About this role
Position Overview
The Major Gift Officer, is responsible for identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding a portfolio of major gift prospects in support of St. Thomas Universitys fundraising priorities. This position manages a portfolio of individuals, families, foundations, and other constituents capable of making gifts at the major gift level, and is accountable for achieving defined annual fundraising goals.
The Major Gifts Officer builds and maintains long-term relationships with donors through strategic engagement, personalized communication, and face-to-face visits, to secure significant outright, multi-year, and planned gifts. Working as part of the overall Philanthropy team in the Office of Philanthropy, this position plays a key role in advancing the universitys comprehensive campaign priorities, endowments, scholarships, academic programs, athletics, and capital initiatives.
The Major Gifts Officer, collaborates closely with the Vice President of Philanthropy, Deans, faculty, and volunteer leadership in the identification, cultivation, and solicitation of prospects, and provides regular reporting, strategy development, and stewardship to ensure continued donor engagement and growth in philanthropic investment.
Key Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
- Manages an assigned portfolio of major gift prospects and donors, developing and executing individualized cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies.
- Conducts face-to-face visits and virtual meetings to qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward donors, with a focus on securing gifts at the major gift level and above.
- Develops and presents written proposals, gift agreements, and funding priorities aligned with donor interests and institutional needs.
- Collaborates with the Vice President of Philanthropy solicitation strategies and donor engagement opportunities.
- Identifies and qualifies new major gift prospects through referrals, research, annual fund upgrades, and discovery visits.
- Ensures accurate and timely documentation of donor interactions, strategies, proposals, and moves management activity in Raisers Edge/NXT.
- Provides ongoing stewardship to donors, including impact reporting, recognition, and meaningful engagement opportunities.
- Participates in campaign planning, leadership gift strategies, and special initiatives, including endowments, capital projects, and named giving opportunities.
- Works closely with Annual Fund, Alumni Engagement, Events, and Advancement Operations to support pipeline development and donor progression.
- Assists in the development of major gift fundraising goals, forecasts, and performance reports.
- Seeks appropriate training opportunities to maintain and enhance professional fundraising skills, particularly in major gift solicitation, donor strategy, and relationship management.
- Performs other duties as assigned.
Qualifications
Required Skills & Competencies
- Strong relationship-building and interpersonal skills
- Strategic and results-oriented mindset
- Ability to manage multiple prospects and priorities simultaneously
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Demonstrated ability to conduct effective donor visits and solicitations
- Proficiency with CRM systems (Raisers Edge/NXT preferred) and Microsoft Office
- Professional, collaborative, and donor-centered approach
- Ability to create meaningful donor experiences, build trust, and advance long-term philanthropic partnerships