Leadership Gift Officer

The Leadership Gift Officer drives revenue growth, donor retention, and pipeline development by managing a portfolio of donors as a frontline fundraiser. Through direct virtual outreach and ongoing stewardship, the Leadership Gift Officer plays a critical role in bridging the gap between annual givers and major donors. This work builds a robust pipeline of donors ready to transition into Major Giving while advancing best practices to strengthen donor engagement and overall program impact.

• Assist in the strategic development and management of a portfolio with 500+ prospects and donors initially capable of making gifts of $1,000 – $9,999.
• Develop and implement individualized donor strategies, ensure timely follow-up and stewardship, and track actions and outcomes to move donors forward with intention and consistency.
• Engage and cultivate new donors in an ongoing process, cultivate and steward existing donors to increase overall retention and level of giving.
• Actively engage with donors via phone calls, email, correspondence, social media and surveys to assess their philanthropic capacity and inclination, past philanthropy, affinity for retinal diseases, stage of vision loss (if applicable), and living with low/no vision considerations (if applicable).
• Conduct a minimum of 200 personal virtual (phone, video, email) contacts monthly to prospects and donors; record contacts and pertinent information in the CRM system.
• Proactively provide follow-up for solicitations, research updates, and donor support to achieve an average gift of $1,500-2,500 per donor, securing at least 50% of requests for support each year.
• In partnership with Prospect Research and Development Operations teams, assist in the identification, development and implementation of solicitation strategies with the Marketing/Communications and Development teams and collaborate with leadership and staff to maximize fundraising revenue.
• Partner with the Community Manager and Vision Walk teams to ensure supporters are connected and engaged locally and are aware of community events of interest at any of our 45 chapters, as well as signature events for which they are invited.

• Be an active and collaborative team member in Development, partnering with and maintaining close communication with the various stakeholders across the department and organization (i.e., Chapters, Development, events etc.).
• Review donor strategies quarterly and make donor referrals to build the major gift and legacy program pipeline.
• Provide timely follow-up to communications, including tracking moves and solicitations within database systems, and sending personalized follow-ups to individual prospects.
• Use key metrics and effective time management to achieve higher retention rates and communications.

Essential Qualifications:

• Title Note: Internally, this position is a Mid-level Gift Officer. We are posting externally as a Leadership Gift Officer to align with common fundraising titles used across the non-profit sector.
• Minimum of five years of experience with constituent engagement and non-profit fundraising. Preferred experience includes experience personally soliciting individual gifts and creating and implementing gift strategies.
• Demonstrated track record of accomplishment in identifying, cultivating, soliciting, closing gifts up to $10,000
• Experience in effective donor stewardship and disciplined moves management
• Demonstrated ability to partner successfully with staff, volunteers, donors and event staff in creating new giving opportunities
• Drive for Results – steadfastly pushing self and others for results with a focus on bottom-line results and qualifying major gift donors or disqualifying annual giving donors
• Ability to work collaboratively as well as independently
• Ability to initiate and build long-term relationships with prospective individual donor partners
• Strong fundraising ethics; with discernible respect for confidentiality of donor information
• Excellent people skills with effective verbal, listening and written communication abilities
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and able to manage multiple projects simultaneously
• Initiative-taking, enthusiastic and have strong follow-up skills
• Ability to use Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, and Outlook)
• Ability to work flexible week including some weekends including some travel to markets around the country.

Position Specifics:

• Location: This position is work from home-office: preferred location in MD, D.C., VA, NC, or IL
• Compensation: Budgeted starting salary range: $80,000- 90,000/yr, commensurate with experience and aligned with geographic market considerations and internal equity
• Additional Compensation: Eligible for an annual incentive bonus of up to 5%
• Tools & support: HP or Mac laptop, monitor, printer, and $120 monthly technology stipend
• Schedule: Full‑time, Monday–Friday, with flexibility; occasional evenings and weekends as required for planned events; occasional travel for training and meetings.
• Reporting relationship: Reports to the Director, Mid-Level Giving
• People management: No direct reports