Impress employers and recruiters.
Choose from hundreds of resume examples.

Target Resume Now

Tailor your resume to this Director of Major Gifts role.

Rezi rewrites your resume against Ethical Culture Fieldston School's job description. Free.

Resume score gauge reading 58 out of 100

Don't guess if your resume is good enough.

See how it scores against the Director of Major Gifts posting at Ethical Culture Fieldston School — free, in seconds.

About the Role

Ethical Culture Fieldston School (ECFS) seeks an experienced fundraising professional to serve as the School’s Director of Major Gifts. This role will lead leadership-level fundraising for the School's capital campaign, manage a portfolio of significant prospects, and serve as the primary staff partner to campaign volunteers. The Director will also build the practices required to sustain a robust major gifts program.

Responsibilities

Advance leadership giving for a transformational campaign.
Manage a portfolio of leadership prospects.
Partner with the CEO and the Chief Advancement Officer in cultivating and soliciting significant donors.
Broaden the case for support, connecting the project to the full breadth of the ECFS program.
Build a culture in which philanthropic leadership is clearly communicated, expected, and celebrated.
Serve as a visible and energizing presence in the community, attending school events, athletic contests, and performances.
Meet families one on one, and help donors feel genuinely connected to the School's leadership and vision.
Lead a disciplined approach to discovery, qualification, and portfolio management.
Advise School leadership on whom to approach, when, and how.
Build the pipeline for the decades ahead by focusing on younger families.
Serve as the primary staff partner to the Campaign Cabinet.
Prepare volunteers for prospect meetings.
Structure cabinet meetings and follow-through.
Ensure that assignments are clear and progress is tracked.
Help trustees and volunteers grow confident in their roles as advocates and solicitors.
Design a stewardship and recognition strategy that celebrates early leadership, demonstrates the impact of every gift, and keeps donors engaged.
Collaborate with the Director of Development and the Associate Director of Strategic Initiatives.
Work closely with the CFO and Business Office on gift agreements, pledge documentation, and reporting.
Craft proposals, briefings, and correspondence in the voice of School leadership.

Requirements

Minimum of seven years of progressive fundraising experience; campaign experience is preferable.
Demonstrated track record of cultivating, soliciting, and closing significant gifts.
Capital campaign experience, ideally including a campaign for a new facility.
Experience in prospect research, qualification, and portfolio management, with comfort using data and donor databases to inform strategy.
Experience staffing senior leaders, trustees, and campaign volunteers, and preparing them for successful solicitations.
Ability to design and execute a clear, measurable fundraising plan and ensure consistent follow-through.
Experience developing stewardship and donor recognition programs that demonstrate impact.
Working knowledge of gift agreements, pledge documentation, and endowed and planned gifts, and the ability to partner effectively with finance colleagues.
Exceptional writing skills, including proposals, briefings, and correspondence in the voice of senior leadership.
Commitment to fostering an equitable and inclusive community and demonstrated skill working with families and donors of all backgrounds.
A commitment to confidentiality and good judgment on sensitive matters.
Independent school experience preferred; higher education experience or other mission-driven organizations welcome.
Bachelor's degree required.

Skills

Fundraising
Major Gifts
Capital Campaigns
Prospect Research
Portfolio Management
Donor Cultivation
Donor Solicitation
Donor Stewardship
Volunteer Management
Strategic Planning
Data Analysis
Writing
Communication
Collaboration
Relationship Building

Location

New York City

Work Type

Full-time

Experience Level

Minimum of seven years of progressive fundraising experience
Campaign experience is preferable
Capital campaign experience

Education Level

Bachelor's degree required

Salary/Compensations

$200,000-$225,000

About the Company

Ethical Culture Fieldston School is a progressive PreK-12 independent school that has been serving students from throughout New York City and the surrounding suburbs since 1878.
ECFS offers a rich curriculum in the arts, sciences, and humanities.
A co-ed, nonsectarian school, it serves an inclusive community of about 1,700 students on two campuses -- one in the Riverdale section of the Bronx and the other in Manhattan.
The Ethical Culture Fieldston School has a long history of inclusion and belonging deeply rooted in our mission and the educational philosophy of our founder, Felix Adler.
We embrace all aspects of an individual, including their ancestry, family, identity, culture, and beliefs.
We affirm both our differences and commonalities and strive to balance individuality and community.
In keeping with our progressive tradition, we are dedicated to increasing our students’ cultural literacy to help them understand multiple perspectives and see the world beyond the self.
We expect members of our community to engage in open dialogue about living and learning in an inclusive environment inside and outside the classroom.
We see this work, with its creative tensions, as a catalyst for individual and collective growth.
On a daily basis, we are committed to making this vision of a democratic, pluralistic, and progressive school a reality.

Equal Opportunity

ECFS is an equal opportunity employer.
We seek to be a welcoming community of professionals that broadly reflects the people of the metropolitan New York City area, our students, and families.
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion or religious practices, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, citizenship status, national origin, age, ability status, military status, unemployment status or any other category protected by applicable local, state, or federal laws.
We are committed to hiring practices that ensure all candidates are given fair consideration in alignment with our institutional mission and goals.