Major Gifts Officer Jobs Build Relationships That Create Impact
Search Major Gifts Officer jobs with nonprofits, universities, schools, healthcare organizations, foundations, cultural institutions, associations, and other mission-driven employers across the United States. Find fundraising opportunities centered on building meaningful donor relationships and securing transformational philanthropic support.
Current Major Gifts Officer Jobs
Explore current Major Gifts Officer and Major Gift Officer positions from nonprofits and mission-driven employers across the United States.
Major Gifts Officer Opportunities
Current jobs using the Major Gifts Officer title.
Major Gift Officer Opportunities
Additional jobs using the Major Gift Officer title.
Connect Generosity With Meaningful Mission and Impact
Major Gifts Officers build relationships with individuals who have the capacity and desire to make significant philanthropic investments in organizations and causes they care about.
Unlike broad fundraising programs, major gifts work is highly personalized. Successful professionals learn about a donor's interests, values, philanthropic goals, and connection to the mission while helping them understand opportunities to create meaningful impact.
Major Gifts Officers may manage portfolios of donors and prospects, develop individualized cultivation strategies, arrange meetings and site visits, prepare proposals, participate in solicitations, coordinate leadership engagement, and steward donors after gifts are made.
Foundation List connects experienced fundraising professionals with Major Gifts Officer jobs and related philanthropy opportunities throughout the United States.
Where Major Gifts Officers Work
Major gifts professionals work throughout the nonprofit, philanthropic, education, healthcare, arts, and public interest sectors wherever organizations depend on individual philanthropy.
Nonprofit Organizations
Build major donor relationships supporting human services, advocacy, environmental work, community programs, international causes, and social impact organizations.
Universities & Colleges
Work with alumni, families, foundations, and supporters to fund scholarships, faculty, programs, research, facilities, and institutional priorities.
Healthcare
Build philanthropic support for hospitals, healthcare systems, medical research, patient programs, facilities, and community health initiatives.
Arts & Culture
Cultivate major donors supporting museums, theaters, music, performing arts, cultural institutions, exhibitions, and creative programming.
Schools & Education
Help independent schools and education organizations engage families, alumni, trustees, and community supporters.
Foundations & Philanthropy
Support organizations focused on philanthropic partnerships, donor engagement, strategic giving, and social investment.
What Does a Major Gifts Officer Do?
Major Gifts Officers develop personalized fundraising strategies for donors and prospects capable of making significant philanthropic investments. The work combines research, relationship building, communication, strategy, solicitation, stewardship, and collaboration.
The Major Gifts Relationship Cycle
Major gifts fundraising is typically a long-term process. Strong fundraisers focus on building genuine relationships, understanding donor motivations, and matching philanthropic interests with meaningful opportunities for impact.
Find prospective donors who may have both affinity for the mission and capacity to give.
Learn whether the prospect is interested in developing a deeper relationship with the organization.
Build trust and understanding through meaningful, personalized engagement.
Invite the donor to make a gift aligned with their interests and the organization's priorities.
Demonstrate impact, express appreciation, and continue building the relationship over time.
What Employers Look for in Major Gifts Officers
Successful major gifts professionals combine strong interpersonal skills with discipline, strategy, persistence, judgment, and an ability to communicate an organization's mission in a compelling and authentic way.
Employers often seek candidates who are comfortable building relationships with sophisticated donors while also managing portfolios, documenting activity, developing strategies, collaborating internally, and working toward measurable fundraising goals.
Ability to develop authentic, trusted, long-term donor relationships.
Experience cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding significant gifts.
Excellent written and verbal communication with donors, executives, and internal stakeholders.
Ability to prioritize prospects and consistently move relationships toward meaningful next steps.
Confidence representing an organization with donors, volunteers, trustees, and community leaders.
Ability to develop individualized strategies aligned with donor interests and organizational priorities.
Comfort documenting interactions, tracking pipelines, and using fundraising systems effectively.
Ability to represent the mission authentically and communicate its importance to supporters.
How Major Gifts Success Is Measured
Effective programs evaluate both fundraising results and the relationship-building activity that creates sustainable future giving.
Philanthropic revenue generated from assigned donors and prospects.
Substantive donor conversations and meetings that strengthen relationships.
Qualified solicitations, proposals, commitments, and closed gifts.
Continued engagement and philanthropic support from existing major donors.
How Do You Become a Major Gifts Officer?
Major gifts professionals often develop their careers through progressively more donor-facing fundraising roles and increasingly sophisticated relationship portfolios.
Learn Development
Build experience in donor relations, annual giving, development operations, events, grants, or fundraising coordination.
Manage Donor Relationships
Take responsibility for individual donors, donor communications, stewardship, qualification, or smaller portfolios.
Own a Major Gifts Portfolio
Manage significant donors and prospects while developing strategies, solicitations, and fundraising goals.
Advance in Fundraising Leadership
Move toward Senior Major Gifts Officer, Major Gifts Director, Development Director, or Chief Development Officer opportunities.
Major Gifts Officer Compensation
Compensation varies based on organization size, donor portfolio, geography, fundraising expectations, gift level, industry sector, experience, and overall scope of responsibility.
What Do Major Gifts Officers Earn?
Compensation for Major Gifts Officer positions varies considerably because the title is used across organizations with very different fundraising programs and donor portfolios.
A Major Gifts Officer at a smaller nonprofit may manage a broad portfolio and several development responsibilities, while a fundraiser at a major university, health system, museum, or national nonprofit may work within a large advancement department and focus exclusively on high-level donors.
Candidates should evaluate salary alongside portfolio expectations, travel requirements, fundraising goals, internal support, leadership access, benefits, retirement contributions, paid time off, flexibility, and professional development.
Related Major Giving & Philanthropy Job Titles
Organizations use a variety of titles for donor-facing fundraising positions. Searching related titles can help uncover additional opportunities.
Related Nonprofit Development Jobs
Explore additional fundraising and nonprofit leadership career paths through Foundation List.
Hiring a Major Gifts Officer?
Reach mission-driven fundraising professionals nationwide through Foundation List. Promote your Major Gifts Officer opening to professionals experienced in donor cultivation, portfolio management, solicitation, stewardship, philanthropy, and nonprofit development.
Whether your organization is building its first major gifts program, expanding a mature development team, preparing for a campaign, strengthening principal giving, or increasing individual philanthropy, Foundation List can help you reach professionals specifically interested in mission-driven careers.
Frequently Asked Questions About Major Gifts Officer Jobs
Where can I find Major Gifts Officer jobs?
Foundation List features Major Gifts Officer, Major Gift Officer, philanthropy, development, advancement, and nonprofit fundraising opportunities across the United States.
What does a Major Gifts Officer do?
A Major Gifts Officer manages relationships with donors and prospective donors capable of making significant philanthropic gifts. Responsibilities commonly include prospect qualification, cultivation, portfolio management, donor meetings, solicitation, proposal development, stewardship, and collaboration with organizational leadership.
What is the difference between a Major Gift Officer and Major Gifts Officer?
The titles generally describe the same type of fundraising role. Some organizations use Major Gift Officer while others use Major Gifts Officer. Responsibilities and seniority depend on the employer, portfolio, fundraising structure, and gift levels involved.
What qualifications are needed to become a Major Gifts Officer?
Employers commonly seek fundraising or relationship management experience, excellent communication skills, strong judgment, organizational ability, confidence engaging donors, and the ability to manage a portfolio. Experience securing major gifts is particularly valuable for more senior positions.
What is a major gift in nonprofit fundraising?
A major gift is a contribution considered significant relative to an organization's typical giving levels. There is no universal dollar amount. A gift regarded as major by one nonprofit may differ substantially from the threshold used by a large university, hospital, museum, or national institution.
Do Major Gifts Officers ask donors for money?
Yes. Solicitation is an important part of major gifts fundraising, but successful professionals spend substantial time building relationships, understanding donor interests, communicating organizational impact, and identifying appropriate opportunities before requesting a gift.
Are there remote Major Gifts Officer jobs?
Yes. Some Major Gifts Officer positions are remote or hybrid, particularly for organizations with geographically distributed donors. Many positions also require travel, donor meetings, events, onsite engagement, or regional responsibilities.
What should a Major Gifts Officer resume include?
Strong resumes should emphasize measurable fundraising results and donor relationship experience. Helpful information may include portfolio size, dollars raised, gift ranges, significant gifts secured, donor retention, number of qualified prospects, campaigns supported, and experience partnering with executives or board members.
How can employers post a Major Gifts Officer job?
Employers can create a Foundation List employer account and post Major Gifts Officer, Major Gift Officer, philanthropy, development, advancement, and other nonprofit fundraising opportunities directly to the national job board.
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