Major Gifts Officer (Chicago/Midwest preferred)

About itrek
itrek introduces tomorrow’s leaders in business, law, policy, and STEM to Israel, helping them experience the country firsthand through peer-led, week-long treks. itrek’s unique peer-led model empowers students at the world’s top graduate programs to craft and lead an authentic experience for their classmates, experiences that reflect the diverse interests of the program’s participants and fields of study. Whether it’s meeting with members of Knesset, justices of the Supreme Court, or technology companies, every Israel Trek brings the country to life through a combination of education, culture, and fun. Since its founding in 2011, over 25,000 graduate students across 103 nationalities have visited Israel with itrek, returning to campus with a more nuanced understanding and appreciation of Israel.

itrek is a growing 30+ person team based in New York and Israel that continues to operate as a fast-moving and nimble organization. We love exploring new ideas and collaborating as a team to push ourselves and our thinking.

Position Overview
itrek is expanding beyond its strong history of institutional giving to build a robust individual donor base and seeks a motivated and experienced Major Gifts Officer (MGO). Reporting to the Chief Growth Officer (CGO), the Major Gifts Officer will cultivate, solicit, and steward donors, focusing on four and five-figure gifts. With main offices in New York City and Tel Aviv, the MGO will spearhead itrek’s expansion beyond the East Coast, and will develop strategies for cultivation and solicitation, implement all aspects of moves management, and oversee a portfolio of donors and prospects in key demographic areas. This position will provide account management and relationship management support to both the CEO & CGO in managing their specific donor portfolios. In addition, the position is responsible for planning and implementing small-scale events for donors and prospects. 

The Major Gifts Officer is a fully-remote position, with travel required in key demographic areas contingent on the MGO’s specific location. Potential areas of concentration include the Midwest and West Coast. With an established strong supporter presence in New York City and Boston, the MGO will be critical to expanding itrek’s supporter network nationally.

The MGO will have experience collaborating with both senior-level professionals as well as engaged lay leaders and board members. The ideal candidate is a self-motivated, energetic, collaborative, and goal-oriented fundraiser who doesn’t shy away from a challenge. They have an ability to deeply empathize with donors, communicate itrek’s work in a compelling manner, and effortlessly move from high-level strategic thinking to frontline solicitation. The ideal candidate has an entrepreneurial spirit and experience or interest in regional fundraising.

The MGO will join itrek at an exciting time of growth, when the organization is raising the financial resources to support a budget of more than $12m. The Major Gifts Officer will become part of an existing five-person Development Team.

Primary Responsibilities

Individual Major Giving, Stewardship & Strategy (70%)

• In collaboration with the CGO, CEO and Board, design and implement an effective regional major gift donor program, including setting goals and strategies to expand, cultivate, solicit, and steward the donor base
• Identify, develop, and maintain a personal portfolio of major donors through cultivation, direct solicitations, and stewardship. (Note: itrek defines a major donor as a contribution of $5k and above)
• To grow the individual giving function, meets monthly and quarterly benchmarks. Manages an existing portfolio (contingent on location) of about $150-200k from approximately 40 donors/prospects.
• Establish and maintain ongoing donor and prospect relationships by phone/Zoom, written communication, and personal contact; create and execute personalized communications and engagement plans for each donor and prospect
• Assist the CEO, CGO, Board, and itrek team members with their portfolios and solicitations (e.g. provide portfolio development support, strategic thought partnership, and help with donor communications) 
• Identify leadership engagement opportunities for donors and lay leaders, including itrek alumni and Advisory Board members.
• Work with development colleagues to screen and prepare profiles of current and prospective donors
• Work with the Development Team to refine research, data entry, and acknowledgment processes as needed; track and report progress in Salesforce using specific metrics

Fundraising Events (25%)

• Execute small-scale fundraising and cultivation events in key communities
• Implement regional industry-specific events for alumni and prospective/current donors

Development Team Responsibilities (5%)

• Participate as an active member of the Development Team, including attendance at regular team meetings, department-wide campaigns and stewardship activities, and other Growth Team projects as necessary

Skills and Qualifications

• Minimum of 7 years of nonprofit fundraising experience, including successful relationship-building with high-level donors 
• Bachelor’s degree required
• Passion for itrek’s mission
• Comfort and proven track record as a frontline solicitor, with demonstrated success in closing four and five-figure individual gifts and above
• Entrepreneurial mindset, excited by the opportunity to build, design, and iterate 
• Demonstrated knowledge of best practices in major gift fundraising, including donor research, cultivation, and stewardship
• Willingness to travel, up to 40% of staff time, and to work nights and weekends for events, as needed, with periodic trips to itrek’s NYC office
• Well-organized multi-tasker who thrives in a fast-paced bias-towards-action environment
• Excellent public speaking and written communication skills
• Experience with donor database management software (e.g. Salesforce) and prospect research/wealth screening
• Proven understanding of the Jewish community’s philanthropic landscape in the US 

Benefits

• Dynamic and fast-growing non-profit organization
• Generous vacation time package including Jewish and American holidays and the ability to leave early for Shabbat and Jewish holidays
• Paid sick leave and parental leave
• High-quality Medical, Vision and Dental Plans available 
• 5% company match on retirement savings in company 401k 

Salary range $100,000-$130,000; commensurate with experience