Major Gift Officer

Who We Are:

Founded in 1891 by a group of visionary volunteers, The Trustees of Reservations (The Trustees) is Massachusetts’ premier conservation and preservation organization. The Trustees’ preserves, for public use and enjoyment, properties of exceptional scenic, historic, and ecological value in Massachusetts. Our properties are open to all, and we thrive by involving as many people as possible in all that we do. We aim to protect special places for future generations to enjoy in perpetuity, and have helped protect more than 50,000 acres, including 27,000+ acres on more than 120 reservations that are open to the public. As a non-profit conservation organization, we are funded and supported entirely by our visitors, supporters, volunteers, and our 85,000 Member households. We encourage you to learn more about The Trustees on our website, www.thetrustees.org. 

Posting Information: 

Salary Rate: $122,500-$143,500 (Senior Major Gift Officer), $96,250-$123,750 (Major Gift Officer) 

Please note that new employees are placed in the range between $122,500 and $140,000 (10+ years' experience) and at $96,250-$110,000 (less than 10 years' experience) to allow for an equitable starting salary process and continual salary growth during an employee’s time at The Trustees. 

Hours per week: 40 

Job Classification: Full-time, exempt 

Job Type: Hybrid 

Location: Massachusetts 

Each Major Gift Officer will be responsible for a designated geographic region, with assignments subject to change based on organizational needs. Ideally, the Major Gift Officer will be based within or near their assigned region, with an expectation of regular local travel for donor meetings, events, and other relationship-building activities.

Current regional assignments include:

• Western Hills & Berkshires/Central & Valley 

• North Shore 

• MetroWest/Charles River Valley 

• Boston/South Shore & Islands 

What You’ll Do:

Your Impact: 

The Trustees is in a transformational chapter through For Everyone, Forever, our bold strategic plan to save, steward, and share Massachusetts’ special places for generations to come. As a Major Gift Officer, you will be on the front lines of building the donor relationships that make this vision — and our historic $325M+ comprehensive campaign — possible. 

You will connect individuals and families to the places, programs, and mission they care about most while helping them see how their philanthropy can create broader impact across Massachusetts. Your work will support campaign priorities, grow the major gift pipeline, increase flexible and impact-centered support, and help build a stronger culture of philanthropy rooted in storytelling, stewardship, and long-term donor engagement. 

The Role: 

As a Major Gift Officer, you will manage a personal portfolio of approximately 150 donors and prospects, with a focus on gifts of $25,000 and above. You will identify, qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward individual donors with creativity, preparation, and care, developing tailored strategies for each relationship and working toward a goal of securing more than $1M in gifts annually. 

This role requires strong relationship management, disciplined portfolio movement, and the ability to connect donor interests to organizational and campaign priorities. Many Trustees donors have deep personal connections to specific properties, programs, regions, or communities. You will honor those connections while helping donors understand the broader impact of their giving and the opportunity to support The Trustees’ statewide mission through campaign, unrestricted, legacy, and other flexible philanthropic commitments. 

Working closely with the Senior Director of Philanthropy and colleagues across Development, you will help create a donor experience that is thoughtful, coordinated, mission-centered, and grounded in the tangible impact of The Trustees’ work. 

Specifically, you’ll: 

• Manage a regionally-based portfolio of approximately 150 major gift donors and prospects, emphasizing gifts of $25,000 or greater and building toward $1M in philanthropic commitments per year. 

• Advance The Trustees’ $325M+ comprehensive campaign by identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding donors whose interests align with campaign priorities, strategic initiatives, and long-term organizational needs. 

• Develop individualized donor strategies that actively move prospects through the campaign pipeline, including qualification, cultivation, solicitation, proposal development, gift closure, and stewardship. 

• Prepare donors for campaign solicitations by connecting their interests in specific properties, programs, communities, or regions to broader Trustees priorities and statewide impact. 

• Identify new opportunities and aim to secure campaign commitments, unrestricted support, legacy gifts, and other flexible philanthropic investments that advance For Everyone, Forever. 

• Partner with the Senior Director of Philanthropy to set campaign-related portfolio priorities, review solicitation timing, assess donor readiness, and ensure consistent progress toward campaign and annual fundraising goals. 

• Prepare compelling campaign proposals, donor briefings, stewardship updates, and impact narratives in partnership with Development colleagues, Marketing and Communications, and program/property staff. 

• Participate actively in campaign pipeline review, portfolio review, and moves management conversations, bringing forward donor insights, strategy questions, next-step recommendations, and solicitation opportunities. 

• Use Salesforce actively and consistently to track donor activity, next steps, proposals, campaign opportunities, gift conversations, solicitation timelines, and pipeline progress. 

• Maintain and deepen relationships with existing donors through personalized outreach, including meetings, property visits, project updates, campaign briefings, event invitations, written communications, and stewardship touchpoints. 

• Conduct prospect research and collaborate with Development Operations and research colleagues, when available, to identify new campaign prospects and prepare for donor meetings. 

• Serve as a Development partner to regional property committees and volunteer groups, identifying campaign prospects and deepening donor engagement through meaningful involvement. 

• Partner with Events, Membership, Annual Giving, Planned Giving, and Development Operations to ensure a coordinated and donor-centered experience that supports both campaign and annual fundraising goals. 

This is a full-time, non-exempt position (40 hours/week) reporting directly to Senior Director of Philanthropy 

Requirements

What You’ll Need:

Skills and Experience: 

Required: 

• 8-10+ years of fundraising experience with demonstrated success in major gifts, annual fund, and/or planned giving solicitations 

• Proven front-line fundraiser with experience building and managing a donor portfolio and a track record of securing five- and six-figure gifts 

• Articulate, strategic, solution-oriented and entrepreneurial with a strong ability to listen, write, and speak effectively 

• Highly motivated self-starter who thrives in a fast-paced environment and takes pride in exceptional preparation for every donor interaction 

• Strong collaboration skills with the ability to work seamlessly across teams and communicate effectively at multiple levels of an organization 

• Excellent strategic thinking and analytical skills 

• Proficiency with Salesforce or a comparable CRM system 

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience 

Preferred: 

• Experience in conservation, land stewardship, environmental, or cultural preservation organizations 

• Familiarity with planned giving and legacy gift solicitation 

• An understanding of philanthropic communities in specific regions of Massachusetts 

• Strong creative event planning skills and experience building host committees or donor engagement programming 

Eligibility Criteria: 

• Current authorization to work in the United States – a candidate must have such authorization by his or her first day of employment. 

• A satisfactory criminal background (CORI) check. 

Don’t quite have all the skills and experience listed above? We still want to hear from you! Research shows that historically marginalized groups are less likely to apply if they do not meet every single requirement. We are committed to building a diverse team and encourage you to apply even if you are missing some of the skills and experience above.  

Questions? Contact our People team at people@thetrustees.org

Benefits

Your Benefits: 

• Sick time: 120 hours per year 

• Vacation time: 20 days per year (prorated) 

• Holiday time: 12 set holidays, 3 floating  

• Health insurance: You are eligible to participate in the Trustees health insurance benefit via Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS). BCBS also offers additional benefits, such as fitness reimbursement and rewards for healthy habits.  

• Short-Term and Long-Term Disability Insurance 

• Massachusetts Paid Family Medical Leave 

• Life Insurance  

• 401k with 5% match after 1 year of employment 

• Employee Assistance Program: Free access to a confidential service that helps employees and their communities with personal and work-related issues, such as mental health support, counseling, and financial advice.  

• Reciprocity: Employees have access to free and discounted admission and membership to more than 50 nearby museums and cultural institutions.  

• Discounts: Enjoy free entry to all Trustees properties, discount event tickets, and discounted merchandise at our stores and on stays at our inns.  

• Day of Wonder: Spend one workday per year to exploring a Trustees property 

• Day of Service: Spend one workday per year to helping with a project at a Trustees property  

Equal Opportunity and Diversity: 

The Trustees is a proud equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any protected status including, but not limited to, age, race, ethnicity, sex, gender, sexual preferences, nation of origin, religion, or disability status and strongly encourages applications from people of color, persons with varying abilities, women, and LGBTQ+ applicants. We aspire to reflect and effectively serve the residents and communities of Massachusetts, who are at the core of our mission.    

The Trustees’ commitment to advancing the organization’s vision for this work may be found here: Diversity, Belonging, Inclusion and Equity. 

 It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.  

We are committed to creating an inclusive and accessible work environment. To request reasonable accommodation during the application or interview process, please contact us at people@thetrustees.org.