Major Gifts and Foundation Relations Manager

About the position We are seeking a highly strategic, relationship-driven professional to join our Development and Communications team. The Major Gifts and Foundation Relations Manager will develop and execute comprehensive fundraising strategies to cultivate, solicit, and steward a portfolio of individual major donors and foundation partners supporting LEAP's $7M annual budget. This role will manage a portfolio of 80-110 individual major donor prospects with a goal of generating $1.25M-1.7M annually plus manage relationships with 10-20 key foundation and corporate partners to support continued institutional funding, working in partnership with the grant writer. The position requires exceptional interpersonal skills, strategic thinking, and the ability to craft compelling cases for support that inspire transformational philanthropy while collaborating across departments to ensure meaningful donor engagement and stewardship. Position Summary This is a full-time, 40-hour per week position requiring exceptional relationship management, strategic planning, communication excellence, and fundraising acumen. The role demands strong organizational abilities, emotional intelligence, comfort with modern technology—including AI tools and donor database systems—and the ability to balance individual donor cultivation with some foundation relationship management. The ideal candidate thrives in building authentic connections, excels at listening to donor interests and aligning them with organizational needs, and has a proven track record of closing significant gifts from both individuals and foundations. As a new position reflecting LEAP's growth and increasing focus on individual giving, this role offers a meaningful opportunity to help build and strengthen cross-team moves management systems that will serve the organization for years to come. Success requires comfort with metrics-driven goal setting, proactive initiative in cultivating donor relationships, and collaboration across the organization to create meaningful engagement opportunities.

Responsibilities

• Manage a portfolio of 80-110 individual major donor prospects and donors (gifts of $5,000-$25,000) with the possibility of managing some patron-level donors as the organization grows
• Develop and implement personalized cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies for each donor
• Conduct 12-18 meaningful donor contacts through meetings, calls, site visits, and events per month
• Participate in researching, qualifying, and adding new major gift prospects to portfolio through wealth screening and relationship mapping
• Partner with Vice President of Development and Communications, Executive Director, Board members, and volunteers on solicitation strategy and execution
• Set and track progress toward annual fundraising goal of $1.25 M-1.7M from individual major donors
• Create compelling proposals and solicitation materials tailored to individual donor interests
• Manage relationships with 10-20 key foundation and corporate partners
• Serve as primary contact for assigned institutional funders, ensuring strong communication and stewardship
• Create compelling presentations and proposals tailored to foundation interests and priorities
• Collaborate on grant proposals and reports with support from the grants team
• Attend strategic funder meetings and site visits to strengthen partnerships
• Develop customized stewardship materials and impact reports for foundation partners
• Identify opportunities to deepen existing foundation relationships and increase investment
• Set and track progress toward annual goal of $300K - $800K from assigned foundation sources
• Design and execute creative stewardship plans that deepen donor and foundation relationships and inspire continued support
• Create tailored presentations, impact reports, and communications for major donors and foundation partners
• Coordinate meaningful engagement opportunities including site visits, program observations, and volunteer activities
• Develop personalized stewardship materials that demonstrate impact and connect funders to LEAP's mission
• Ensure timely, authentic acknowledgment and recognition of all gifts in portfolio
• Develop and implement comprehensive annual major gifts strategy aligned with LEAP's growth goals
• Maintain accurate, detailed records in LEAP's CRM (Raiser's Edge NXT) including contact reports, giving history, and strategy notes
• Track pipeline metrics and provide regular progress reports to leadership
• Collaborate with communications team on materials supporting major gifts and institutional giving efforts
• Collaborate with the development and communications team to streamline moves management systems
• Conduct prospect research using traditional and AI-assisted tools as needed Requirements
• Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree in nonprofit management, public administration, or related field preferred
• Minimum 5

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