How to hire a major gifts officer

How to hire a major gifts officer, step by step

Here's a step-by-step major gifts officer hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a major gifts officer job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new major gifts officer
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a major gifts officer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your major gifts officer job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a major gifts officer for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a major gifts officer to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a major gifts officer that fits the bill.

   This list presents major gifts officer salaries for various positions.

   Type of Major Gifts Officer	Description	Hourly rate
   Major Gifts Officer	Public relations managers plan and direct the creation of material that will maintain or enhance the public image of their employer or client. Fundraising managers coordinate campaigns that bring in donations for their organization.	$25-63
   Development Director	A development director is a professional who is responsible for securing funds and sponsors for non-profit organizations. Development directors must actively seek new business partners and develop relationships with volunteers and donors... Show more	$30-85
   Community Relations Director	A community relations director is a professional who is responsible for managing positive relationships with community members, nonprofit organizations, and fellow employees surrounding an organization. Community relations directors must plan, organize, and manage activities to help the organization achieve its public relations goal... Show more	$29-73

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Moves Management
   • Solicitation Strategies
   • Donor Prospects
   • Figure Gifts
   • Donor Relationships
   • Relationship Building
   • Donor Database
   • Cultivation Events
   • Salesforce
   • Capital Campaign
   • Individual Prospects
   • Personal Portfolio
   • Phone Calls
   • Financial Support

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage and monitor donor tracking system via Salesforce to ensure the integrity of organization's donor base.
   • Develop and manage cause-related marketing partnerships.
   • Support documentation activities for FDA audits & manage integration activities for acquisitions.
   • Coordinate the activities of the teachers and non teaching staff in the department.
   • Create a program to receive estate gifts, and bequests, trusts and annuities.
   • Utilize CRM system, Salesforce, to record and store critical donor/prospect data and gift information.

   More major gifts officer duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the major gifts officer job description is a good way to get more applicants. A major gifts officer salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a major gifts officer in Alabama may be lower than in Nevada, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level major gifts officer. Additionally, a major gifts officer with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average major gifts officer salary

   $84,209yearly

   $40.49 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level major gifts officer salary

   $53,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 22, 2025

   Average major gifts officer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$117,695	$57
   2	Nevada	$116,229	$56
   3	Connecticut	$104,148	$50
   4	New York	$103,136	$50
   5	Michigan	$100,112	$48
   6	Massachusetts	$99,590	$48
   7	North Dakota	$97,421	$47
   8	Oregon	$95,608	$46
   9	District of Columbia	$95,237	$46
   10	Washington	$88,468	$43
   11	Texas	$87,801	$42
   12	Virginia	$84,796	$41
   13	Wisconsin	$84,422	$41
   14	Utah	$84,151	$40
   15	Maryland	$79,815	$38
   16	North Carolina	$79,208	$38
   17	Colorado	$78,502	$38
   18	Arizona	$77,882	$37
   19	Pennsylvania	$76,976	$37
   20	Illinois	$75,574	$36

   Average major gifts officer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Earthjustice	$127,637	$61.36	2
   2	University of Maryland Medical System	$126,939	$61.03	10
   3	American Red Cross	$125,873	$60.52	51
   4	Healthpoint	$123,862	$59.55
   5	Great Hearts Academies	$122,827	$59.05
   6	AltaMed Health Services	$115,508	$55.53	4
   7	Berklee College of Music	$113,097	$54.37	1
   8	Live Action	$111,641	$53.67
   9	Cedars-Sinai	$111,587	$53.65	2
   10	Suffolk University	$110,384	$53.07	2
   11	Boston Medical Center	$109,724	$52.75	7
   12	Inspira Health Network	$108,312	$52.07	4
   13	Middlebury College	$103,732	$49.87	1
   14	New York Institute of Technology	$103,427	$49.72
   15	WNYC	$102,474	$49.27
   16	Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center	$101,433	$48.77
   17	Dignity Health	$101,265	$48.69	37
   18	Carson Tahoe Health	$99,236	$47.71
   19	The Motley Fool	$97,837	$47.04
   20	NRDC	$97,759	$47.00

4. Writing a major gifts officer job description

   A major gifts officer job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a major gifts officer job description:

   Major gifts officer job description example

   Hiring Range: $111,930.00 - $139,910.00
   
   PLEASE NOTE: The hiring range applies to US-based employment and may be higher in certain US geographic locations.
   
   This experienced relationship manager develops, builds, and manages a highly-valuable portfolio of prospective and current donors in order to meet Compassion's annual revenue goals. He/she strategizes and builds customized engagement plans and strategic efforts to engage high-value donors and prospects with Compassion's ministry objectives.
   
   PLEASE NOTE: This is a remote, US-based position. Preferred candidates will already be living in Pennsylvania or Ohio.
   
   What will you do?
   Maintain a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Is a consistent witness for Jesus Christ, maintain a courteous, Christ-like attitude in dealing with people within and outside of Compassion, and faithfully uphold Compassion's ministry in prayer.Act as an advocate to raise the awareness of the needs of children. Understands Christ's mandate to protect children. Commit to and prioritize child protection considerations in all decision-making, tasks and activities across the ministry. Abide by all behavioral expectations in Compassion's Statement of Commitment to Child Protection and Code of Conduct. Report any concerns of abuse, neglect or exploitation of children through Compassion's internal reporting process and appropriately support responses to incidents if they occur.Uphold and engage in Compassion's core Cultural Behaviors.Serve as a leading relationship manager in a professional fundraising environment with particular emphasis on qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of a complex and dynamic portfolio of approximately 100-125 highly valuable donors and constituents of Compassion's ministry. Actively advance growth along all product lines and is accountable for achieving revenue goals established by leadership.Creatively craft and customize unique, complex fundraising and cultivation activities/campaigns targeted to high-value donors for the purpose of generating revenue, increasing retention, identifying prospects, and acquiring multi-year commitments of non-sponsorship revenue.Advocate on behalf of Compassion's ministry of Christian child development to audiences such as current and prospective major donors, constituents, foundations, etc. Develop and execute on strategy to drive engagement and build strong relationships with portfolio of donors through regular personal visits, phone calls, proposals, presentations, and other correspondence.Set multi-faceted large scope fundraising forecasts. Set strategy and timelines for each donor relationship and qualified prospect in order to achieve fundraising goals. Develop framework for fundraising and stewardship reporting based on both internal capabilities and donor needs.Serve as key participant and may lead donors on international Compassion tours and Frontline Church Partner visits, meetings, and special events.Responsible for various types of speaking engagements in both small and large group settings advocating for Compassion or Children in need.
   
   What do you bring?
   Bachelor's Degree in a related field.Seven years' relevant experience managing a major gifts portfolio required.Certification from a nationally or internationally recognized organization in a related field preferred.
   
   Travel
   Depending on season, travel will vary between 25-50% of normal schedule.
   
   *Equivalent education, training and/or certification may be substituted for experience and education shown above
   
   Why work here?
   The mission: Join a team that is motivated to release children from poverty in Jesus' name.Our benefits: Receive generous paid time off, 10% contribution to a 403(b) retirement fund, excellent healthcare coverage, and more. Spiritual growth: Participate in regular chapel services, prayer groups, and department devotionals
   
   #LI-SR1

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find major gifts officers for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your major gifts officer job on Zippia to find and recruit major gifts officer candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as pr news job board, pr council, prsa job center, hoojobs.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit major gifts officers, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new major gifts officer

   Once you have selected a candidate for the major gifts officer position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new major gifts officer first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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