Description

Leadership Giving and Major Gifts Officer

Reports To: Assistant Vice President for Engagement and Philanthropy

Department: Office of Engagement and Philanthropy

Position Overview

Fordham Preparatory School (the Prep) seeks a dynamic, mission-driven, and relationship-oriented Leadership Giving and Major Gifts Officer (the Officer) to help advance the Prep’s vision by inspiring philanthropic investment in its students and future. Rooted in the nearly 500-year tradition of Jesuit education and the Prep’s mission of forming young men of faith, scholarship, and service, this individual will cultivate meaningful relationships with alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends whose generosity expands access to a transformative Jesuit education while strengthening the people, programs, and places that distinguish Fordham Prep.

Reporting to the Assistant Vice President for Engagement and Philanthropy, the Officer serves as a frontline fundraiser responsible for identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding leadership and major gift donors. As a key member of the Office of Engagement and Philanthropy, this individual will manage a portfolio of approximately 125–150 qualified prospects and collaborate closely with the President, Vice President for Engagement and Philanthropy, and Chief Marketing Officer, Prep leadership, faculty, volunteers, and colleagues to secure philanthropic support for the Prep’s highest strategic priorities.

The Officer will play an integral role in advancing Magis, Fordham Prep’s Strategic Plan, by securing philanthropic support for transformational initiatives that expand access and affordability, strengthen academic excellence, advance innovation in teaching and learning, enrich the student experience, and ensure the Prep’s vitality for generations to come.

Through the priorities outlined in Magis, the Prep is making strategic investments in access and affordability, faculty excellence, academic innovation, campus enhancements, and programs that prepare young men to thrive in a rapidly changing world. This position will help secure the philanthropic partnerships necessary to bring that vision to life.

The Officer will also serve as a key member of the Office of Engagement and Philanthropy team as Fordham Prep prepares for and launches its next comprehensive fundraising campaign. Working collaboratively with Prep leadership, trustees, volunteers, and colleagues, this individual will identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward leadership-level philanthropic investments that will shape the future of Fordham Prep and deepen lifelong engagement across its community.

The successful candidate is an accomplished relationship builder who combines strategic thinking with genuine curiosity, exceptional communication skills, and a passion for helping donors invest in a mission that prepares young men to become Men for Others—leaders who live lives of purpose, generosity, and service.

Essential Responsibilities

The Leadership Giving and Major Gifts Officer will manage a portfolio of approximately 125–150 qualified leadership and major gift prospects while developing thoughtful, individualized strategies that deepen engagement and inspire transformational philanthropy.

Primary Responsibilities

•         Develop, manage, and strategically advance a portfolio of approximately 125–150 qualified leadership and major gift prospects.
•         Identify, qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends capable of making significant philanthropic investments.
•         Meet ambitious annual fundraising and engagement goals, including securing at least $1 million in new commitments annually while completing                  approximately 350 meaningful donor interactions each year.
•         Manage every stage of the donor engagement cycle, including:

                    o   Prospect identification and qualification

                    o   Discovery and relationship building

                    o   Individualized cultivation planning

                    o   Solicitation strategy development

                    o   Proposal preparation and presentation

                    o   Gift solicitation, closure, and stewardship

•         Assess donor interests, philanthropic capacity, and readiness to give while developing customized strategies that align donor passions with Fordham            Prep’s mission and strategic priorities.
•         Build and sustain meaningful, long-term relationships that encourage increased engagement and philanthropic investment over time.
•         Partner with the President, Vice President for Office of Engagement and Philanthropy, trustees, faculty, alumni volunteers, and other School leaders to            develop and execute coordinated donor strategies.
•         Maintain accurate donor records, contact reports, and moves management strategies using the Prep’s constituent relationship management system.
•         Collaborate across the Office of Engagement and Philanthropy to support integrated fundraising initiatives, donor communications, alumni                            engagement, stewardship, campaign planning, and special events.
•         Assist in planning and executing donor cultivation events, campus visits, leadership gatherings, volunteer engagement opportunities, and campaign-            related activities.
•         Travel regularly throughout assigned territories and other regions as necessary to cultivate, solicit, and steward donor relationships.
•         Represent Fordham Prep with professionalism, enthusiasm, integrity, and a steadfast commitment to the mission and values of Jesuit education.

Strategic Philanthropic Priorities

The Officer will secure philanthropic support for the Prep’s highest institutional priorities, including:

•         Student financial aid and scholarships
•         Faculty excellence and professional development
•         Academic innovation, including artificial intelligence, technology, and innovative teaching and learning
•         The Ignatian Innovation Center and other emerging academic initiatives
•         Campus enhancements and capital projects
•         Athletics, arts, and student life
•         Endowment growth
•         Reunion and class philanthropy
•         Leadership annual giving
•         The Fordham Prep Annual Fund and unrestricted support
•         Other strategic priorities identified through Magis, Fordham Prep’s Strategic Plan

Qualifications

•         Bachelor’s degree required.
•         Five or more years of progressively responsible fundraising experience, preferably within an independent school, college or university, or
•         mission-driven nonprofit organization.
•         Demonstrated success cultivating, soliciting, and closing five- and six-figure gifts.
•         Proven experience managing a portfolio of leadership and major gift prospects using moves management principles.
•         Thorough understanding of donor-centered fundraising strategies and best practices throughout the major gift cycle.
•         Exceptional interpersonal, written, presentation, and listening skills.
•         Demonstrated ability to build authentic, long-term relationships with donors, volunteers, institutional leaders, and colleagues.
•         Strong organizational and project management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
•         Ability to work independently while contributing positively to a collaborative, mission-driven team.
•         High standards of professionalism, integrity, discretion, sound judgment, and ethical fundraising practices.
•         Appreciation for and commitment to the mission, values, and educational philosophy of Jesuit education.
•         Willingness and ability to travel, including occasional evening and weekend commitments.

Preferred

•         Experience supporting a comprehensive capital campaign or endowment fundraising initiative.
•         Familiarity with planned giving concepts and blended gift strategies.
•         Experience using Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT or a comparable constituent relationship management system.
•         Experience working with alumni communities, volunteer leadership, and donor advisory groups.

Why Fordham Prep?

Founded in 1841, Fordham Preparatory School is a Catholic, Jesuit, independent school for young men located on the historic Rose Hill campus in the Bronx, New York. Guided by the Jesuit tradition of academic excellence, cura personalis (care for the whole person), and the call to form Men for Others, Fordham Prep challenges young men to pursue intellectual excellence, deepen their faith, and lead lives of integrity, compassion, and service.

The Office of Engagement and Philanthropy advances this mission by fostering lifelong relationships with alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends whose generosity expands educational opportunity, strengthens the Prep’s enduring traditions, and ensures that future generations of young men benefit from a transformative Fordham Prep education.

This is an exciting moment in Fordham Prep’s history. Through Magis, the Prep’s Strategic Plan, Fordham Prep is making bold investments in access and affordability, faculty excellence, academic innovation, campus enhancements, and the student experience. At the same time, the Prep is preparing to launch its next comprehensive fundraising campaign—an ambitious effort that will shape the future of Fordham Prep for generations to come.

Joining Fordham Prep at this pivotal moment offers an exceptional opportunity to help shape one of the nation’s premier Jesuit secondary schools. The Officer will play a vital role in bringing the Prep’s vision to life by inspiring transformational philanthropy, strengthening lifelong relationships with alumni and families, and securing the resources that will ensure Fordham Prep continues to educate young men of character, competence, conscience, and compassion for generations to come.

Application Process

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Review of applications and interviews will take place immediately; the position will be filled shortly thereafter. Please email a letter stating personal interest, a comprehensive resume, and the names and phone numbers of at least two references (who will not be contacted until later in the interview process) to the attention of the Leadership Giving/MGO hiring committee at: employment@fordhamprep.org.  Please do not submit interest in any other fashion.

Fordham Preparatory School is an EOE (Equal Opportunity Employer). This is a 12-month staff position with all staff benefits, including medical, retirement, and tuition remission at Fordham Preparatory School and Fordham University. Expected salary range will be $85,000-115,000.