Director of Major Gifts and Planned Giving

GENERAL SUMMARY Thayer Academy seeks an experienced, strategic, and relationship-oriented Director of Major Gifts and Planned Giving to lead and grow its major gifts and planned giving programs. Reporting to the Chief Advancement & Engagement Officer, the Director will play a key role in Thayer’s upcoming $60 million comprehensive campaign and 150th anniversary. With an eye on deepening donor engagement, the Director will develop and execute strategies that will help all frontline fundraisers identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward donors and prospects in a manner that inspires transformational giving. Additionally, the Director will manage their own portfolio of 80 to 100 prospects capable of making donations above $25,000, focusing on building meaningful relationships and securing upwards of $ 1 million annually in cash and commitments. The ideal candidate will be a highly motivated and collaborative development professional with a demonstrated record of success securing major and planned gifts, exceptional relationship-building skills, strong strategic judgment, and a deep appreciation for the mission of independent school education. This is an exciting opportunity to join a talented, fun, and hardworking team and a mission-driven community at a time of momentum and growth, as Thayer moves forward with an ambitious strategic plan, finalizes plans for its next comprehensive campaign, and prepares to celebrate its 150th anniversary. PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Major Gifts & Portfolio Management In partnership with the Chief Advancement and Engagement Officer, frontline fundraisers and volunteers to develop and execute comprehensive strategies to identify, qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward major gift prospects and donors. Manage a portfolio of ~100 major gift prospects, maintaining consistent and meaningful personal contact and developing individualized moves-management strategies, prioritizing in-person visits both on and off campus. Build strong, authentic relationships with alumni, parents and past parents, grandparents, faculty/staff, friends, and other members of the Thayer community to understand their philanthropic interests and align those interests with the Academy’s priorities. Develop and present compelling proposals for major gifts, including multi-year, endowed, capital, programmatic, and unrestricted opportunities. Work closely with frontline fundraisers to ensure that prospects are appropriately assigned, qualified, cultivated, solicited, and stewarded. Regularly reviewing portfolio performance and prospect activity to ensure that the major gifts pipeline remains healthy, active, and appropriately focused. Identify opportunities to increase donor engagement and giving through upgrades, special opportunities, challenge gifts, matching gifts, and comprehensive multi-year commitments. Engage and support volunteers in identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major and planned gift prospects. Collaborate with the Advancement Services team to ensure that prospect information, contact reports, moves, and next steps are accurately and consistently recorded in the Raiser’s Edge database. Perform other duties as assigned by the Chief Advancement & Engagement Officer. Willingness and ability to travel and work occasional evenings and weekends. Planned Giving Working closely with Thayer’s existing Director of Major Gifts & Planned Giving, who is moving to part-time this fall, lead and expand Thayer Academy’s planned giving program, developing strategies to increase awareness, participation, and future commitments, including a comprehensive communications and outreach plan. Build relationships with prospects across all constituencies who may have an interest in creating a legacy through planned giving, and maintain relationships with those already in Thayer’s Southworth Society through meaningful stewardship and recognition opportunities. Cultivate and solicit bequests, charitable gift annuities, charitable trusts, beneficiary designations, life-income gifts, and other appropriate planned giving vehicles. Working with donors and their advisors to ensure their intentions are aligned with the Academy’s policies and priorities. Collaborate with Advancement Services to document, track, and appropriately acknowledge planned gifts. Develop strategies to increase the number and value of documented planned gifts and build a sustainable pipeline of future legacy donors. Management & Collaboration  As the campaign progresses, the Director will have the opportunity to continue to build, lead and mentor a team of frontline fundraisers focused on major gifts and campaign giving. Fostering individual growth through structured feedback, goal alignment, and skill development to ensure the team consistently delivers exceptional results in support of fundraising priorities.  Share knowledge, best practices, and expertise with colleagues to strengthen the overall fundraising program. Serve as a collaborative member of the Advancement & Engagement leadership team and contribute to the overall success of the Academy’s fundraising program. Campaign & Strategic Fundraising Collaborate with the Chief Advancement & Engagement Officer and Advancement & Engagement leadership team to help develop campaign strategies, priorities, prospect pipelines, volunteer structures, and solicitation plans. Work with senior leadership and volunteers to identify, cultivate, and develop strategies for securing transformational gifts in support of the priorities of the Forever Forward strategic plan and its corresponding campaign. Assist in developing compelling cases for support, proposals, gift opportunities, and other materials for major and planned gift prospects. Collaborate with Annual Giving, Alumni Relations, Parent Engagement, Communications, Advancement Services, and Special Events to ensure a coordinated donor experience. Donor Relations & Stewardship Develop and implement thoughtful, personalized stewardship strategies for major-gift and planned-giving donors. Partner with colleagues across the Academy to demonstrate the impact of philanthropic support and provide donors with meaningful updates on the use of their gifts. Ensure that donors receive timely and appropriate acknowledgment and recognition for their contributions and commitments. Work closely with frontline fundraisers to ensure donors are consistently recognized and honored for their contributions, including in print materials, on campus signage, and at special events. Build long-term relationships with donors beyond the solicitation cycle to create opportunities for continued engagement with Thayer. Prospect Research, Data & Analytics Partner with the Director of Advancement Services to identify and evaluate prospective major and planned gift donors using appropriate research, wealth screening, engagement, and philanthropic data. Maintain accurate and timely records of donor interactions, strategies, proposals, solicitations, and commitments in the Raiser’s Edge database. Collaborate with Advancement Services to establish appropriate reporting and metrics for major and planned giving activity and results.

Salary : $170,000 - $180,000