Major Gifts Officer

Position Summary

The Major Gifts Officer is a pivotal, full-time role reporting to the Chief Development Officer. The position is responsible for deepening and expanding Long Live the Kings’ donor relationships, including identifying, qualifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding key donors. LLTK is seeking a relationship-focused professional with a proven track record of cultivating mutual trust that leads to lasting donor relationships and significant investments in our work. This position will build upon LLTK’s firmly established culture of philanthropy, ensuring our work continues to fuel the most impactful and essential salmon recovery efforts happening in the Pacific Northwest today.

Responsibilities

Major Donor Gifts & Engagement

• Develop and implement a personalized, value-aligned strategy to establish strong donor relationships and advance tailored cultivation for each qualified donor, identifying opportunities to align their passion and resources with our work.
• Partner with colleagues across the organization to prepare compelling value-driven appeals and secure transformational investments, specifically focused on scaling existing donor commitments into the four-, five-, and six-figure levels.
• Strategically leverage organizational assets, such as hatcheries, project sites, and field operations, to design and curate meaningful engagement opportunities for donors.
• Collaborate with key staff to design and deliver high-impact engagement experiences to strengthen donors’ connection to our mission, impact, and long-term investment.

Prospecting & Portfolio Management

• Develop and actively manage a portfolio of 100+ qualified major donors and prospects, focusing on values alignment and increasing investments to support LLTK’s mission.
• Partner with internal relationship managers, including the CEO and CDO, to strategically manage shared donors and prospects—providing research, briefing materials, engagement strategy, and follow-up to advance major gift opportunities.
• Ensure timely, accurate documentation of all donor interactions, next steps, and opportunities, coordinating with internal partners to maintain current records and ensure aligned organization-wide relationship management and continuity.
• Collaborate with the board and staff to identify and continuously qualify new prospects from all organizational touchpoints, ensuring capacity and mission alignment.
• Lead prospect research and generate insights into donor capacity, values, and engagement history to inform strategies for upgrading commitments and strengthening donor relationships.

Major Gifts Strategy

• Lead strategies to accelerate transformational giving, grounded in values-based and regenerative practices to meet LLTK’s ambitious goals for sustainable growth.
• Establish, track, and regularly assess key metrics (e.g., donor engagement, acquisition, investment growth) to inform strategy and drive results.
• Employ a robust suite of giving mechanisms (e.g., planned gifts, securities, real estate, and sophisticated investment vehicles) to facilitate transformational resource commitments and maximize tax-advantages for donors.
• Develop and execute a comprehensive annual plan and timeline for donor engagement and investment opportunities throughout the year.

Team Collaboration, Values, & Culture

• Serve as a strategic thought partner within the Development Team, lending expertise and collaborative support to achieve shared goals.
• Collaborate with Communications, Projects, and Development staff to develop compelling, value-driven materials and talking points to optimize donor investments and engagement.
• Build and maintain strong cross-functional relationships to support collaborative fundraising efforts.
• Support the Development Team’s commitment to Community-Centric Fundraising (CCF) practices that are equitable, respectful, and mission-aligned.
• Actively contribute to organizational Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives and cultivate an inclusive, welcoming, and high-performing workplace culture.

Minimum Skills & Qualifications

• 3+ years of successful experience with major gifts or planned giving.
• Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or equivalent relevant work experience.
• Commitment to the mission of Long Live the Kings and to Community-Centric Fundraising principles.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to clearly articulate complex impacts with enthusiasm and candor to align donor interests and secure investments.
• Proven ability to meet revenue goals, with a track record of cultivating and securing five-figure gifts and above.
• Demonstrated experience in applying a variety of giving mechanisms.
• Strategic, creative, and innovative thinker with strong interpersonal skills.
• Ability to prioritize, delegate, and manage multiple projects to achieve goals.
• High level of situational awareness and the ability to engage respectfully and appropriately with donors from diverse backgrounds and settings.
• Proficiency in using technology to engage geographically dispersed donors and team members, including cloud-based tools.
• Ability to work independently in a remote environment while contributing effectively as part of a team.
• Ability to travel regionally and occasionally out of state, as well as complete limited evening and weekend work for special events.

Desired Skills & Qualificationa

• Experience with constituent relationship management (CRM) systems, especially Bloomerang.
• Experience designing and delivering high-touch donor engagement experiences (e.g., site briefings, house gatherings, and field tours).
• Direct experience with Community Centric Fundraising and/or values-based fundraising.
• Familiarity with impact investing frameworks related to regenerative environmental stewardship.
• Demonstrated ability to represent the organization as a confident ambassador in high-stakes public and private settings.
• Leadership experience in the nonprofit conservation sector.

Compensation & Benefits

This is a full-time, exempt position. The salary range for this position is $96,000-$110,000. The range aims to accommodate those with varying years of relevant experience and/or education. Final salary offers are dependent on how candidates’ skills, abilities, and experiences align with LLTK’s salary framework (Level: Senior Manager II, Tier: 1-6). 

Benefits include: 

• Paid Time Off 

• • Vacation accrued at 10 hours per month for the first 3 years of employment and 13.33 hours per month thereafter 

• • Sick time accrued at 8 hours per month 

• • 13 Floating PTO days (104 hours) 

• Health Insurance 

• Life Insurance 

• Dental Insurance 

• Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) 

• 401k with matching opportunities (after one year of employment and 1,000 hours worked) at 5% 

• Long Term Disability Insurance 

• Flex Spending Account  

• Dependent Care FSA 

• Quarterly Cell Phone Stipend ($60)  

• ORCA Pass for commuting 

• Dog-Friendly Office 

Long Live the Kings completes annual reviews and establishes multi-year employee growth plans so our staff have a clear vision for their future at the organization. We envision that the person who fills this role will, over time, grow into a Senior Major Donor Relationship Manager role, who in addition to overseeing major gifts, will also meaningfully contribute to development and organizational strategy.  

Working Conditions & Location

Long Live the Kings is currently using a hybrid workplace model: 

• Frequent travel for in-person meetings with donors across Puget Sound is an expectation as part of this position.  

• We ask all staff to work from our office in downtown Seattle at least one day per week. Our anchor days are currently Tuesdays.  

• Additionally, we have quarterly staff gatherings that require in-person participation, and there may be additional work location and travel needs specific to this position.  

• Note that this may change as we continue to assess and balance public health guidelines with our continued desire to improve our collaboration and deliver our mission. 

The physical requirements of this role listed below are representative of those that may need to be met by an employee in this role: 

• Operating a computer and other office equipment. 

• Ability to work in an office environment with fluctuating noise levels. 

• Occasionally lifting up to 20 pounds, however, assistance with lifting or moving items can be provided. 

How to Apply

We welcome and encourage qualified people of all identities and abilities to apply. Please apply via Asana. Your application packet should include a resume and a cover letter, which answers all the following questions: 

1. What motivates you to apply for this role at Long Live the Kings? How do your values align with our mission and commitment to Community-Centric Fundraising?
2. Describe your experience managing and growing relationships with major donors. What is your approach to stewardship, portfolio management, and aligning donor interests with organizational priorities.
3. Describe a time you secured a major gift of $10,000+. What was your strategy for cultivating the relationship and aligning donor values with organizational needs and impact? What was the outcome?

Notes:  

• We do not use artificial intelligence (AI) to review applications or evaluate candidates. In turn, we ask that applicants do not rely on AI when creating their application packets, and especially when answering the questions above.  

• We accept competency equivalences for education, job experience, and lived experience (e.g., athletics, volunteer experience, or tribal membership). Please let us know if you have specific competence or experience that may substitute for one or more of the minimum or desired qualifications listed above.  

Timeline: We are opening the application process in May 2026. The Priority Application Deadline will be June 21, 2026, but we will keep the application open until the position is filled. Interviews will be held via phone as well as in-person. Our ideal start date is late to early August 2026, but an earlier or later start could be possible in consultation with the final candidate. We look forward to learning more about you!  

Accessibility: Long Live the Kings is committed to improving hiring practices to be more inclusive and anti-ableist. We have reviewed the job requirements and only include physical abilities when completely necessary. During the interview process, we email the panel questions ahead of time. We are also able to provide captioning and/or interpretation (e.g., ASL) if requested. If you need specific assistance and/or accommodation during the application or recruiting process, please let us know by emailing our People & Culture team at echen@lltk.org.  

Long Live the Kings is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity. We do not discriminate in employment based on any individual’s race, socioeconomic status, national origin, color, disability, religion, gender, age, marital status, criminal background or arrest record, sexual orientation, or gender identity and encourage all candidates to apply. 

About Long Live the Kings

Long Live the King’s mission is to restore wild salmon and steelhead and support sustainable fishing in the Pacific Northwest. Since 1986, we have been advancing science, improving management, and implementing solutions to balance the needs of fish and people. Long Live the Kings envisions a sustainable Northwest with a growing human population, a thriving economy, and flourishing salmon runs.

Our 15-member Board of Directors and 19 dedicated staff members seek broad involvement to help us accomplish our goals. Our core values are stewardship, collaboration, results, and learning. Our staff are located in Seattle, Hood Canal, and Orcas Island, and work throughout western Washington and the Pacific Northwest. Learn more about us in our 2025 Strategic Roadmap and on our website.

Long Live the Kings’ Staff and Board are committed to authentically embracing the principles of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion as a core value that drives the success of our people, our partners, and our work. We have been engaged in this work formally since 2021, and we are looking for new staff who want to advance this work and who are excited to be on this journey with us.

Apply Now