Major Gift Officer

Job Title:                     Major Gift Officer

Department:               Development

Reports to:                  Senior Major Gift Officer

Supervises:                 None

Interacts regularly with: CEO; Senior Director, Development (SDD); Individual Giving

Team; and Volunteer leadership and Board members.

Status: Full-time, Exempt

               Salary/year: $95,732.00

JOB SUMMARY

The Major Gift Officer (MGO) reports to the Senior Major Gift Officer (SMGO) and is a member of the Individual Giving Team. The MGO is a frontline fundraiser responsible for managing a portfolio of 100-120 Major Gift and Planned Giving prospects that collectively contribute $1.5M - $3M annually to the Annual Fund. The MGO is charged with meeting Symphony targets and contributing to the overall growth of private philanthropy.

The successful candidate is optimistic and must possess a can-do attitude. The MGO will be an individual with a development background, who has had progressive and successful development experience including annual fund and major gifts. The ideal candidate has worked in the performing arts and is committed to success of the symphonic artform and is able to communicate thoughtfully and enthusiastically about the work of the San Francisco Symphony, its opportunities and its challenges.

Essential Job Functions and Responsibilities:

• Manages a Major Gift and Planned Giving portfolio of 100-120 households through all stages of identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship totaling $1.5M - $3M annually. The MGO will work with donors to craft personalized giving strategies, providing individual major gift proposals or planned gift illustrations as appropriate.
• Works with the SMGO, to establish annual goals for gift revenues, as well as other performance and productivity measures.
• Collaborates with the Director, Planned Giving on identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship for Planned Giving prospects in the portfolio.
• Works collaboratively and strategically with other Development staff and key volunteers, as appropriate, to coordinate strategic and purposeful cultivation and solicitation activities.
• Authors and/or edits funding proposals, consistent with Symphony protocols, to facilitate effective gift solicitations.
• Endeavors to be well informed of the Symphony’s strategic priorities and gift opportunities in order to best align them with the interests of those donors and prospective donors who have the capacity and inclination to support them.
• Recognizes opportunities and anticipates needs, reviews requests for information and determines appropriateness of release, and keeps DIG & SDD informed of items requiring attention.
• Ensures that his/her prospect portfolio is routinely updated with regard to contact reports, moves management, and documentation of other key milestones in the donor’s relationship with the Symphony.

Skills:

• Understands of the needs and interests of major donors in order to develop relationships between them and the San Francisco Symphony.
• Able to articulate the case for support so that individuals "buy in" to the vision/mission/goals of the Symphony and with sufficient effectiveness to secure gifts at assigned donor giving levels.
• Maintains a broad knowledge of tax laws that impact charitable giving, personal assets and estates.
• Broad knowledge of the principles of fundraising – able to participate in all aspects of the gift cycle: (1) to initiate contacts with potential donors; (2) to develop appropriate cultivation strategies for them, including working with volunteers and senior leadership; (3) to move potential donors in an appropriate and timely fashion toward solicitation and closure; (4) to make solicitations when appropriate; (5) to maintain stewardship contacts with donors.
• Excellent oral, written and interpersonal skills required.
• Problem-solving, research and analytical skills.
• Solid relationship-building skills, able to interface with external constituents, Staff, Conductors, Musicians, Guest Artists, and Board of Governors.

Other duties:

• Attend concerts and events, regularly on nights and weekends.
• Perform additional duties as required by the San Francisco Symphony.