Description

About the Organization

Canal Alliance exists to break the generational cycle of poverty for Latino immigrants and their families by lifting barriers to their success. Canal Alliance is a nonprofit champion of immigrants who are challenged by a lack of resources and an unfamiliar environment. Every day, we educate, empower, support, and partner with motivated immigrants to best meet all their unique needs—from putting food on the table, to becoming American citizens, to learning English, to graduating from college, and gaining quality, career-path employment.

Canal Alliance strives for a trauma-informed collaborative and inclusive culture. We invest in high quality services, professional development, and work-life balance.

Position Summary

The Major Gifts Officer (MGO) is a member of a 13-person Development Department, responsible for raising $6.5M annually from philanthropic sources and preparing applications for $4.5M in government contracts each year. As a key member of the Development team, the Major Gifts Officer is a full-time position responsible for serving as the agency’s lead front-line fundraiser with major donors and prospects and managing the major gifts program, including identifying, qualifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding individual donors and prospects through annual, restricted, campaign and planned giving. The MGO supports the Chief Development Officer (CDO), Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Board members and other Development team members to build long-term relationships with donors and meet an annual major gift revenue target of $2M. This position will also support the design, launch and implementation of a new planned gift program. This position reports to the CDO, supervises the Senior Manager of Leadership Giving, and collaborates extensively with other Development team members. Successful candidates will thrive in a fast-paced environment, have strong leadership and management skills, and must be able to work collaboratively. 

Primary Responsibilities

Major Gifts Program

• Develop and manage a portfolio of between 110 and 125 major donors and prospects, each capable of giving 10K annually, including identification, cultivation, solicitation, data tracking, and stewardship. 
• Develop individualized cultivation, ask, and stewardship plans for each major donor; train and support other front-line fundraisers on the Development Team to do the same
• Serve as the agency’s lead front-line fundraiser by directly engaging current and potential donors with the goal of increasing financial support, major gifts, and planned gifts for Canal Alliance while building long-term relationships and meeting annual revenue targets. 
• Assist and support the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Development Officer (CDO) to manage their donor portfolios. With advice and guidance from the Major Gift Officer, the CEO and CDO are each responsible for maintaining relationships and stewarding 20-30 of Canal Alliance’s top donors. The Major Gifts Officer supports their efforts by producing thorough research on giving capacity, developing a personalized engagement strategy, keeping the CEO and CDO on track with each of their assignments using Moves Management tactics, and ensuring that the CEO and CDO have pertinent information on each individual’s giving history, program preferences, and all previous organizational relationships. 
• Provide support to the CDO and CEO in recruiting, motivating and training Board members for major gift activities.
• Engage and support Board members who elect to take on donor stewardship relationships, ensuring they have relevant and up-to-date information on each of their assigned names, have access to current and inspiring program information, stories and printed materials, and are provided with periodic suggestions for outreach touches. 
• Qualify major donor prospects from the annual fund, the mid-level program and through wealth screening and other sources.
• Partner with members of the Development Team to develop and execute special events and tailored experiences for current major donors and new prospects.
• Manage major donor communications in collaboration with the communications and marketing team.
• Work closely with the Marketing and Communications and Institutional Giving Teams to prepare effective funding proposals, reports and customized collateral for individual donors and prospects.
• Oversee the accurate implementation of data entry practices and reporting relating to current major donors and prospects in Salesforce.
• Serve as an ambassador and spokesperson for Canal Alliance’s mission and programs in the community and elsewhere by participating in meetings, events and other convenings to establish strategic relationships with potential donors and partners. 

Planned Giving Program

• Support the design, launch and implementation of a comprehensive planned giving program to include individual and mass market communications and solicitation strategies. 
• Manage planned gift communications in collaboration with the communications and marketing team.
• Oversee the accurate implementation of data entry practices and reporting relating to current planned gift donors and prospects in Salesforce. 
• Manage and report on planned gift metrics to include the number of new, confirmed planned gift commitments, number of face-to-face planned giving conversations with qualified prospects, and number of communications about planned gift options included in donor and general communications. 

Fundraising Planning & Monitoring

• Provide input on preparing and implementing the annual Development Plan; participate in drafting annual fundraising revenue projections for major and planned gifts based on historical performance, current capabilities and capacities, and future economic trends. 
• Implement fundraising and financial development goals and strategies for Major Gifts and Planned Gifts. 
• With the CDO, develop, monitor and report on annual budget and performance targets to ensure that goals for major donor engagement, revenue, donor numbers, donor retention, and other critical metrics are met.

Requirements

• Minimum of 3 to 5 years of demonstrated successful experience in major gifts fundraising with a focus on prospect identification and qualification, relationship building, successful solicitation, and stewardship of gifts of $10K . 
• Strong organizational skills; ability to prioritize and handle multiple projects simultaneously and to work calmly under pressure of deadlines. 
• High integrity with a high level of discretion.
• Ability to work well with donors, prospects, board members and colleagues. 
• Collaborative in nature. 
• Strong leadership and management skills. 
• Self-directed, high-performance individual who has demonstrated initiative and achievement against goals. 
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, engaging interpersonal skills, high energy, and personal initiative. 
• Demonstrated proficiency in Windows operating systems, Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc.), and donor relationship management systems. Salesforce experience preferred. 
• Occasional evening and weekend work as needed.

Compensation & Benefits

This is a full-time, exempt position with benefits. We offer a competitive salary range from $110k-$120k with a benefits package that includes:

• 3 weeks paid vacation per year
• 12 days of sick leave per year
• Paid Birthday each year
• 16 paid holidays per year
• 100% paid employee medical & dental insurance, life insurance, LTD, and EAP.
• 403(b)-retirement plan with employer match of up to 4% after 3 months of employment.
• Voluntary benefits include FSA, vision, life, and pet insurance, as well as coverage for dependents.
• Telehealth for physical and mental health

"Canal Alliance is running a 4 Day Work Week Pilot from February to June 2024: Work 4 days / 32 hours in a highly effective and efficient team and get paid 5 days / 40 hours! Shifts are Mon-Thurs 9am-5pm

Location

This position is hybrid, minimum of 2 days onsite in San Rafael. Attendance at quarterly in-person staff retreats, and any other in person trainings and meetings as needed, as well as occasional night and weekend events.

Canal Alliance Equity and Inclusion Statement

Canal Alliance actively promotes and recognizes principles of fairness, equity, and social justice in relation to, and across, intersections of race, age, color, national origin, ethnicity, citizenship, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, religion, disability, ancestry and all other identities represented among our diverse employees.

Application Instructions

Submit resume and cover letter. Please address the following in your cover letter-

"Please describe the reasons you are interested in working for Canal Alliance and outline the main reasons that you are a strong candidate for the position".