Major Gifts Manager

Title: Major Gifts Manager

Reports to:  Director of Partnerships & Philanthropy

Location:  Syracuse, NY

Travel:  Occasional (20-30%) Internationally for site visits and domestic travel for donor events and meetings

The Near East Foundation (NEF) is on a mission to do development differently through community-led, people-powered action across the Middle East, Africa, and the Caucasus. To achieve this, we work alongside people impacted by conflict, injustice, and poverty and collaboratively create opportunities for people to cultivate new skills and access the resources and  tools needed to shape their own future.

To fuel our mission, we are seeking experienced candidates for an open Major Gifts Manager to join our growing Philanthropy & Partnerships team. At a pivotal moment in NEF’s history, join us to take our fundraising to the next level. We are building a team fueled by passion, ambition, creativity, and experience to lead this new chapter of growth. We have a bold strategy to reach more communities than ever over the next decade and you can help make it possible.

Summary of role

As Major Gifts Manager, you will be responsible for raising critical funds to broaden our impact and support an exciting phase of growth at NEF. Reporting to the Director of Partnerships and Philanthropy, you will be responsible for growing unrestricted and restricted income through excellent new business development, cultivation, and fantastic donor stewardship. To make a step change in our income profile, you will mainly focus on qualifying five to six figure prospective major donors, corporate partners and foundations and developing lasting relationships with them. You will also support the management of relationships with existing donors, ensuring all supporters have a brilliant experience supporting NEF.

Joining our small but growing team, you will work closely with the Director of Partnerships & Philanthropy, NEF Co-Presidents and senior volunteers (i.e., NEF Development Committee of the Board, forthcoming Development Board). You will be responsible for leading and growing a small team into a fully functional Major Gifts high-performing team in future years. You are an emerging leader with excellent relationship building skills, with a passion and drive to succeed. You are a values-driven, confident and determined fundraiser who thrives in a people oriented, target driven role.

What you will do

Identifying new major and principal supporters

• Build a donor pipeline and develop a pool of major donor prospects who have the potential to give five to six figure gifts individuals, corporations, foundations, trusts, donor advised funds etc.) with a focus on unrestricted and semi-restricted giving
• Solicit major gifts and lead prospects through each stage of the major gift donor cycle.
• Develop appropriate cultivation strategies and move potential donors in a thoughtful and timely fashion toward solicitation and closure.
• Recruit, manage and support well connected, influential volunteers who will proactively fundraise through peer-to-peer fundraising and make introductions from their networks.
• Identify potential new high-value donors through networking e.g., attending events, social media outreach, building your personal network, peer to peer.
• Researching high-value donors and coordinating with Philanthropy Officer to create donor profiles and complete capacity screening.
• Research, develop, and write high quality partnership proposals, cases for support, appeal letters, pitches and reports and submit them to prospective donors in a timely fashion.

Securing donations

• Develop great ideas for how to effectively build relationships, engage and inspire people, companies and foundations to support NEF with major gifts, ideally through multi-year commitments.
• Manage and build a pipeline portfolio of potential new major donors, to secure major and principal gifts, delivering against an ambitious team target.
• Solicit major donors for financial gifts and advise, support and engage appropriate senior leadership to increase the likelihood of a successful solicitation.
• Through relationship building, you will understand the motivations for each existing and potential major donor, to create compelling proposals, and their corresponding impact reports to enhance donors’ long-term value and experience as a NEF supporter.

Managing relationships with prospects, donors, and volunteers

• Oversee a portfolio of donors and prospects to build and deepen relationships with donors and create opportunities to expand giving. Personally initiate and cultivate one-to-one relationships that enhance the potential donor’s connection and lifetime loyalty to NEF.
• Through meetings and correspondence, you will develop excellent relationships with existing major donors, communicating the impact of their support and keeping them engaged to maximize the value of NEF’s major donor income long-term.
• Where appropriate, you will involve NEF’s senior staff and the Board of Directors to leverage opportunities to engage and build relationships with existing and potential major donors.
• Annually develop individual cultivation plans for your portfolio of major donors to increase giving and provide excellent donor engagement experience.
• Support with the design and development of key fundraising products and activity to attract and retain high-net-worth supporters to NEF (e.g., Development Board; Special events; Giving Circles).
• Support major donor event planning and lead correspondence strategy with your portfolio of donors for events communications
• You will create and develop inspiring and compelling funding proposals, feedback, and impact reports for major donors to demonstrate impact and inspire continued support.

General

• Responsible for growing the major gifts program, and with support from the Director of Partnerships and Philanthropy, develop and deliver a major gifts strategy as a part of the wider fundraising and marketing strategy.
• Prepare phased budgets and forecasts in line with activity plans and progress to ensure the value and timing of planned restricted and unrestricted income to the organization is accurate.
• Develop an excellent knowledge of NEF’s work, and liaise with colleagues to prepare and present high-quality fundraising communications products.
• Maintain an awareness of philanthropy giving trends, news, events and legislation in the USA, UK and Europe and pick up on opportunities or topical issues that will enhance NEF.
• Develop a corporate giving program to fuel new funding opportunities
• Support the Philanthropy Officer in identifying prospects and opportunities for planned giving
• Create and maintain accurate records in line with data protection on the CRM database of all leads, knowledge about individuals, foundations, companies, and all communications as well as fundraising forecasts.
• Develop and use CRM reports to analyze and report back on the data and your work.
• You will assist with, and lead events as needed, including but not limited to launch events and cultivation events.
• You will undertake other tasks that are within the scope, spirit and purpose of the job, to contribute to meeting our fundraising strategic vision and those of NEF, and the wider organization.

Basic Qualifications

We encourage all individuals who believe they have the skills necessary to succeed within this position and thrive at NEF to apply for this role, even if you do not meet 100% of the qualifications.

• Proven and effective experience cultivating individual, corporate and foundation donor relationships in major philanthropic fundraising, or equivalent demonstrable experience leading to four to six figure gifts.
• Experience with major gift and philanthropy strategy development and delivery, planning and budgeting
• Extensive experience with prospecting and new business development securing four to six figure annual gifts.
• Proven track record of fundraising from high-net-worth individuals, foundations and corporations.
• Experience with developing and delivering fundraising products to attract new supporters. E.g., development boards; giving circles; events; major appeals.
• Experience with designing and developing innovative cases for support to secure unrestricted and restricted funds.
• Proficient use of donor database management software and Microsoft Office programs including Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and the Adobe Creative Suite.

Skills and competencies

We are looking for a values-driven, confident, and determined fundraiser who thrives in a people oriented, target driven role.

• Entrepreneurial spirit, tenacious and self-motivated, performance and target driven;
• Exceptional persuasive communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Solutions-driven mindset; dedicated team player with the desire to develop within an organization;
• Highly effective interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate with diverse personalities in a tactful, mature, and professional manner.
• Strong business acumen with the ability to monitor, compile and analyze data to guide decision making.
• Ability to remain flexible and work within a collaborative and fast-paced environmentto achieve and exceed KPIs.

You may also have (you are not expected to have these, but if you do, we would love to hear about it)

• Fundraising or relationship marketing qualification or certificate.
• Experience in wider fundraising disciplines.
• Experience of working in international development. Ability to understand complex international development systems, politics, and economic environment, and communicate this in an engaging way with supporters.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

NEF will accept rolling applications until the position is filled.  Review of applications will begin on November 7, 2022. Interested candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.

Please apply by submitting the following documents:

• Cover letter outlining all relevant experience, how you meet the essential criteria and availability;
• Curriculum Vitae;
• List of three references (including one from current, or most recent, employer). You will be given further notice prior to us contacting references.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Near East Foundation by visiting the NEF website at www.neareast.org.

The Near East Foundation promotes Equal Employment Opportunities for all applicants seeking employment.

Please note only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Benefits

NEF offers a comprehensive benefits package which includes: 20 PTO days plus 12 Company Holidays; generous medical, dental and, vision coverage; HRA and FSA benefits; employer paid short and long-term disability; employer paid life insurance; TIAA-CREF retirement plan with 8% employer contribution, paid family leave, Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and more!

NEF's strength is its people. Our team is our fuel to achieving the innovation, quality programming, community focus, mutual trust, sustainability, and learning needed to realize our mission. To help our team thrive, we support a working structure that prioritizes flexibility, personal commitments, and staff well-being while promoting a work culture of teamwork, collaboration, respect, integrity, and excellence.

As an international organization, we value a truly diverse workforce and prioritize a culture of inclusivity and belonging. We strive to create a high-achieving work environment informed by different cultures, perspectives, and experiences. With a commitment to diversity, equality, equity, and inclusion in all we do, our aim is to ensure that people feel heard, protected, and empowered to contribute to NEF's mission from day one.

Covid-19 Vaccine Policy for Employees

The Near East Foundation has determined that, in an effort to protect the health, safety, and well-being of all Near East Foundation, all employees must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, including boosters as recommended by the CDC, regardless of prior COVID-19 infection status. This policy is necessary to ensure not only the safety of our workforce, but the ongoing functionality of the organization.

This policy will be revised as needed to comply with federal, state, and local requirements, and to respond to changing guidance from public health authorities.

Team members that travel are expected to comply with host-country requirements, including vaccinations. Failure to comply may impact your employment. Proof of vaccination or exemption must be provided.