Major Gifts Officer

(FT - 35 hr/wk)

Providence Public Library (PPL) is seeking an experienced, relationship-driven Major Gifts Officer to join our Advancement and Communications team. Reporting to the Executive Director/CEO, the Major Gifts Officer will serve as a frontline fundraiser responsible for identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding individual donors and prospects capable of making significant philanthropic investments in PPL. This position will play a central role in Read. Think. Decide., PPL’s $8 million Endowment Campaign, while building a strong and sustainable pipeline of major gift donors to support the Library’s long-term philanthropic priorities. The ideal candidate is a confident and collaborative fundraiser with a demonstrated track record of personally cultivating relationships and securing five-and six-figure gifts. This role is well suited for someone who enjoys building meaningful donor relationships, making direct solicitations, developing individualized fundraising strategies, and working closely with organizational leadership, Trustees, volunteers, and community supporters to advance PPL’s mission. The Major Gifts Officer is a full-time, 35-hour-per-week position based in Providence, Rhode Island, with some local travel and occasional evening and weekend responsibilities.

The Major Gifts Officer is a frontline fundraising position responsible for identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding individual donors and prospects capable of making significant philanthropic investments in Providence Public Library. The Major Gifts Officer will play a central role in the successful execution of Read. Think. Decide., PPL's $8 million Endowment Campaign, while building and managing a strong pipeline of major gift prospects that will support the Library's long-term philanthropic goals. This is a direct fundraising position whose primary responsibility is to develop donor relationships and secure philanthropic support for PPL.

The key objectives for this position are to:

1. Build and manage a strong portfolio and pipeline of qualified major gift prospects and donors.

2. Serve as a principal frontline fundraiser for PPL's Read. Think. Decide. Endowment Campaign.

3. Personally cultivate, solicit, and steward donors capable of making significant gifts to PPL.

4. Meet established performance goals for donor visits, solicitations, gifts closed, dollars raised, and portfolio movement.

Primary Duties & Responsibilities:

Major Gifts Fundraising - 80%

• Build and manage an active portfolio of qualified major gift prospects and donors.

• Personally identify, qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward major gift prospects, with an emphasis on five- and six-figure gifts.

• Develop and execute individualized moves-management strategies designed to move prospects toward solicitation and increased philanthropic support.

• Conduct regular face-to-face donor and prospect visits and maintain an active schedule of meaningful donor interactions.

• Make direct solicitations and close major gifts in support of PPL's priorities.

• Build PPL's major-gift pipeline through prospect identification, qualification, research, referrals, and engagement.

• Develop strategies to move qualified annual and mid-level donors into major-gift relationships.

• Prepare compelling proposals, correspondence, and other donor-specific materials.

• Identify planned-giving opportunities when appropriate within assigned donor relationships and coordinate those opportunities with Library leadership.

• Maintain complete and timely records of donor contacts, strategies, solicitations, and next steps in Raiser’s Edge (RE).

• Establish and meet annual performance goals for donor visits, solicitations, gifts closed, dollars raised, and portfolio movement.

• Perform administrative responsibilities directly associated with managing the major gifts portfolio and fundraising program.

Read. Think. Decide. Endowment Campaign - 20%

• Manage a portfolio of campaign prospects through all stages of identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.

• Develop and execute individualized cultivation and solicitation strategies for prospective campaign donors.

• Conduct substantive donor meetings and directly solicit gifts and multi-year commitments in support of the campaign.

• Match donor interests with campaign priorities and appropriate giving opportunities.

• Prepare personalized proposals, gift requests, donor correspondence, briefing materials, and other materials necessary to advance solicitations.

• Work closely with the Executive Director/CEO, campaign leadership, Trustees, volunteers, and fundraising counsel to coordinate prospect strategies and solicitations.

• Identify opportunities for outright, endowed, multi-year, and planned gifts in support of campaign priorities.

• Maintain accurate and timely prospect activity, moves management, gift information, and next steps in RE.

• Participate in campaign-related cultivation and stewardship activities when they directly advance assigned prospects or campaign fundraising objectives.

• Assist with campaign administration, reporting, prospect tracking, and other activities necessary to successfully execute the campaign.

Read. Think. Decide. is a time-limited campaign initiative. At the conclusion of the campaign, responsibilities currently dedicated to campaign fundraising will transition to PPL's ongoing major gifts and philanthropic priorities. The Major Gifts Officer will remain focused primarily on the identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of major donors and prospects.

Additional Skills:

• Superb interpersonal/relationship-building skills.

• High degree of integrity and professionalism, respecting confidentiality of donor information and relationships.