How to get your first role in major gifts

As I connect with fundraising professionals across the country in my work as a recruiter in the non-profit sector, I answer the same question at least every other day: How do I get into major gifts? When I talk to our clients and industry leaders, there is a great deal of frustration with the talent pipeline for major gift officers. It suffices to say that a major gift officer with the skills to work on gifts of $100,000 or more is a sought-after prize for many non-profits these days. So here are my 10 things to consider, if you are one of the people wanting to “get into major gifts”:

1.  Make sure it is for you

I used to be one of the people admiring major gift officers for their articulate presentation skills and what looked like an endless amount of cocktail parties and galas. In my experience though, major gift fundraising is 10% cocktails and chicken dinners and 90% hard, challenging work. Something I often hear is people interested in major gift work because they enjoy meeting people or interacting with donors. This is certainly a required skill, but on its own it rarely leads to a successful career as a major gift officer. 

Here are some of the top qualities that make for a good fundraiser: 

• empathy and ability to read social cues
• organization and project management
• ability to bring people together and to collaborate effectively with others
• desire to set and achieve goals
• fearlessness and creativity

If these are not the things that come to mind when you think of your strengths, you might want to explore the profession a bit more before venturing into a role.

2. Go where the major gift donors are

To convince yourself that major gifts work is for you, and to also start convincing those around you that you have the skills necessary, you need to go where the donors are. Many organizations have flagship engagement opportunities or events for major gift donors (i.e. gift announcements, awards ceremonies, golf tournaments, etc.). If your role does not intercept with these events or does so “behind the scenes”, you need to find ways to be present at some of these events. If they are free, you can just plan to go. If they are not- volunteer to help with registration, coat check or anything else. This will give you a good opportunity to observe what major gift officers do during these cultivation opportunities and you can test the waters about talking to strangers or at the very least think about how you would maximize your time at an event like this. It is also helpful to be seen by your leaders and fundraisers in a setting like this.

 3.      Make your own major gifts

A major gift is a relative term and the actual amount varies from organization to organization. It also varies from donor to donor. If you have not had an opportunity to ask for gifts, in a face-to-face setting or at least over the phone, I would strongly encourage you to do that before venturing into a career as a fundraiser. If you are in a position where you have access to donors but not face to face (i.e. annual giving), nothing is stopping you from finding 5 annual fund donors and trying to secure face to face meetings and perhaps ask them for a slightly larger gift. It is low-risk endeavor and you have nothing to lose as no one else is visiting with them. Alternatively, if you work in a large organization you can always partner with your research team to get a couple of leads if no one else has time to deal with them. If you are wondering where this fits with your regular duties – it doesn’t, so you’ll have to find a way to do this over and above your current role…unless your organization has a formal talent pipeline development or training process. As a bonus, this will also give you some stories you can tell during interviews.

4.      Ask to shadow a colleague

This is powerful and gets you one step closer to doing the job. You can always ask the major gift officers on your team to take you on a visit or two, and they would be more likely to do it if you offer to book the visits for them (i.e. make cold calls). Alternatively, you can book a visit with your non-major donors and ask them to accompany you. Nothing is more powerful than this experience. Do not forget to debrief and offer to write the contact report after, so you can learn what information they were looking for during the visit.

5.      Deepen your understanding of the philanthropy cycle

This may not help you get a job as a major gift officer right away, but it will help you to better understand the role of a fundraiser in guiding a donor through the cycle. Especially if you are not in a fundraising role already. Taking a course or attending a few webinars is a good start, in general the more in-depth the material the better. Major Gift Catalyst is one such course that will give you a ton of information, for example. There are also several books on the market if you prefer to learn through reading. After a while, you will become more confident in your knowledge of major gifts and will be able to have more effective interviews for those first roles because you will speak the “the lingo” better. This is also important to do if you are transitioning into the industry from sales, for example.

6.      Get mentors, allies, and champions

If I you can only do one of the 10 things on this list, let it be this one. Getting a mentor changed my life and my career, on more than one occasion. I was incredibly lucky to be paired with a great mentor through the AFP mentorship program before the days of LinkedIn and Ten Thousand Coffees. Whether it is a formal mentorship or ad-hoc, look to connect with someone who has already traveled this road.

Allies and champions are also crucial, therefore being seen at events or connecting with the fundraisers in your organization is important. If anyone is going to take a chance on you for your first role, it is most likely to be someone within your organization and it is great to have people advocate on your behalf.

7.      Demonstrate your loyalty to the organization

When hiring managers are looking to hire a front-line fundraiser there are usually two important considerations: their core fundraising skills and their ability to navigate the organization. If there are opportunities internally, you will have the advantage of already knowing the organization, and if you have already done some of the things discussed above, you will have demonstrated plenty of aptitude and willingness to learn. So overall, it is always much easier to get promoted from within for your first role into major gifts. In other to do that, you need to demonstrate success and staying power in your current role.

8.      Take risks

This part always gets tricky, especially if you are past the early stages of your career. Some of the most challenging conversations I have with candidates are situations where someone has had a lengthy tenure in a different area, and been promoted a few times, and now they are looking into major gifts. As much as there is a talent shortage for front-line fundraisers, there is also a lot of turnover which means that you are always going to be out-competed, at least on paper, for more senior and desirable roles. Look for short-term contracts or slightly more junior roles first, knowing you will get promoted quickly if you have the transferable skills and demonstrate success.

9.      Not all major gifts are created equal

Early in my career, I used to hear the mantra that major gifts are just annual gifts with more 0s. This can be true in some cases, but not others. In general, many hiring managers place emphasis on the largest gift a candidate has worked on as a proxy for their skills and experience. The ladder is usually:

• Under $10,000
• $50,000
• $100,000 plus
• $1,000,000 plus

Of course, this will greatly depend on the organization and the donor pipeline, but it will give you a fairly good idea of how major gifts officers move within the industry and where there’s potential for entry level roles. For example, if you work in a large organization where the average major gift is over $100,000, experience with $5,000 gifts will not get you the job. However, if you were to apply for roles in a smaller organization where the average major gift is $20,000, that same $5,000 experience will make you a competitive candidate.

10.  Understanding of the cause and the donors it attracts is more important than passion for the cause

We are all passionate about the non-profit sector and many of us are deeply connected to the causes we raise funds for. However, passion of the cause is not a good predictor of success in your fundraising success. Instead, try to understand the cause and how an organization is uniquely positioned to address it, then research some of the major donors to it. Of course, any cause can attract donors from all walks of life, however some causes appeal to certain types of donors more than others. This is important as you look to demonstrate to employers that you can be successful representing the organization. 

For more Career Advancement advice, watch my free webinar: Career advancement for non-profit professionals.