Special Gifts Officer

Department: Advancement | Reports to: Director of Annual Giving | Hiring Pay Range: $65-$75,000

FTE: 1.0, Full-Time, 12 Months, Benefit-Eligible | FLSA: Exempt | EEO: 2

THE ROLE

Catlin Gabel School is seeking a Special Gifts Officer to build relationships with alumni and other donors and help grow the pipeline of  support for the School. This is a frontline fundraising role for someone who enjoys meeting people, discovering what matters to them, and turning those relationships into meaningful philanthropic engagement.

You will manage a portfolio of approximately 120-150 donors and prospects, with a particular focus on cultivating and soliciting leadership annual gifts generally in the $1,000-$10,000+ range. The ideal candidate is curious, confident, persistent, organized, and genuinely energized by reaching out to new people, making personalized asks, and helping donors deepen their connection to Catlin Gabel over time.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

The Special Gifts Officer reports to the Director of Annual Giving and is responsible for:

• Manage & Grow a Giving Portfolio: Manage approximately 120-150 donors and prospects through personalized cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship, with a focus on  annual gifts generally in the $1,000-$10,000+ range and growing support over time.
• Build the Alumni & Annual Donor Pipeline: Identify and qualify new prospects - particularly alumni - through outreach, events, referrals, volunteer networks, and donor data, and help create a strong pipeline for future annual and major giving.
• Cultivate, Solicit & Steward Donor Relationships: Spend meaningful time with donors through visits, discovery conversations, personalized asks, proposals, events, and stewardship that deepen connection to Catlin Gabel and strengthen retention.
• Use Data, Communications & Collaboration to Drive Results: Use donor data and CRM tools to prioritize and manage your portfolio, create personalized donor communications, and collaborate with Advancement colleagues on coordinated donor strategy and follow-through.

WHO YOU ARE & KEYS TO SUCCESS

To be successful in this role, you will excel in these areas:

• Fundraiser & Relationship Builder: You genuinely enjoy meeting people, asking thoughtful questions, and making personalized asks. You build trust and are motivated by helping relationships grow over time.
• Curious & Persistent Prospect Developer: You like finding the next opportunity. You are comfortable reaching out to people you do not yet know, following leads, and steadily building a pipeline.
• Strategic & Data-Informed: You use donor information and activity data to prioritize your time, tailor your approach, and keep relationships moving forward.
• Strong Communicator: You communicate with warmth and confidence in person and in writing and can create compelling, personalized donor messages and proposals.
• Organized, Collaborative & Accountable: You can manage a large portfolio and ambitious activity goals while following through reliably and working closely with colleagues.

We are looking for someone with at least one to two years of direct fundraising, development, sales, relationship management, or other relevant experience; demonstrated donor cultivation and solicitation experience is strongly preferred. Experience managing a portfolio or pipeline is valuable, as are strong writing, technology, data, and CRM skills. Raiser's Edge NXT experience is a plus.

WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW

This is a full-time, 12-month position based on Catlin Gabel's 67-acre campus in Portland's West Hills, with frequent donor meetings and events on and off campus. Occasional early morning, evening, and weekend work is part of the role, particularly for donor engagement and events.

The School offers a generous benefits package. Please see our website for details: https://www.catlin.edu/about/employment.