Position Details

Major Gifts Director

Position Summary:

The Major Gifts Director leads the strategy, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of high-capacity donors to advance the mission of Arizona's Children Association, dedicated to ensuring the safety, permanency, and well-being of children and families. This role is responsible for building meaningful, long-term philanthropic partnerships that generate significant revenue to support programs such as foster care, adoption services, family preservation, and trauma-informed care initiatives. This position reports to the Chief Development Officer.

Salary: $75,000-$82,000 annually

Key Responsibilities:

Major Gift Strategy and Portfolio Management

  • Develop and execute a comprehensive major gifts strategy aligned with Arizona's Children Association fundraising goals.
  • Manage a portfolio of major donors and prospects with giving capacity of $10K and above.
  • Lead 401K rollover strategy and gifts
  • Write grants for philanthropic support of $10K and above.
  • Create and prepare proposals for giving.
  • Conduct qualification visits, cultivation meetings, and solicitations with individuals, family foundations, and grantors.
  • Create individualized engagement plans to deepen donor relationships and increase giving over time.
  • Collaborate with senior leadership and board members on major gift cultivation and solicitations

Donor Cultivation and Stewardship

  • Build authentic, mission-centered relationships with donors, ensuring alignment between donor interests and organizational priorities.
  • Design and implement high-impact stewardship strategies, including personalized reports, site visits, and recognition opportunities.
  • Partner with program staff to communicate measurable outcomes and compelling stories of impact.
  • Coordinate small, high-level donor events and briefings.

Prospect Development and Pipeline Growth

  • Identify and research new major gift prospects using wealth screening tools and relationship mapping.
  • Develop strategies to engage new high-net-worth individuals and philanthropic families.
  • Create all database notes and contacts for major gift areas.
  • Perform database prospecting and in conjunction with Chief Development Officer, create applicable strategies.

Leadership and Collaboration

  • Serve as a strategic partner within the Development team to meet overall fundraising targets.
  • Support board engagement in philanthropy and provide coaching on donor conversations.
  • Contribute to campaign planning, including capital or special initiatives as needed.
  • Lead events for major donor reach.
  • Represent Arizona's Children Association at community and philanthropic events.
  • Adheres to the AFP Code of Ethical Principles and Donor Bill of Rights.

Minimum Education & Experience:

  • Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university.
  • 5+ years of progressive fundraising experience with demonstrated success securing five- and six-figure gifts.
  • Proven ability to build and manage a major gifts portfolio.
  • Experience working with senior leaders and board members.
  • Passion for child welfare and trauma-informed, family-centered services.
  • Experience in child welfare, human services, or related non-profit sector (Preferred).
  • Familiarity with donor database systems (Raiser's Edge experience preferred).

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs)

  • Moves management and donor lifecycle strategy
  • Donor qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship
  • Planned giving basics and blended gift strategies
  • Trauma-informed care principles
  • Ethical considerations and confidentiality requirements related to vulnerable populations
  • Role of boards in fundraising
  • Nonprofit financial statements and budgeting
  • IRS regulations and charitable giving compliance
  • Trends in individual philanthropy and high-net-worth giving
  • CRM/database systems
  • Wealth screening tools and prospect research methodologies
  • Develop authentic, trust-based relationships with major donors
  • Engage board members and executive leadership in donor strategy
  • Conduct face-to-face solicitations
  • Navigate complex or multi-year gift conversations
  • Connect donor values to child welfare outcomes
  • Articulate complex social issues in accessible, compelling ways
  • Self-direct portfolio activity while aligning with organizational goals
  • Influence cross-functional teams without direct authority
  • Manage competing priorities and long cultivation cycles
  • Adapt strategy based on donor response and funding trends

Minimum Qualification & Requirements

  • Must be 21 years of age (licensing requirement).
  • Possess a valid Arizona driver's license and be insurable under the agency's automobile policy.
  • Must be able to provide own transportation to and from clients' homes and/or other relevant organizations/agencies
  • Must be able to provide DPS fingerprint clearance.
  • Must be able to meet training and agency compliance requirements for the position.
  • An individual may qualify for this position if the individual is able to "perform safely" the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodations. Perform safely means to perform without causing a direct threat to the health or safety of the individual or others that cannot be eliminated by reasonable accommodations, as defined by 42 U.S.C. #1211 (b) and the Commission's regulations found at 29 C.F.R #1630.2 (r).

This position description is intended to indicate the basic nature of the position and does not necessarily list all possible duties that may be assigned.