Major Giving Officer

Aug 05, 2022

The Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank offers a diverse workplace with professionals that work together to fulfill our mission in the fight to end hunger. We are seeking individuals who share and believe in our core values – compassion, collaboration, service, integrity, inclusion, and innovation.

The Major Giving Officer oversees all aspects of direct donations for major giving program or major giving potential, including prospect research, relationship building, proposal development, stewardship, and organizational reporting. This position will manage a portfolio of 125-150 individual donors, with an emphasis on donors in the southern region of our service territory, that demonstrate the potential of a major gift, defined as $2,500. The emphasis of the Major Giving Officer is to maximize the donations from individual donors to support essential mission related activities, event sponsorship opportunities, and programs in alignment with strategic goal achievement.

The Major Gifts Officer will work out of both our Akron and Canton Facility. The Canton Facility is scheduled to open in the summer of 2021, (1365 Cherry Ave NE, Canton, OH 44714). The successful candidate will begin working immediately in the Akron facility (350 Opportunity Parkway, Akron, OH 44307) until the Canton construction is complete.

Job Responsibilities:

1. Strategically lead initiatives to identify, engage, cultivate, solicit, and steward individual major donors and major donor prospects.

2. Work with the Director of Development and the development team to collaboratively develop effective fundraising strategies for individual giving initiatives for gifts of $2,500 or more, with strategic emphasis placed on increasing revenues to strengthen the organization’s financial sustainability from new and diverse donor bases, with concentration on the southern region of our service territory.

3. Develop ongoing relationships with major donors through a portfolio of 125-150 donors.

4. In collaboration with the Director of Corporate Relations, manage relationships and solicitations of individual major donors through the major donor partner program.

5. Research and identify prospects; facilitate briefings with senior leaders and key solicitors.

6. Prepare proposals, reports, gift agreements, letters, and other fundraising materials, ensuring that the communication is in compliance with department solicitation and stewardship and gift acceptance practices.

7. Manage an innovative and comprehensive stewardship strategy to enthusiastically convey the organization’s appreciation for major donors.

8. Develop and execute ongoing strategies to include cultivation events, donor meetings and communication and community networking.

9. Develop strong relationships within the community to foster a positive image such that individuals will make the Foodbank their organization of choice.

10. Perform other duties, as assigned.

Required Qualifications:

1. Education: Bachelor’s degree; CFRE and advanced degree are highly desirable.

2. Experience: Five to seven years of fundraising – including planning and campaigns involving multiple fundraising disciplines and strategies. Minimum two years of major gifts leadership experience. Corporate and/or Business-to-Business sales leadership experience may be substituted for fundraising experience.

3. Strong verbal and written communication skills.

4. Progressive experience in successful development programs and knowledge of “best practices” in development.

5. Passionate advocate for closing the food insecurity gap.

6. Strong political acumen with thorough knowledge of the stakeholder landscape (e.g., regulations, policies, practices, programs, and initiatives).

7. Demonstrated success in working with and involving top-level board members and other volunteers in development efforts. Proven ability to initiate action and motivate others.

8. Knowledge of diverse groups, working with a multicultural workforce, and sensitivity and appreciation to cultural differences.

9. Ability to discern financial documents and concisely communicate results.

10. Ability to present educational material in an engaging manner and guide others to develop knowledge that will enhance their understanding of the Foodbank’s mission.

11. Must be able to work independently and anticipate reporting and communication needs of the Director of Development.

12. Detail oriented, customer service focused, highly organized and results driven.

13. Ability to work in a fast-paced environment which requires strong project management and time management skills.

14. Understands strategic planning and aligns priorities with broader goals, measurable outcomes, evaluates alternatives, and can see connections within complex issues.

15. Available during off-hours for communications of all kinds.

16. Proficiency in MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Experience with Donor Database Management software such as Blackbaud, Raiser’s Edge, DonorPerfect and/or Andar software extremely helpful.

Come join an organization that makes a difference in the lives of others! The Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank is proud to be a seventh time recipient of the NorthCoast99 award, which showcases our Foodbank as one of the top 99 places to work in Northeast Ohio. We offer a warm and loving culture filled with opportunities to grow and develop your career, competitive benefits, and compensation, 9 paid Holidays and a generous paid time off program that begins on day one!

EOE/M/F/D/V/SO