Organization Overview
The Mel Jr. & Marty Zajac Foundation is a not-for-profit organization located in Vancouver, BC, whose mandate is to support children, seniors, and individuals with special needs through innovative community projects focused on developing lifelong skills and independence.
Our current major focus is Zajac Ranch, a fully accessible camp in Mission, BC, dedicated to providing enriching experiences for children with chronic, life-threatening, and/or debilitating conditions.
Reports To
Executive Director
Job Type / Schedule
Full-time, on-site, Monday – Friday, 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM Evenings and weekends occasionally required for fundraising events, donor meetings, and other organizational activities.
Location
#300 – 2006 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver, BC
Opportunity
The Senior Manager, Major Gifts is a senior fundraising professional responsible for securing significant philanthropic support for the Mel Jr. & Marty Zajac Foundation and Zajac Ranch through major gifts, corporate sponsorships, and fundraising events.
Reporting to the Executive Director, the Senior Manager will personally manage a portfolio of donors and prospects, with a primary focus on gifts of $10,000 and above. The role is responsible for identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding individual donors, corporate partners, and other prospective supporters while building strong, long-term relationships that advance the Foundation’s mission.
The Senior Manager will contribute to the development and implementation of the Foundation’s overall fundraising strategy in collaboration with the Executive Team and other members of the Development team. This role will also lead the fundraising strategy and execution of the Foundation’s signature fundraising events, including sponsorship development, donor engagement, revenue generation, and post-event stewardship.
The successful candidate will be an experienced, relationship-driven fundraiser who is comfortable making asks, closing significant gifts, building donor pipelines, securing sponsorships, and managing multiple fundraising initiatives with professionalism and discretion.
Are You...
- An accomplished fundraiser and relationship builder who enjoys personally cultivating and securing major gifts?
- Confident developing meaningful relationships with major donors, corporate sponsors, and community partners?
- Comfortable making direct asks and moving prospective donors from identification through solicitation and stewardship?
- A persuasive communicator who can develop compelling proposals, sponsorship opportunities, and cases for support?
- Highly organized and able to manage a donor portfolio, event timelines, sponsorship commitments, and multiple priorities simultaneously?
- A collaborative professional who enjoys contributing to fundraising strategy with the Executive Team and Development colleagues?
- Results-oriented, resourceful, and motivated by achieving ambitious fundraising goals?
Key Responsibilities
Fundraising Strategy & Major Gift Development
- Contribute to the development and implementation of annual fundraising strategy in collaboration with the Executive Team and other members of the Development team.
- Provide input into annual fundraising priorities, revenue goals, donor pipeline strategy, campaigns, sponsorship opportunities, and donor engagement initiatives.
- Develop and execute individual cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies for major gift prospects.
- Identify and qualify new prospective donors, corporate partners, and sponsorship opportunities that align with the Foundation’s mission and priorities.
- Work collaboratively with the Executive Director, Board members, and other organizational leaders to support donor cultivation and solicitation where appropriate.
Major Gifts & Donor Stewardship
- Manage an active portfolio of major donors and prospects, with a primary focus on gifts of $10,000 and above.
- Personally cultivate, solicit, secure, and steward major gifts from individuals, families, corporations, and other philanthropic partners.
- Develop customized engagement and solicitation plans that reflect donor interests, giving history, capacity, and connection to the Foundation’s mission.
- Prepare compelling proposals, cases for support, briefing materials, donor correspondence, and other materials required to advance major gift conversations.
- Build strong, long-term donor relationships through meaningful communication, recognition, stewardship, and impact reporting.
- Ensure timely and appropriate follow-up following donor meetings, gifts, events, and other engagement opportunities.
Corporate Sponsorships & Partnerships
- Identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward corporate sponsors and partners to generate significant philanthropic and event-related revenue.
- Develop sponsorship proposals and customized partnership opportunities that provide meaningful value to corporate partners while advancing the Foundation’s mission.
- Manage sponsor relationships from initial outreach through agreement, activation, recognition, and post-event stewardship.
- Identify opportunities to deepen existing corporate relationships and develop multi-year or expanded commitments where appropriate.
Fundraising Events
- Lead the fundraising strategy, planning, and execution of the Foundation’s major fundraising events, including Zajac Nights Gala, Lunch with a Legend, Giving Tuesday, and other fundraising initiatives as assigned.
- Develop event revenue strategies, including sponsorship, major donor engagement, table and ticket sales, live and silent fundraising opportunities, and other revenue-generating activities.
- Secure event sponsors and key donor participation, working closely with internal colleagues, volunteers, committees, and external partners as required.
- Coordinate fundraising-related event timelines, donor and sponsor deliverables, recognition requirements, and stewardship activities.
- Lead post-event donor and sponsor follow-up and contribute to event evaluation, revenue analysis, and recommendations for future improvement.
Development Team Collaboration & Communications
- Work collaboratively with Development, Marketing and Communications colleagues to ensure fundraising activities, donor communications, events, and stewardship efforts are coordinated and aligned.
- Provide fundraising content and donor insight to support proposals, sponsorship materials, impact communications, campaigns, and other development initiatives.
- Maintain consistent, professional, and mission-aligned messaging in all donor and sponsor communications.
- Share relevant donor information, opportunities, and relationship updates with appropriate internal stakeholders to support coordinated engagement.
Pipeline Management, Reporting & Administration
- Maintain accurate and timely donor and prospect records, contact reports, moves-management activity, proposals, commitments, and stewardship actions in the Foundation’s CRM system.
- Track progress against agreed fundraising goals and provide regular updates on donor pipeline activity, solicitations, sponsorships, event revenue, and secured gifts.
- Monitor major gift and sponsorship opportunities and proactively identify next steps required to move relationships forward.
- Support forecasting, reporting, and analysis of fundraising performance in collaboration with the Executive Director and Development team.
- Manage assigned fundraising and event-related expenses responsibly and in accordance with approved budgets and organizational policies.
Qualifications
- Minimum five (5) years of progressive fundraising or development experience, with demonstrated success personally cultivating, soliciting, and securing major gifts.
- Proven track record of securing gifts of $10,000 or greater from individual donors, corporate partners, or other philanthropic supporters.
- Demonstrated experience developing and securing corporate sponsorships and managing sponsor relationships.
- Experience leading or playing a significant role in successful fundraising events, including sponsorship acquisition, donor engagement, and revenue generation.
- Demonstrated ability to independently manage a donor portfolio and move prospects through identification, cultivation, solicitation, closing, and stewardship.
- Excellent relationship-building, interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills, including the ability to make persuasive presentations and direct solicitations.
- Strong proposal writing and storytelling skills with the ability to connect donor interests to organizational priorities and impact.
- Exceptional organizational and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities, deadlines, donor relationships, and event deliverables.
- Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with the Executive Team, Development colleagues, Board members, volunteers, and other stakeholders.
- Knowledge of the BC philanthropic landscape and established donor or corporate networks is considered an asset.
- Experience with fundraising software and CRM systems; Raiser’s Edge/Blackbaud experience is preferred.
- Bachelor’s degree in a related field or an equivalent combination of education and relevant fundraising experience.
- High level of professionalism, integrity, judgment, and discretion when handling confidential donor and organizational information.
Compensation
- Starting at $70,000 (commensurate with experience)
Benefits
- Dental care & extended health care
- On-site parking
- Three (3) weeks annual vacation
