Major Gifts Officer

The Museum of Flight
Seattle, WA 98108, USA

Are you passionate about building lasting relationships and inspiring impactful philanthropy? The Museum of Flight is looking for a dynamic and enthusiastic Major Gifts Officer to join our dedicated Development team at an exciting moment in our history. We have embarked on a multi-year campaign to bring the Museum to new heights, expanding our reach and deepening our impact on aerospace education and preservation.

Together with the Director of Leadership Giving, you will play a key role in developing and implementing major gift strategies to support both annual and campaign goals. You will work alongside passionate colleagues and community leaders to secure transformational support for the Museum’s programs, exhibitions, and educational initiatives. This is an opportunity to engage with donors who share a love for aerospace, guiding them to make a lasting impact on the Museum’s future.

If you are a motivated, relationship-driven professional with a talent for building connections and inspiring generosity, we invite you to apply and help us soar to new heights!

The Major Gifts Officer supports the mission of The Museum of Flight by developing, planning, and implementing major gift strategies for assigned donors and identifying new prospects. As a key member of the Development team, this position contributes to the achievement of the Museum’s fundraising goals. This position works independently and collaboratively to build and sustain relationships with donors, to secure meaningful major gifts for annual and multi-year campaign purposes, and to foster a culture of philanthropy among Museum staff, the Board of Trustees, and all supporters.

Following is a summary of the essential functions for this job. Other duties may be performed both major and minor, which are not mentioned below. Specific activities may change from time to time. To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential job duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential job functions.

• Manage a portfolio of up to 125 individual donor prospects, with clearly defined and regularly updated cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies for the top tier.
• Lead strategy and direction-setting for portfolio donors.
• Actively engage with the Museum's Trustees and other key volunteers to empower them as important donor strategists and solicitors.
• Serve as an active member of project-based fundraising efforts, specifically to identify top prospects and develop strategies and plans for each.
• Work closely with the Museum's President/CEO, VP of Development, and Director of Leadership Giving in the ongoing prioritization of donor cultivation and solicitation.
• Be responsible for helping to ensure that stewardship and recognition are essential parts of the overall prospect strategy, that there are updated and accurate records for recognition, and to work with the Development team to ensure appropriate stewardship and recognition are carried out.
• Work with the Development team to develop donor strategies for cultivation and stewardship events, including taking the lead in key actions before, during, and after, which fully leverage the event.
• Actively participate in new donor discovery efforts of the Development department, including basic research, outreach, involvement, and engagement.
• Track all significant donor history and interactions, and ensure they are recorded in the Raiser's Edge database.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Education & Experience

• A bachelor’s degree in philanthropic studies, nonprofit administration, other relevant degree or a combination of education and relevant work experience.
• Five years of successful professional development in fundraising experience that includes high-level asks to donors with significant financial capacity.

Knowledge

• A sound understanding of major donor fundraising philosophy and strategy; familiarity with our local donor base, a plus.

Skills

• Proven people skills; comfortable interacting in both large and small groups;…