Philanthropy Officer

At Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts (BBBSEM) we believe that every child deserves to have a mentor in their corner to help ignite and defend their potential. That's why we are committed to promoting the healthy development of children through the nurturing of continuing, one-to-one friendships with caring responsible adults, supported by trained professional staff. To accomplish this we partner with schools, workplaces, and volunteers all over Eastern Massachusetts to bring our program and services closest to youth who need them. 

Role Summary 

As Philanthropy Officer you will play an essential role in sustaining the operations of our Agency. We will count on you to develop strong relationships with prospects and donors through a variety of different means and help us develop strategies to ensure sustainable funding for our programs. Reporting to the Chief Development Officer (CDO) and partnering closely with our CEO, you will work closely with our team to prospect and qualify new donors, spread the knowledge of our agency with the intent of building relationships and securing philanthropic support and work closely with our Board of Advisors to increase their engagement and support of the agency. 

Key Responsibilities 

• Manage a portfolio of prospects and donors, set annual goal in collaboration with Chief Development Officer. Expected to spend the majority of your time meeting with external prospects and donors.  
• Use prospect research tools and your own experience to qualify and curate a portfolio of donors and prospects capable of making multi-year commitments  
• Responsible for developing strategies for the identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of donors with special focus on annual giving and mid-level multi-year gifts to support BBBSEM annual fund and related programs 
• Collaborate with other Development team members on enhancing BBBSEM’s Annual Giving Program (direct mail, in-kind donations, workplace giving, and online giving); implement a plan for increased annual fund support and participation rates across all constituencies  
• Manage our Board of Advisors, create meaningful stewardship and engagement strategies to increase their affinity and philanthropic support of the agency 
• Design and help collaborate on developing high-touch experiences for organizations, top-tier donors, committee members, and boards 
• Collaborate with the community engagement team to maximize engagement from corporate partnerships 
• Provide regular reporting and analysis to CDO to demonstrate progress toward fundraising goals and identify areas of success and/or concern. Revise strategies as needed. 

Basic Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 7 years of applicable work experience 
• Excellent verbal, written and presentation skills, with an understanding of how to adjust messaging for a variety of audiences. 
• Strong computer skills with strong knowledge of all Microsoft Office tools, video conferencing tools (Zoom, MS Teams, etc.) and Salesforce 
• Ability to commute to meetings and events across eastern Massachusetts 

Desired Qualifications 

• 7+ years of relevant experience in the non-profit sector 
• Superb organizational skills and attention to detail.  
• Entrepreneurial approach with the ability to work well both independently and with others, exercising initiative judgement, problem-solving and confidentiality as needed. 
• Comfortable with deadline management and ability to work effectively and calmly within timelines and maintain multiple critical priorities. 
• Strong initiative and enthusiasm, and willingness to pitch in whenever needed. 
• Sound judgment, initiative, and ability to maintain confidentiality