How To Become A Major Donor Coordinator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a major donor coordinator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Major donor coordinators work as fundraisers, often for non-profit organizations. Their primary responsibility is networking and drawing in large donors to support the work and mission of the organization. They design and carry out fundraising events and strategies, looking for generous benefactors.

It will be your job to collect information about potential donors and manage databases containing them. You will build and maintain relationships with potential or existing donors, record all interactions with donors, and track the progress of the rapports. You will have a lot of administrative tasks, but you will also function as a spokesperson and event organizer. You will arrange logistics for fundraisers, and recruit and manage volunteers working to accommodate guests and performers alike.

You will be expected to have a degree to take on this position. The field is quite irrelevant, although there are certification programs that can help you get the hang of this complex position. Being proactive and creative will be essential here. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills will be a must. Analytical thinking, teamwork, flexibility, and multitasking will be your most important assets on the job.

ScoreMajor Donor CoordinatorUS Average

Salary

3.8

Avg. Salary $48,037

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.1

Growth rate 11%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.29%

Asian 5.10%

Black or African American 5.19%

Hispanic or Latino 7.89%

Unknown 4.13%

White 77.40%

Gender

female 78.44%

male 21.56%

Age - 41

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 41

Stress level

6.1

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.7

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a major donor coordinator

Explore major donor coordinator education requirements

Most common major donor coordinator degrees

Bachelor's

70.6 %

Master's

11.3 %

Associate

10.9 %

Start to develop specific major donor coordinator skills

Skills	Percentages
Donor Relations	17.28%
Database Management	8.99%
Data Entry	7.10%
Tissue Donation	5.77%
Alumni	5.46%

Complete relevant major donor coordinator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New major donor coordinators learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a major donor coordinator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real major donor coordinator resumes.

Research major donor coordinator duties and responsibilities

Create and manage fundraising board consisting of business-leader volunteers, alumni, and community activists.
Manage the grievance process including face-to-face negotiations with union representatives at the highest arbitration procedural level.
Act as coordinator for alumni events and provide stewardship for scholarship donors and their recipients.
Help Medicaid eligible members to secure both physical and behavioral services in the community by reviewing and preparing prior authorization requests.

Prepare your major donor coordinator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your major donor coordinator resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a major donor coordinator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable major donor coordinator resume templates

Build a professional major donor coordinator resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your major donor coordinator resume.