Senior Major Gift Officer, California

Job Description

You will be fully remote and based in California. You will travel significantly within the state and occasionally will travel to WRI Global Headquarters in Washington, DC. Existing work authorization is required at the time of application.

About the Program:

The Individual Philanthropy Sector is part of WRI’s broader Global Development Program, which coordinates all fundraising for WRI In this capacity, the Individual Philanthropy Sector works with WRI’s Global Board, executive leadership, and program staff to strategize and build relationships with individual and family foundation donors and prospects who want to help the Institute deliver results and bring about a more equitable and sustainable world. The Individual Philanthropy Sector is a growing and evolving program organized around major gifts ($10,000+), mid-level gifts ($1,000-$9,999), and annual fund gifts (an overlap with the Institute’s new planned giving program. A major priority for the Individual Philanthropy team is raising approximately $5,000,000 annually in unrestricted funding. The issues WRI works on are front and center in today’s world and our institutional reputation and visibility is at an all-time high, which is resulting in new opportunities for generating more flexible and program-centric gifts from individual and family foundation donors

Job Highlight: As the Senior Major Gift Officer, you will lead the organization’s efforts to identify and engage individual and family foundation donors in California who are aligned to WRI’s overall mission and program priorities and who have the capacity to make at least five-figure gifts. This is a new frontline fundraising position with annual revenue targets and a focus on soliciting unrestricted funding and blended gift opportunities.

Reporting to the Director of Individual Philanthropy and working closely with the Vice President for Development and the WRI Board Development Committee, the Senior Major Gifts Officer will play an important role in WRI’s efforts over the next 5 years to significantly increase its unrestricted and flexible revenue.

What you will do:

Cultivating, Stewarding, and Soliciting Donors (50% time)

• Qualify current major gift caseload of prospects and donors.
• Establish financial goals for each prospect/donor.
• Create and execute a communications and engagement strategy/plan for each prospect/donor.
• Solicit gifts.
• Maintain donor and prospect records in Salesforce database, including ongoing updates to donor and prospect constituent records.

Creating Offers and Impact Reports (30% time)

• Develop an in-depth knowledge of WRI’s various projects and initiatives
• Develop compelling offers, proposals, and asks that will be used with each prospects/donors, with a focus on unrestricted and/or flexible support.
• Create customized donor impact reports.

Growing the Donor Pipeline (20% time)

• Identify new prospects by tapping into WRI leadership/senior staff networks and personal rolodex.
• Mine from existing lower-level donors with higher capacity.
• Identify new prospects by building relations with wealth advisors, community foundation advisors, and giving circles.

What you will need:

• Education: You have a completed Bachelor’s degree, Master’s preferred
• Experience: You have a minimum of 8+ years demonstrated experience in front-line fundraising, preferably for environmental organizations.
• You have a solid solicitation track record with effective closing skills and a persuasive ability to encourage philanthropic behavior.
• You have experience raising unrestricted and blended gifts.
• You have experience creating donor offers and donor impact reports.
• Knowledge of the environmental funding landscape in California and willingness to open personal rolodex to introduce WRI to prospective donors are a plus.
• Languages: Verbal and written English proficiency is required.
• Requirements: Existing work authorization is required where this position is based. WRI is unable to authorize visa work authorization.

Potential Salary:Salary is commensurate with experience and other compensable factors. WRI offers a competitive remuneration and benefits package.

How to Apply: Please submit a resume with cover letter by the date of November 4, 2022. You must apply through the WRI Careers portal to be considered.

What we offer:

• A competitive salary
• Access to the WRI global network with the opportunity to exchange with and learn from passionate colleagues working at the cutting edge of their fields across Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and the US.
• The chance to have an impact and to develop your career within a mission driven organization with access to varied learning and training opportunities.
• A workplace that strives to put diversity and inclusion at the heart of our work.
• The opportunity to join and get involved in different working groups and affinity groups to shape the future of WRI.
• Long-term commitment to hybrid working model with flexible working hours.
• Generous leave days that increase with tenure.

About Us:
Founded in 1982, World Resources Institute (WRI) is an independent, nonprofit global research organization that turns big ideas into action at the nexus of environment, economic opportunity, and human well-being. We are working to address seven critical challenges that the world must overcome this decade to secure a sustainable future for people and the planet: climate change, energy, food, forests, water, sustainable cities, and the ocean. WRI has a global staff of over 1,800 people with work spanning 60 countries. We have offices in Africa, Brazil, China, Europe, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Colombia and the United States, as well as a growing presence in other countries and regions.

The foundation of our work is delivering high-quality research, data, maps, and analysis to solve the world’s greatest environment and international development challenges and improve people’s lives. We work with leaders in government, business, and civil society to drive ambitious action and create change on the ground. Equally important, we bring together partners to develop breakthrough ideas and scale-up solutions for far-reaching, enduring impact.

Our mission and values:

WRI’s mission is to move human society to live in ways that protect Earth’s environment and its capacity to provide for the needs and aspirations of current and future generations.

Our values are shared ideals that bind us together: Integrity, Innovation, Urgency, Independence, Respect.

Our culture:
WRI is committed to advancing gender and social equity for human well-being in our mission and applies this principle to our organizational and programmatic practices. We are committed to providing equal opportunities in employment, we embrace all diversity and encourage women, the LGBTQ+ community, persons with disabilities, Afro-descendants, and Indigenous people to apply. Recognizing our strong commitment to gender equality, WRI has also been awarded EDGE certification.

Our team in Human Resources carefully reviews all applications.