Major Gifts Officer

About CorpsAfrica:

Founded in 2011, CorpsAfrica provides the opportunity for Africans to serve as volunteers in their own countries, along the lines of the Peace Corps model. We train college-educated young Africans and send them to live for up to one year in rural, high-poverty communities to facilitate small-scale, high-impact projects that are identified by local people. CorpsAfrica aims to promote a culture of public service in Africa by giving participants the opportunity to apply their education, skills, and energy toward helping their fellow citizens overcome extreme poverty. www.corpsafrica.org

CorpsAfrica has steadily expanded operations from Morocco to Senegal, Malawi, Rwanda, Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, The Gambia, and Uganda over the last decade. Having successfully proven the power and effectiveness of the model, CorpsAfrica has begun to receive significant funding from large donors. As we reach a point of significant inflection leading to future expansion, we seek to add motivated, capable, and highly effective staff to our team.

Overview of the Position:

Reporting to the Director of Development, the Major Gifts officer plays a critical role in advancing the fundraising goals of CorpsAfrica by cultivating relationships with individual donors. This position is responsible for all phases of the fundraising process including identifying, soliciting, and securing support for our mission. The Major Gifts Officer will also develop stewardship plans for each partner to maintain and grow gifts annually. The ideal candidate will have a proven track record of successful major giving fundraising, exceptional relationship-building skills and the ability to strategically engage with private sector funders.

CLASSIFICATION: Full-time, exempt

SALARY AND BENEFITS: The compensation range for this position is $110,000 - $115,000. CorpsAfrica offers paid time off, pension/retirement, health, and other benefits.

LOCATION: Washington, DC, with a flexible telecommuting policy

REPORTS TO: Director of Development

Specific responsibilities: 

• Supports the development of a comprehensive individual major giving donor strategy to meet fundraising goals and objectives.
• Manages a portfolio of major donors through proactive cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship efforts.
• Conducts prospect research to identify and prioritize potential individual donors.
• Builds and maintains strong relationships with major donors through personalized communication, meetings, site visits, and events.
• Collaborates with teams across the organization to develop compelling funding proposals, impact reports, and other materials for major donor solicitation.
• Support the Director of Development in providing regular progress reports, including revenue forecasts, donor engagement metrics, and activity updates, to senior leadership and the Board of Directors.
• Serves as the organizational lead, providing strategic counsel to staff and board members on any engagement with individual donors. 
• Ensures accurate and timely recording of donor interactions, gifts and pledges in Salesforce donor database.
• Serves as the key advisor for all departments on the organization’s grant agreements, restrictions, and other partnership terms with all major donors. 

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Communications, International Development, Political Science, or other relevant degree is required. A Master’s degree is preferred.
• 3-5 years of experience, with 2+ years of major gifts experience
• Excellent communication and solicitation skills, both oral and written
  General CRM skills, Salesforce preferred
• History of managing projects independently from inception to completion
• Independent thinker and self-starter
• Discretion concerning sensitive and confidential donor information
• Fluency in English is required; French proficiency is a plus
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively and ethically in international settings with multicultural teams and with technical and administrative staff
• A strong commitment to the mission of CorpsAfrica is required, with a desire to support youth leadership, participatory community development, impact evaluation, transparency, and accountability

The application period closes on August 9, 2024.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, CorpsAfrica encourages applications from all individuals regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, marital status, physical ability or any other legally protected basis.