Director of Major Gifts
Director of Major Gifts
Job Summary
The Director of Major Gifts position plays a crucial role in fundraising activities, particularly in soliciting major gifts, and will be specifically focused on building key relationships for the benefit of the Huntsman Mental Health Institute (HMHI) and the Huntsman Mental Health Foundation (HMHF). This role involves establishing and nurturing relationships with high-profile prospects to support initiatives critical to the HMHI and the HMHF. The Director role will identify and manage an appropriately-sized portfolio of predominantly major gift prospects capable of making gifts of $50,000 and greater. The role will identify, cultivate, and solicit major gifts utilizing strategic prospect and donor engagement plans, while also collaborating with senior administrators, Huntsman Mental Health Foundation and University Advancement staff, and others to align fundraising efforts with the organization's goals and objectives. By expanding the donor base and creating effective engagement pipelines, this position will contribute to the success of the HMHI and HMHF missions and initiatives.
The role reports jointly to the Chief Philanthropy Officer/Deputy Chief Philanthropy Officer at University Advancement and the VP of Philanthropy at the HMHF, providing regular updates and reports on the progress of fundraising activities consistent with the overall fundraising goals and objectives of both entities.
Responsibilities
1. Utilizes fundamentally sound fundraising practices to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward major gift prospects for the Huntsman Mental Health Institute and Foundation through the development cycle.
2. Establishes and effectively manages relationships within a portfolio of at least 75 major gift prospects and donors capable of predominantly making gifts from $50,000 - $1M (University Advancement's prospect management system is Unite and run on a Salesforce platform).
3. Expands the donor base and creates effective engagement pipelines for both new and existing major gift prospects and donors.
4. Collaborates with senior administrators, HMHF staff, University Advancement colleagues, and others, to align fundraising efforts with the overall goals and objectives of the HMHF and HMHI.
5. Ensures that predetermined fundraising goals and performance metrics are met.
6. Serve as a passionate and informed ambassador for Huntsman Mental Health Foundation and Huntsman Mental Health Institute.
7. Prepares donor briefings, proposals, and follow up communications to support solicitation and stewardship efforts.
8. Supports donor engagement activities, events, tours and other cultivation opportunities as appropriate, assisting with events as needed.
9. Performs other duties and supports special initiatives as appropriate.
Minimum Qualifications
The ideal candidate for this position must have a bachelor's degree in communications, public relations, marketing, or a related field (or equivalent experience), along with five to seven years of demonstrated success in major gift fundraising, sales, relationship management, business development, or a related field. The candidate should possess skills in planning, organization, execution, and accountability to meet predetermined performance goals and metrics. Strong human relations and effective communication skills are also essential.
Applicants must demonstrate the ability to perform the essential functions of the job, which include identifying, cultivating, and soliciting major gift prospects, establishing and managing relationships with high-profile prospects, designing and implementing strategic fundraising campaigns, and expanding the donor base through the active management of an appropriately sized major gift prospect and donor portfolio. The Director will also collaborate with senior administrators, HMHF and HMHI staff, University Advancement staff and others to align fundraising efforts with the organization's goals and objectives for philanthropy.
Preferences
Experience in major gifts fundraising within a higher education or nonprofit setting. Demonstrated ability to build relationships and engage donors or stakeholders in meaningful ways. Possess strong communication and interpersonal relationship skills, including comfort engaging with high-net-worth individuals. Team player with a positive attitude who will immerse themselves within the Utah community and connect high-wealth prospects and donors to the institution's mission. Experience with capital campaigns or large-scale institutional fundraising initiatives. Proficiency in and dedication to utilizing constituent relationship management software to track engagement activity and progress. Demonstrated critical thinking skills, sound reasoning, and judgment.
Special Instructions
Requisition Number: PRN44655B
Full Time or Part Time? Full Time
Work Schedule Summary:
Department: 00289 - Development
Location: Campus
Pay Rate Range: 95000 to 120000
Close Date: 7/6/2026
Open Until Filled:
To apply, visit https://utah.peopleadmin.com/postings/199689
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