Regional Gift Officers, NYC

Cornell University, a nationally ranked Ivy League institution, is looking for a 2 Regional Gift Officers to join the Alumni Affairs & Development division in the New York City based office.

Reporting to the Director of Discovery, the Regional Gift Officer is integral to growing the number of newly qualified donors who can support Cornell at the major gifts level by meeting with a high number of new prospects each year and soliciting leadership gifts and pledges. The Regional Gift Officer primarily works with U.S.-based alumni, friends, and parents. Primary performance goals include number of discovery meetings, nominations to major gifts, and new gifts and commitments.

The Discovery Team launched in January 2021 as Cornell University Alumni Affairs and Development’s newest fundraising team, dedicated to finding and growing our donors and developing frontline fundraising skills and talent. We seek fast-paced, creative, analytical fundraisers to help us accomplish this mission. Our team members bring diverse backgrounds and perspectives to our work and embrace new ideas and approaches. Discovery team members are empowered to take ownership of their work and benefit from regular peer feedback and ongoing skills development training to continuously learn and improve. At the same time, we strongly encourage team members to take measures to ensure personal well-being and balance.

If you are entrepreneurial, mission-driven, and eager to develop your fundraising skills with a team, then this is a great opportunity.

Key Responsibilities

• Conducts 200 meetings with prospects each year, with the expectation that at least 150 visits are discovery-oriented with new prospects to qualify their interest and capacity in supporting Cornell philanthropically.

• Manages a portfolio of 50 to 75 qualified prospects who have the capacity to make gifts of $10,000 or higher and multi-year commitments of $100,000 or higher.

• Cultivates and solicits portfolio prospects with the goal to move these prospects to major gifts portfolios in under 3 years.

• Based on a combination of their discovery meetings and portfolio prospects, the regional gift officer regularly nominates prospects to be moved to major gifts portfolios.

Required Qualifications

• A Bachelor's degree or equivalent and 3-5 year’s professional experience.

• Excellent verbal and written communications skills. Effective organizational skills, strong detail orientation, and ability to work independently.

• Proven skills as a collaborative team member. Commitment to values that support Cornell’s mission to foster initiative, integrity, and excellence in an environment of collegiality, civility and responsible stewardship.

• Ability to work in a system that emphasizes measurable objectives, including mutually agreed upon targets for activity and fundraising goals.

• Willingness to travel extensively, up to 25% of staff time, and to work nights and weekends as needed.

• Demonstrated proficiency with MS Office and knowledge of relational database management systems and ability to work with complex data for analysis (experience with PeopleSoft and OBIEE a plus).

Rewards and Benefits

Cornell receives national recognition, as an award-winning workplace for our health, wellbeing, sustainability, and diversity initiatives. Benefits include:

• Comprehensive health care options

• Access to wellness programs

• Employee discounts with local and national retail brands

• Generous retirement contributions

• Leave provisions including three weeks of vacation and 12 holidays

• Impressive educational benefits including tuition-free Extramural Study and Employee Degree Program, Tuition Aid for external education, and Cornell Children's Tuition Assistance program

• Learn more about benefit opportunities

This position is based in New York City with hybrid work arrangements, which means 2 or 3 days in office and the remainder remote from a commutable distance.

No Visa Sponsorship is available for this position.

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Non-Union Positions

Noted pay ranges reflect the potential pay opportunity for each job profile. The hiring rate of pay for the successful candidate will be determined considering the following criteria:

• Prior relevant work or industry experience

• Education level to the extent education is relevant to the position

• Unique applicable skills

• Academic Discipline

To learn more about Cornell’s non-union staff job titles and pay ranges, see Career Navigator.

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The hiring rate of pay for the successful candidate will be determined in accordance with the rates in the respective collective bargaining agreement. To learn more about Cornell’s union wages, see Union Pay Rates.

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