The Taft School is a private, coeducational grade 9-12 day and boarding school located in Watertown, CT. The sprawling campus is comprised of authentic architecture, state of the art classrooms and impressive athletics facilities. Internationally recognized as a top middle-sized boarding school, Taft is set on a beautiful 220-acre campus. The admissions process, although highly selective, spans diversity within the nation and furthermore, internationally. The school has approximately 250 employees and nearly 10,000 alumni. The Annual and Parent’s Fundraising efforts set it highest among peer schools.

The Major Gifts Officer is a front-line fundraising professional responsible for the management of a pool of prospects, comprising alumni, parents and friends, with the giving potential of $50,000 . Prospect management includes qualification of new prospects, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of donors. Prospect relationships are developed around donor interests and school priorities. The Major Gift Officer will travel to develop and strengthen prospect relationships with the goal of transitioning them into major gift portfolios. Responsibilities also include development of written annual work plans, performance goals, and preparation of reports on activities. The Major Gift Officer is responsible for ensuring the integrity of information in the school’s development database relevant to assigned prospects, including visit reports, stages, strategies and tasks. Participate in a broad range of events on and off campus having a strategic impact on the success of the annual fund program, major gifts program and individual prospect relationships. The Major Gift Officer will report directly to the Director of Major & Planned Giving and work collaboratively with other staff in the Alumni and Development Office, and Taft faculty and staff.

The DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES of the Major Gifts Officer include, but are not limited to:

• Manage a pool of major gift prospects in an assigned geographic territory with a focus on securing annual leadership gifts toward The Taft Fund and Major Gifts. Portfolio size between 125-150.
• Responsibilities include qualification of identified prospects to build portfolio, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
• In coordination with the Director of Major & Planned Giving establish prospect management goals for visits, activity levels and solicitations. Travel regularly to develop and strengthen prospect relationships.
• Solicit and close gifts at the level of $50,000 and higher. Responsibilities include development of strategy, preparation of proposals and materials, solicitation, closing and stewardship, including written documentation for accurate gift recording and use, acknowledgements, and reporting.
• Work with school partners, including the Alumni and Development team, academic leaders, faculty, and senior administrators to develop meaningful engagement opportunities for leadership gift prospects.
• Develop and demonstrate multicultural awareness and contribute to cultivating an inclusive, diverse, and respectful School community. Demonstrate civil and inclusive behavior when interacting with staff, faculty, students and visitors to the School. Promote a flexible, collaborative, and inclusive work environment and engage in educational opportunities to increase awareness and understanding of diversity and inclusion.
• Maintain active prospect management strategies for all prospects and ensure thorough and accurate recoding of reports on all visits and other prospect activity.
• Assist in the management of gift efforts for milestone class reunions.
• Participate in a wide range of events on and off campus and effectively engage prospects with events in strategic ways, including Alumni Weekend, Family Weekend, campus visits, commencement, dedications, recognition events, regional programs and more.

The MINIMUM DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS of the Major Gifts Officer:

• Bachelor’s degree and five years of directly related fundraising experience in higher education, and/or nonprofit organization, preferably in a frontline advancement capacity.
• Possess strong interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to effectively work and interact respectfully within a diverse and inclusive environment, a strong commitment to higher education.
• Demonstrated ability to cultivate relationships, including gift solicitation.
• Experience working with volunteers and a proven track record of collaboration in a team environment.
• The ability to speak credibly about independent school education and Taft’s mission and vision.
• Ability to develop relationships with high net worth individuals in a broad range of professions.
• Ability to travel extensively and attend school functions during and after normal business hours.
• Deep personal integrity and strong work ethic are required.
• An understanding of major gifts and campaign funds are preferred.

PLEASE APPLY BY VISITING THE LINK BELOW:

https://workforcenow.adp.com/mascsr/default/mdf/recruitment/recruitment.html?cid=f7cd9b95-9236-40ce-b727-21a0b0dc6185&ccId=19000101_000001&lang=en_US

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $85,000.00 - $140,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Monday to Friday

Work Location: In person