Major Gifts Officer

About Us

Lifewater Canada is a Canadian non-profit organization, which has surpassed 30 years of continuous effort to address WASH needs in Sub-Saharan Africa and Haiti. Lifewater Canada has been rated by Charity Intelligence as a top 10 Canadian and International charity with a 5-star rating for 7 consecutive years.

Position Summary

Our Donor Relations department has an immediate opening for a full time Major Gifts Officer. Reporting to the Executive Director, you will focus on relationship driven gift cultivation of donations over $10,000, connecting with existing and prospective donors to identify, request, and steward both current and future gifts. The ideal candidate will have fundraising experience and proven success with major gifts at the $10,000+ level.

The MGO will be part of a Donor Relations team that works collaboratively within our growing Canadian team to secure new and maintain repeat funding. The MGO will be equally capable of qualifying, cultivating, and closing gifts autonomously, with a team member, or with a volunteer. They will have the ability to make a connection between the Organizational needs and the Donor’s interests and objectives. Supportive and respectful, the successful candidate will be a solutions-oriented and self-starting team player collaboratively working towards a common objective.

This role is fully remote, and applications from all Canadian residents are welcome.

Key Accountabilities

In this role, some of your key responsibilities will include:

• Personally develop and manage a portfolio of individual major gift donors ($10,000+) through all stages of the donor cycle.
• Actively seek out new major donor prospects and assess interest.
• Secure discovery meetings to establish or strengthen donor relationships.
• Complete donor calls and visits to identify, cultivate, solicit, steward and provide ongoing relationship management to a portfolio of donors.
• Where appropriate, work with Senior Leadership to effectively cultivate, solicit and steward relationships.
• Prepare related briefing notes and call reports, individualized solicitation proposals, presentations and other correspondence.
• Provide ongoing stewardship and high touch experiences to our major individual donors, with a focus on reporting and donor retention.
• Maintain donor and prospect records including entering and maintaining solicitation and donor information, call reports, proposals and referral tracking.
• Work collaboratively with other departments and model behaviour that encourages a mutually supportive team environment.
• Lead by example to build excitement and accountability with team members to emulate similar behaviour.
• Contribute to drafting, editing, researching, and submission of Grants, either individually or as part of a Grant writing team.
• Coordinating events; may help plan and run annual or semi-annual fundraisers. Provide input to help make the events appealing to donors.

Job-Related Skills

• Relevant fundraising experience.
• Previous experience in international development and fundraising an asset.
• Demonstrated ability to set and achieve fundraising goals in alignment with organizational growth.
• Exhibits a high level of maturity and aptitude for working in a fast-paced environment; demonstrates ability to work autonomously, competently handles multiple tasks, sets priorities and meets deadlines.
• Ability to understand the needs and interests of individual donors, corporations, and other funding organizations, to develop mutually beneficial relationships with Lifewater Canada and our Project Nations.
• Interest and/or experience in WASH sector programming an asset.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Strong interpersonal and networking skills with donors, volunteers, and the Lifewater Canada team.
• Personal presentation and approach to always ensure the highest level of professional representation of Lifewater Canada as a personal and relational Organization.
• Alignment with Lifewater Canada’s foundational principles.
• Donor database experience – Bloomerang preferred.
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office.

Education/Training/Experience

• 3-5 years experience of raising funds from major donors.
• University or college degree in a related discipline OR related experience.
• Certified Fund-Raising Executive (CFRE) designation or willingness to work toward is considered an asset.
• Demonstrated success in fundraising, strategic planning, people management, portfolio management, and proposal development.
• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to build trusted relationships across and outside of the organization.
• Experience in working collaboratively across multiple departments and with various stakeholders.
• Exceptional diplomacy skills and superior attention to detail.
• Discretion and ability to manage confidential information appropriately.
• Ability to represent the organization in external forums.
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally as needed.