Major Gift Officer

ABOUT CASA PACIFICA

For 30 years, Casa Pacifica has been helping at-risk children, their families, and young adults thrive.

As the largest non-profit provider of children's and adolescent mental health services in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, Casa Pacifica specializes in treating children and young adults who struggle with complex mental health challenges such as emotional dysregulation, self-harm, anxiety, and depression. Our multi-disciplinary staff of highly trained clinicians, psychologists, educators, therapists and mental health workers provide exceptional, evidence-based care to help our youth overcome a wide array of mental health challenges.

Casa Pacifica's Camarillo, Goleta, and Santa Maria offices work with more than 2,000 at-risk children, families, and young adults annually in outpatient, residential, home, and community-based settings. Our main Camarillo campus, located on 25 acres of beautiful park-like grounds, provides a nurturing and therapeutic environment for youth to overcome challenges, to find hope, and to heal.

We are a diverse and inclusive team providing excellent services to all our surrounding communities. Our team members are empowered to share their identities, ideas, and perspectives. A culture built on diversity, equity and inclusivity is essential to creating a safe and healing environment at Casa Pacifica.

Starting pay is typically between $70,340 and $108,900 annually; however, starting pay is ultimately determined by the scope of the position, the candidate's relevant experience, and internal equity.

Summary:

The Major Gifts Officer assumes a key role in the strategic development of major gift fundraising activities, including the identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of major gift prospects and donors. Reporting to the Chief Development Officer, this position secures philanthropic support for Casa Pacifica by managing an assigned portfolio, building meaningful donor relationships, and developing individualized strategies to increase donor engagement and financial support.

The Major Gifts Officer serves as the primary relationship manager for assigned major donors and prospects and helps donors fulfill their philanthropic interests while advancing Casa Pacifica's mission of serving children, youth, and families. The position also identifies, cultivates, and supports planned giving.

The Major Gifts Officer upholds Casa Pacifica's Standards of Behavior and exemplifies our core values: respect, integrity, compassion, and courage. In this role, you will lead essential fundraising initiatives, foster meaningful donor relationships, and guide community outreach efforts to advance strategies that provide critical support and improve outcomes for youth and families.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Major Gift Fundraising and Portfolio Management

• Manages and actively engages a portfolio of approximately 150 qualified major gift prospects and donors, with portfolio size adjusted as appropriate based on prospect readiness and organizational priorities.

• Establishes and maintains a comprehensive donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship cycle to retain donors, deepen engagement, increase annual support, and secure multi-year commitments.

• Qualifies prospective donors through research, outreach, discovery conversations, and relationship-building activities.

• Creates individualized financial goals and written engagement strategies for assigned donors based on giving history, interests, philanthropic capacity, readiness, and Casa Pacifica priorities.

• Executes timely moves-management plans that include meaningful contacts, donor meetings, proposals, asks, stewardship, recognition, and next steps.

• Conducts substantive in-person, virtual, telephone, and event-based meetings with donors and prospects to advance relationships and philanthropic support.

• Prepares and presents major gift proposals, funding requests, correspondence, briefing materials, stewardship reports, and other donor communications.

• Collaborates with program and finance staff to obtain accurate program information, outcomes, budgets, and funding needs and translates them into compelling donor opportunities.

• Partners with the Chief Development Officer on donor strategy, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship activities.

• Works toward annual fundraising, donor engagement, proposal, and portfolio goals established in partnership with the Chief Development Officer.

Prospect Development and Pipeline Management

• Identifies, researches, and qualifies new major gift prospects through database analysis, referrals, community engagement, events, and other prospect development activities.

• Develops and maintains a strong pipeline of prospective major gift donors to support current and future fundraising priorities.

• Continually assesses portfolio performance and recommends additions, removals, or reassignment of prospects based on qualification, engagement, and readiness.

• Coordinates with development colleagues to ensure donors move appropriately among annual giving, major giving, planned giving, and campaign strategies.

Stewardship and Donor Relations

• Provides timely, meaningful, and personalized stewardship through acknowledgements, impact reporting, recognition opportunities, program engagement, and ongoing communication.

• Secures stories, outcomes, financial information, and program updates that demonstrate the impact of donor support.

• Maintains close, professional relationships with assigned donors and protects donor intent, confidentiality, and trust.

• Coordinates donor recognition and stewardship activities in accordance with Casa Pacifica policies and gift agreements.

Planned Giving Support

• Identifies and advances planned giving opportunities that emerge through major donor relationships while maintaining major gift fundraising as the role's primary focus.

• Introduces interested donors to Casa Pacifica legacy and estate giving opportunities and provides approved informational resources.

• Collaborates with the Chief Development Officer and, when appropriate, donors' professional advisors or Casa Pacifica's external advisors to facilitate planned gift discussions and commitments.

• Supports the cultivation, documentation, recognition, and stewardship of legacy society members and planned giving donors.

• Recognizes when specialized legal, tax, or financial guidance is needed and refers donors to their own qualified advisors without providing professional advice.

Campaign and Organizational Support

• Participates in endowment, comprehensive, and special fundraising campaigns as assigned.

• Represents Casa Pacifica at community functions, donor events, stewardship activities, tours, and organizational programs.

• Serves as an ambassador for Casa Pacifica's mission, vision, values, and fundraising priorities.

• Works collaboratively with development colleagues and other departments to create a consistent and donor-centered experience.

Raiser's Edge Data Management and Reporting

• Maintains complete, accurate, and timely donor and prospect records in Raiser's Edge NXT and/or Raiser's Edge database systems.

• Documents contact reports, actions, proposals, opportunities, gift discussions, planned giving information, prospect status, and next steps in Raiser's Edge in accordance with departmental standards.

• Uses Raiser's Edge for portfolio tracking, moves management, prospect management, reporting, forecasting, and donor analytics.

• Creates monthly reports and fundraising forecasts that accurately reflect portfolio activity, pipeline movement, revenue progress, and performance.

• Monitors progress toward established goals and recommend strategic adjustments when necessary.

• Protects confidential donor information and follows organizational data entry, gift acceptance, recordkeeping, and privacy practices.

• Performs other fundraising and development-related duties as assigned.

Accountability:

• Ability to successfully manage and grow a portfolio of qualified major gift donors and prospects.

• Ability to establish and achieve annual fundraising, donor engagement, proposal, and stewardship goals.

• Ability to develop and execute individualized donor strategies that result in stronger retention, engagement, gift upgrades, multi-year commitments, and major gifts.

• Ability to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward donors in a professional, ethical, and donor-centered manner.

• Ability to identify and appropriately advance planned giving opportunities as a component of comprehensive donor relationship management.

• Ability to develop clear, accurate, and compelling proposals, funding opportunities, stewardship reports, and donor communications.

• Ability to maintain high-quality portfolio, action, opportunity, and contact data in Raiser's Edge and produce timely reports and forecasts.

• Ability to work effectively with the Chief Development Officer, volunteers, colleagues, program staff, and external stakeholders.

• Ability to manage multiple priorities, deadlines, budgets, and confidential information while exercising professionalism, sound judgment, and initiative.

• Ability to protect and advance the mission, goals, values, and reputation of Casa Pacifica.

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree required.

• Minimum of five years of progressively responsible fundraising experience, including successful major gift fundraising and donor relationship management.

• Demonstrated record of personally qualifying, cultivating, soliciting, and securing major gifts from individual donors.

• Experience managing a donor portfolio and applying moves-management strategies.

• Required hands-on experience using Raiser's Edge NXT and/or Raiser's Edge database systems for constituent management, portfolio tracking, moves management, opportunity tracking, reporting, and documentation of fundraising activity.

• Experience with planned giving, legacy giving, or charitable estate planning conversations preferred.

• Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) credential preferred.

OTHER SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Thorough knowledge of major gift fundraising, donor qualification, cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, and relationship-based philanthropy.

• Working knowledge of planned giving concepts and common charitable gift arrangements preferred.

• Demonstrated proficiency in Raiser's Edge, including constituent records, actions, opportunities, prospect management, queries, reports, and portfolio management.

• Excellent interpersonal, organizational, presentation, and written and verbal communication skills.

• Ability to build trust, listen effectively, maintain confidentiality, and develop productive relationships with diverse donors and stakeholders.

• Ability to analyze donor information, set priorities, develop strategy, and move prospects through the donor engagement cycle.

• Ability to work independently, exercise sound judgment, and collaborate effectively within a team environment.

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, including Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

• Commitment to high ethical standards, donor intent, donor confidentiality, and accepted fundraising practices.

• Ability to maintain a flexible work schedule, including occasional evenings and weekends, and to travel locally as required.

• A valid California driver's license is required. Any changes that occur on your driving record must be reported immediately to your supervisor and Human