Job Description:

Position Title:                                                    Major Giving and Stewardship Officer

About Hebrew SeniorLife

Harvard Medical School-affiliated Hebrew SeniorLife is a mission-driven nonprofit founded more than a century ago in the spirit of the Jewish tradition to honor our elders and care for the most vulnerable. Since its founding in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood, Hebrew SeniorLife has expanded to meet the changing needs and expectations of seniors and their families locally, nationally, and internationally. Today, Hebrew SeniorLife is unique in the breadth of services it offers to seniors of all religions, cultures, races, class backgrounds, sexual orientations, and gender expressions.

We work to redefine every aspect of the aging experience with:

• Vibrant senior communities

• A full spectrum of personalized, holistic health care services

• Influential research that advances the quality of life for seniors and informs public decision-making

• Multidisciplinary teaching programs that help grow the ranks of geriatric care specialists

Hebrew SeniorLife is the only senior care organization affiliated with Harvard Medical School and we are home to the only long-term chronic care teaching hospital in the United States. Our patients and residents benefit from the spirit of curiosity this prestigious academic connection brings to our care delivery and programs. Our Harvard affiliation also connects us to four major teaching hospitals in the Boston area and Harvard Medical School’s 18 academic health care centers. Future doctors, researchers, and health care professionals find an enriching learning environment as they learn from and work alongside our skilled professionals.

Our employees are our greatest asset. With more than 2,400 employees, Hebrew SeniorLife is among the 75 largest employers in Massachusetts and has been recognized five times by the Boston Globe as a “Top Place to Work.” Our culture is shaped by a set of common principles, which we call our cultural beliefs and define as:

• Lead the Way I positively impact the lives of seniors, and take pride in helping HSL lead the way in the field of aging

• Go Beyond I explore new and innovative ways to help achieve and advocate for HSL’s mission

• Succeed Together I contribute to the achievement of HSL’s mission through collaborative efforts, and recognize the contributions of others

• Ask What Matters I ask questions to understand what matters most to our diverse community of patients, residents, families, and employees

• Speak Up I invite and offer respectful feedback and ideas

• Grow Professionally I own my development, and nurture that of others

Background

Hebrew SeniorLife's Age of Opportunity campaign, which successfully raised over $125 million from 2017-2023, was a significant milestone. This achievement supports HSL’s ongoing mission to expand and enhance services for seniors and their families.

Position Summary

Building on the success of the Age of Opportunity campaign, the Major Giving and Stewardship Officer (MGSO) will be an integral member of HSL’s Development team as we enter a quiet phase to plan for the next campaign. By joining 20 other Development professionals and reporting to the Senior Director of Development and Donor Strategy, the MGSO manages both a portfolio of major gift prospects and donors and a comprehensive stewardship program for the department. The role involves developing and executing strategies to cultivate and secure donations for HSL’s services and programs and sustaining positive and mutually-rewarding relations between Hebrew SeniorLife and its donors. This individual will work to build strong, personal relationships with donors, grounded in an understanding of their values and passions, while driving fundraising success.

Responsibilities

Fundraising

• Independently manage a portfolio of 75+ individual major gift prospects through all phases of the donor engagement process - identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship – to support the successful completion of the department’s annual fundraising goals

• Solicit and successfully close individual major gifts of $100,000+ by developing strategic funding requests for individuals based on short, intermediate, and long-term funding goals for all of Hebrew SeniorLife’s services and programs, such as the Wolk Center for Memory Health; Marcus Institute for Aging Research, Teaching and Training opportunities, and Housing including Affordable Housing with Services.

  • Evaluate various gift opportunities and giving vehicles; recommend the most suitable for particular donors

  • Collaborate with prospect management and research team to make data-driven decisions to maximize portfolio outcomes

  • Work closely with writing team to craft major gift proposals

  • Work closely with senior staff to develop appropriate content for major donor meetings and events

  • Contribute to growth of the Planned Giving Program (bequests, CGAs, securities, IRA rollovers and life income gifts, entrance fee gifts) closing of outright, irrevocable and revocable deferred gifts

  • Coordinate stewardship efforts for select donors

  • Collaborate with departmental colleagues in the strategy and execution of curated and high-level events

• Serve as an effective and enthusiastic Hebrew SeniorLife spokesperson and representative; maintain an active, current body of knowledge of Hebrew SeniorLife and its mission, programs, activities, institutional needs, and fundraising priorities

• Meet agreed-upon fundraising goals and metrics

• Coordinate and/or provide input into major elements of projects, programs or systems as needed

• Travel to Hebrew SeniorLife campuses located throughout the Boston area for events, prospect meetings and internal networking

• Ensure all donor/prospect activities and communications are entered in Raiser’s edge according to established protocols for effective and accurate tracking of prospect activity and personal metrics

Stewardship

• Develop, implement, and manage an institution-wide, comprehensive stewardship program that promotes interaction with and recognition of donors at all levels with an emphasis on major gift donors $100k and higher

• Create and maintain annual stewardship calendar and menu of donor engagement initiatives that support top priority fundraising objectives and serves as the creative catalyst for new stewardship event ideas including in-person events, visits, meetings, and written communications.

• Seek creative ways to connect donors with the patients, staff, faculty, and programs that benefit from their support.

• Proactively work with prospect managers to customize stewardship plans for targeted donors within their portfolios that encourage increased, additional giving

  • Develop recognition event/visit ideas for major gift donors in cooperation with events team

  • Collaborate with writing team on donor impact reports, annual stewardship mailings, and stewardship reports

  • Coordinate with Development and Strategic Planning Manager who manages stewardship for Top 40 Prospect List

• In partnership with the Assistant Director, Annual Giving, develop unique event(s) and communications for annual fund donors that move them to major gift prospects

• Maintain operational aspects of the stewardship program

  • Create and maintain policies and procedures related to stewardship

  • Ensure stewardship efforts are tracked in Raiser’s Edge

  • Conduct periodic review of the stewardship program for effectiveness

Volunteer Management

• Collaborate with the Major Gifts team to engage volunteer leaders (18-20 board members, 100+ active trustees who serve on 15+ board-level committees), supporting the development of new initiatives and expanding the prospect pipeline

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree, and minimum of five to seven years of experience in fundraising, communications, preferably in a non-profit environment

• Deep commitment to Hebrew SeniorLife’s mission to honor our elders and care for the most vulnerable and our Cultural Beliefs

• Proven ability to meet fundraising goals while working collaboratively with a team

• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build meaningful relationships with donors, leadership, and colleagues

• Demonstrated ability to relate well to and inspire the trust and confidence of donors, their legal and financial advisors as well as the trust and confidence of colleagues

• Excellent strategic thinking, communication, and organizational skills, both verbal and written.

• Ability to manage multiple tasks, meet deadlines, and work independently

• Capacity to evaluate problems accurately and display good, sound, and confidential judgment along with exercising discretion with highly confidential information

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and familiarity with Raiser’s Edge

Remote Type

Salary Range:

$85,097.00 - $127,644.00