Director of Leadership and Major Gifts

Girard College is one of America’s most distinctive educational institutions, founded through the extraordinary vision of Stephen Girard to provide life-changing educational opportunities for young people. As the College enters an exciting new era of growth and philanthropic investment, we are seeking an accomplished advancement professional to help shape the future of our fundraising program.

Why This Opportunity?

This is an exceptional opportunity for an experienced frontline fundraiser who wants to build something meaningful while making a lasting impact on students’ lives. As the Director of Leadership and Major Gifts, you will:

• Serve as the College’s lead frontline fundraiser, working directly with the Chief Advancement Officer to build and grow a comprehensive major gifts program.

• Partner with the President, Board leadership, and distinguished volunteers to cultivate, solicit, and steward transformational philanthropic investments.

• Help shape the future of a growing Advancement Office, with significant opportunity to develop new fundraising strategies, strengthen philanthropic infrastructure, and assume increasing leadership responsibilities as the department continues to grow.

• Build and expand Girard’s alumni engagement program, creating lifelong relationships that strengthen alumni participation and philanthropic support.

• Change lives every day by securing philanthropic investments that directly support Girard students and advance Stephen Girard’s enduring vision.

Position Summary

Reporting directly to the Chief Advancement Officer, the Director of Leadership and Major Gifts serves as the College’s lead frontline fundraising professional and a key member of the Advancement leadership team.

Working in close partnership with the Chief Advancement Officer, the President, and volunteer leadership, the Director develops and executes strategies that inspire transformational philanthropy in support of Girard College’s mission. The Director personally manages a portfolio of leadership and major gift prospects while maintaining an active schedule of face-to-face donor visits. The successful candidate will devote the majority of their time to cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding leadership and major gift donors while providing strategic oversight of the Annual Fund and building meaningful, lifelong relationships with Girard College alumni.

This position is ideal for a highly collaborative fundraising professional who enjoys working alongside institutional leaders and volunteers, building authentic donor relationships, and helping shape the future of an ambitious advancement program.

Primary Responsibilities

Frontline Major Gift Fundraising

• Maintain an active schedule of personal visits with leadership and major gift donors and prospects.

• Manage a portfolio of approximately 125–150 leadership and major gift prospects capable of making gifts of $25,000 and above.

• Personally cultivate, solicit, close, and steward leadership and major gifts in support of Girard College’s highest institutional priorities.

• Develop individualized cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies that maximize philanthropic investment and deepen long-term donor relationships.

• Build and maintain a robust pipeline of qualified prospects through proactive identification, qualification, and relationship management.

• Utilize best practices in moves management to advance prospects through every stage of the donor lifecycle.

• Prepare compelling gift proposals, briefing materials, stewardship reports, and donor correspondence.

• Maintain accurate donor records, contact reports, and strategic plans within the College’s advancement CRM.

Strategic Fundraising Leadership

• Serve as a strategic partner to the Chief Advancement Officer in developing and executing Girard College’s comprehensive leadership and major giving strategy.

• Partner closely with the President, Chief Advancement Officer, Board members, and volunteer leaders to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward leadership and major gift prospects.

• Develop solicitation strategies, briefing materials, and engagement plans that prepare institutional leaders and volunteers for successful donor meetings and gift solicitations.

• Coordinate and support joint donor visits involving the President, Chief Advancement Officer, Board members, and volunteer leaders.

• Serve as a trusted advisor to senior leadership regarding donor strategy, prospect management, and philanthropic opportunities.

• Help foster a culture of philanthropy throughout the College by engaging institutional leaders, faculty, staff, alumni, and volunteers in meaningful donor relationships.

Leadership Annual Giving Strategy

• Provide strategic leadership for Girard College’s Annual Fund as the foundation of the College’s individual giving program and a primary pipeline for future leadership and major donors.

• Develop and implement comprehensive annual giving strategies that increase unrestricted philanthropic support from alumni, parents, faculty, staff, and friends of the College.

• Oversee annual giving initiatives, including direct mail, digital fundraising, Giving Day, leadership annual giving, and multi-channel solicitation efforts.

• Partner with the Marketing and Communications team to develop compelling fundraising appeals, stewardship communications, and donor impact stories.

• Analyze annual giving performance, donor participation, retention, acquisition, and donor upgrade metrics to strengthen fundraising results.

• Develop strategies that successfully transition Annual Fund donors into the leadership and major gift pipeline.

Alumni Engagement

• Develop and lead a comprehensive alumni engagement strategy that strengthens lifelong relationships between Girard College and its graduates.

• Create meaningful opportunities for alumni to reconnect with the College through volunteer leadership, mentoring, events, philanthropy, and service.

• Identify alumni with leadership and major gift potential and develop long-term engagement strategies that deepen their connection to Girard College.

• Recruit, cultivate, and support alumni volunteers who serve as ambassadors and advocates for the College.

• Integrate alumni engagement into the College’s overall fundraising strategy, recognizing alumni as one of Girard’s most important philanthropic constituencies.

Leadership and Collaboration

• Collaborate closely with Advancement colleagues to coordinate donor stewardship, events, communications, and institutional initiatives.

• Represent Girard College at donor meetings, alumni events, community functions, and professional gatherings.

• Maintain a thorough understanding of the College’s mission, strategic priorities, academic programs, and the transformational impact of philanthropy on Girard students.

• Share supervisory responsibility for the Executive Administrator supporting the Chief Advancement Officer and this position.

• This position has the opportunity to assume additional supervisory responsibilities as the Advancement Office continues to grow.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred.

• Minimum of 5–7 years of progressively responsible fundraising experience in higher education, independent schools, healthcare, or another complex nonprofit environment.

• Demonstrated success as a frontline fundraiser, including cultivating, soliciting, and closing major gifts of $25,000 or more, with a proven record of building long-term donor relationships and consistently meeting or exceeding fundraising goals.

• Experience developing and implementing annual giving strategies that increase donor participation and unrestricted support.

• Experience building relationships with alumni, volunteers, and donor communities.

• Strong understanding of moves management, donor stewardship, prospect strategy, and relationship-based philanthropy.

• Outstanding written, verbal, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills.

• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with presidents, trustees, senior administrators, volunteers, and other institutional leaders.

• Experience using fundraising CRM platforms such as Raiser’s Edge NXT, Salesforce, or comparable advancement systems.

• CFRE credential is welcomed but not required.

• Willingness to travel locally and regionally and to work occasional evenings and weekends in support of donor cultivation and alumni engagement.

The Ideal Candidate

The successful candidate will be:

• A highly accomplished frontline fundraiser who thrives on building authentic relationships and inspiring philanthropic investment.

• Energized by frequent donor visits, strategic solicitations, and meaningful stewardship.

• A collaborative leader who enjoys partnering with institutional leadership and volunteers to secure transformational gifts.

• Strategic, organized, entrepreneurial, and accountable, with exceptional follow-through.

• Creative in developing new fundraising and alumni engagement initiatives that strengthen long-term philanthropic support.

• Passionate about educational opportunity and the transformative mission of Girard College.

• Committed to building a culture of philanthropy that advances the College’s mission and strengthens its future.