in making cold calls as well as developing cultivation and solicitation strategies.
- Gets others to accept ideas by using convincing arguments, creates win-win situations and responds appropriately to key stakeholders
- Effective at working with others to reach common goals and objectives
- Must have excellent interpersonal skills and a demonstrated record of completing assignments.
- Must be willing to travel.
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