Major Gifts Officer

About Village Capital

Are you passionate about how inclusive entrepreneurship can solve important problems in the world? Village Capital, a grant-supported 501(c)(3), is the largest organization in the world supporting seed-stage, impact-driven startups. Since 2009, we’ve supported more than 1,400 entrepreneurs by tailoring programs to their needs and connecting them with investors that match their vision. 

Role Overview 

Village Capital is looking for a Major Gifts Officer who will be a passionate frontline fundraiser and lead the organization’s fundraising efforts in the US at a critical juncture in the organization’s history. 

Over the past three years, Village Capital has grown revenues ~20% year over year, expanded its global reach, broadened its support, and deepened its impact. In order to meet – or exceed –our aspirations of supporting 50,000 impactful entrepreneurs and catalyzing $50B of impact-oriented investment capital by 2030, we are looking for a senior-level talent to help us enhance and expand the revenue-generating capacity of the organization, with a focus on flexible or unrestricted funding to achieve our ambitious 2030 goals.

More specifically, the Major Gifts Officer will support our two-year goal of raising $3M in unrestricted funding for a Catalytic Campaign to build organizational sustainability and catalyze support for our innovation agenda. This unrestricted funding will help us build our team’s capacity and invest more deeply in our strongest areas of opportunity. Ultimately, the goal is to amplify Village Capital’s impact – unlocking capital at a much higher rate (more money, more entrepreneurs). We also have a $12M fundraising goal for 2023.

Responsibilities

Reporting to the Chief Growth Officer (CGO) and working closely with the Senior Partnerships Manager and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the Major Gifts Officer will have the following responsibilities:

1. Fundraising & Revenue Generation

• Drive the execution of current fundraising strategy, and optimize as needed,  to propel VilCap’s Catalytic Campaign and grow VilCap’s flexible or unrestricted revenue.
• Develop major donor initiatives with a focus on high-net-worth individuals, family offices, corporate donors and institutional foundations, in collaboration with the CEO and CGO to primarily raise unrestricted and flexible funding.
• Research and write grant proposals and reports, and submit them to corporations, foundations, family offices and other funding sources.
• Maintain timely and accurate fundraising and donor reports for internal and external stakeholders.
• Maintain all legal compliance pertaining to fundraising.
• Stay informed about trends and best practices in nonprofit fundraising and incorporate new ideas and strategies into their work.

2. Development: Sourcing, cultivating and stewarding partners

• Leverage candidate’s existing network of donors to identify and build new donor prospects for VilCap.
• Build a donor portfolio that includes high-net-worth individuals, family offices, corporations, corporate foundations, and institutional foundations.
• Support the CEO and CGO in cultivating new and stewarding existing external partners to invest in VilCap’s work.
• Collaborate with the CGO, CPO, and program leads to plan and execute several small events in support of our fundraising and stewardship goals.
• Collaborate with the CGO and other team leads to identify white space opportunities for new business lines and growth. 
• Represent Village Capital externally at conferences and community events.

3. Cross-Team Coordination Systems

• Collaborate with the Communications team to create external-facing communications strategy and collateral while ensuring the overall quality of pitch decks, concept notes, expressions of interest, grants, and other externally-facing marketing pieces that compel external audiences to invest in our work, as necessary.
• Collaborate closely with Global Ventures (VilCap’s program delivery team), and the Impact Investment team (the investment arm of the organization), to ensure that fundraising efforts are aligned with the organization's mission and goals. 
• Work with the Innovations and Platform teams to externally champion VilCap’s market-leading initiatives.
• Support fellow Partnerships/Development team members to supplement efforts in the continued growth of VilCap’s restricted funding.
• Identify key cross-team issues and propose and implement solutions as appropriate.
• Model and embody company culture and organizational values.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or a combination of related experience and skill-sets. 
• Minimum of 8 years of progressive professional experience in fundraising or business development roles, ideally with a US-registered nonprofit working with corporate, institutional and individual funders. 
• Proven record of developing and executing fundraising strategies aimed at securing funding from a diverse mix of corporations, individual donors, foundations, and government agencies, including success in soliciting and closing six- and seven-figure grants and gifts.
• Superlative written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Exceptional relationship management skills with a variety of stakeholders, including board members, individual donors, partners, senior management, media, staff, and others in the network.
• Phenomenal organizational, time, and resource management skills.
• Excellent cultural competency and fluency in navigating different communication and working styles.
• Demonstrated ability to build trusting and respectful relationships with colleagues and external stakeholders from different geographic, cultural, linguistic, and educational backgrounds. 
• Excellent judgment and creative problem-solving skills.

• Ability to work both independently and as a multi-disciplinary team leader and take initiative with minimal guidance.
• Willingness and ability to travel domestically and internationally (public health circumstances permitting) for in-person donor engagement, live events, programming, and team activities, up to 30% of the time.
• Familiarity with Salesforce.
• Willingness to work with a remote and distributed workforce.
• Embodiment of Village Capital values.

Benefits

• Team culture that values experimentation, innovation, taking initiative, performance and making things better, including how we work together and create a sense of belonging for all team members
• Fulfilling, mission-driven purpose, including the opportunity to work with entrepreneurs around the world
• Evolving hybrid work model
  
• Annual performance bonus program
• Generous holiday and flexible paid time off policy
• Benefits package including medical, dental, vision, 401k and more
• Annual professional development reimbursement program

Salary : $50 - $0