News/Blog

The Changing Role of Major Gift Officers 

After nearly 40 years of working for great nonprofit organizations, I’ve come to realize the most challenging title to live up to is Major Gift Officer (MGO). According to Glassdoor.com, the average salary for open MGO positions in the New York area is $87,324—and there were over 300 openings! 

AFP-NYC Treasurer

It’s been two weeks since I attended the AFP Leadership Academy in Toronto and I’m still thinking about it.  I was joined there by fellow NYC chapter board members Veronica Bainbridge, Kerry Watterson and Sunil Oommen.

How is your fall so far?  If you are like me, it started with the post Labor Day rush and has not let up. I don’t expect the pace will let up until January—maybe. 

NEW YORK, New York – JCA (Jacobson Consulting Applications), an independent consulting firm dedicated to the technology and information management needs of nonprofits, celebrates its 30th year in business this month. Incorporated in 1988 by CEO Steve Jacobson, the company has grown from a staff of one in 1988 to a staff of 50 in 2018 and is considered one of the world’s foremost boutique consulting companies in nonprofit information management.

I love fundraising.  I get up every morning (ok, most mornings) excited to go to work.  I meet interesting people, I know my work matters and makes the world a better place.  I have fun.  I never miss the opportunity to tell my kids how important those factors are when it comes time to choose their life’s work or, as is more often the case, their life’s work chooses them.

I am often asked about the qualities I look for in hiring development professionals. In fact, as Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations at Pace University, I’m in a hiring phase right now. I have spent my whole career in this crazy and wonderful industry, starting back when there were few university programs to train fundraising professionals and donor databases were on index cards! Despite all the changes that have come to our profession since then, I still believe now what I believed then—that the most important quality for success in development is enthusiasm.

Nonprofits launch fundraising campaigns for many different reasons: to build or expand facilities, grow the endowment, enhance programming, or execute on a new CEO’s grand vision. Or simply because they feel due for a campaign. Regardless of the reason, there are important campaign planning questions an organization should consider to improve its chances of reaching or exceeding its revenue goal.

AFP-NYC is the Smorgasburg of Fundraising!  What?  For the uninitiated, Smorgasburg is an outdoor food festival in Brooklyn that is open on Saturdays and Sundays from April through October.  But Smorgasburg is much more than a seasonal food fair.  It is billed as the largest weekly open-air food market in America, where you can try food from over 100 local vendors.  Want some Ethiopian wat?  Yes, you can find it there.  How about some Himalayan shabaley?  That’s there, too!  Donburi bowls from Japan? Canadian butter tarts?  You get the idea…

As fundraisers we all know how important special events can be in building relationships for our organizations. Although notoriously labor intensive, properly strategized they are invaluable in building enthusiasm for your nonprofit’s mission. In addition, they can raise a great deal of money, upgrade existing donors, and forge a stronger bond with volunteers, board members, and the surrounding community. The most important step in launching a special event is gaining the support of your board and putting together a team of dedicated volunteers who will provide the work and contacts necessary to produce an event that is both a “friendraiser” and a fundraiser.

It’s the last gasp of summer…admittedly, I will be headed out on my summer vacation the day this article hits.  When I am back it will soon be Labor Day and the beginning of one of the busiest times of the year.  Well, all seasons are busy now—even the summer as our Chapter Treasurer Craig Shelley pointed out in the last issue.  But let’s just say that fall is special.