The Major Gift Officer at Bethel University plays a vital role in advancing the mission of the institution by cultivating meaningful relationships with donors who have the capacity to make significant philanthropic investments. Through strategic portfolio management, personalized engagement, and compelling storytelling, the Major Gift Officer inspires courageous generosity that aligns donor passions with Bethel’s bold vision for the future.

This role requires both relational depth and operational excellence—balancing thoughtful stewardship with data-informed strategy, and building the habits and systems that help turn vision into measurable results. As a collaborative team member and visible representative of the university, the Major Gift Officer will participate in key events, contribute to a culture of shared ownership, and help ensure Bethel’s fundraising work remains resilient, innovative, and future-ready.

Primary responsibilities:

1. Portfolio Management and Fundraising

• Manage a portfolio of up to 100 current and prospective major donors, building strong, values-driven relationships that inspire courageous generosity.
• Execute all stages of the donor engagement lifecycle—identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship—with both strategic precision and a personal, mission-centered touch.
• Develop and implement personalized "moves management" strategies that align donor passions with Bethel’s bold vision and institutional priorities.
• Engage donors regularly through tailored in-person visits, campus experiences, calls, and events—creating moments of connection.
• Craft and present compelling proposals that communicate institutional impact and invite transformational philanthropic investment.

2. Stewardship and Donor Retention

• Ensure donors feel deeply known, appreciated, and connected to Bethel’s mission through intentional, joyful stewardship—including personalized thank-yous, recognition, impact reporting, and follow-up.
• Collaborate across campus to integrate donors into Bethel life through student stories, volunteer opportunities, and strategic invitations
  
  

3. Reporting and Data Management

• Maintain accurate and timely records of donor activity, strategies, and outcomes in Salesforce, supporting visibility and accountability across the team.
• Use data-informed insights to evaluate effectiveness, forecast gift outcomes, and continuously adapt strategies to strengthen donor relationships and results.
• Build disciplined habits and rhythms that support operational excellence—turning strategy into results by measuring what matters, learning from the data, and continuously improving

             4. Institutional Representation and Event Participation

• Serve as a compelling representative of Bethel University at donor engagement opportunities, both on and off campus.
• Actively participate in key institutional and donor-facing events such as Welcome Week, Homecoming, the Scholarship Celebration, Festival of Christmas, and the Bethel Golf Classic.

Additional Responsibilities:

Bethel’s mission is to educate and equip students to lead lives of impact through transformative academics in a Christ-centered community. Bethel’s employee community plays a central role in developing our students as whole and holy persons. To carry out this mission, Bethel uses the foundation of our guiding documents, the Affirmation of Faith, Community Covenant, and Key Policies. Bethel expects all employees to actively participate in creating our Christ-centered community by agreeing with and abiding by our core beliefs in the Affirmation of Faith and supporting all other beliefs as Biblical, responsible, and thoughtful approaches while avoiding dissension and divisiveness. Employees teach and mentor students and help one another uphold our Community Covenant commitments.  As a result of these expectations, all University employees act as ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ by actively partnering with the University to carry out its mission and foster Bethel’s Christ-centered covenant community.

Other Duties: The essential functions, tasks and responsibilities of this position may change from time to time. Bethel University reserves the right to add or omit duties and responsibilities at the discretion of the University or its leadership. Additional tasks or duties required of the position, will be communicated to the incumbent with specificity to ensure the employee may perform their role with complete understanding. This job description is intended to describe the general level of work being performed; it is not intended to be all-inclusive.

• Strong understanding of major gift fundraising strategy, donor lifecycle, and moves management principles.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build trust, share vision, and invite investment.
• Professionalism and discretion in managing confidential information and representing Bethel externally.
• Highly organized with the ability to manage competing priorities, maintain momentum, and meet fundraising goals.
• Strategic thinking and problem-solving skills, particularly in aligning donor interests with institutional impact.
• Demonstrated collaboration skills—able to work across Advancement, Academic Affairs, Finance, and other departments to achieve shared goals and improve donor experience.
• Commitment to continuous learning, improvement, and excellence in fundraising practice.
• Deep alignment with Bethel’s mission and values

4+ of experience in fundraising or a closely related field such as sales, marketing, public relations, or financial advising, with a focus on relationship cultivation and solicitation.

Bachelor’s degree in relevant field.

Travel: This position requires local and regional travel.

Work Environment:

This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as desktop and/or laptop computers, photocopiers and smartphones.

The work environment involves working for a suburban, Christian university in which all employees are expected to have a demonstrated commitment and personal relationship with Jesus Christ, a commitment to the mission and values of the University, and an agreement to abide by all University policies.

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and ability to adjust focus. The job requires extended periods of sitting and traversing the Bethel Campus on a regular basis. Reasonable accommodations may be made to ensure people are able to perform the essential functions.

The mental and physical requirements described here are representative of those that must be met by an individual to successfully perform the essential functions of this position.

Expected Hours of Work:

Typically, days and hours of work are Monday through Friday, with the expectation to work specific schedules and hours as identified and communicated by management. Occasional evening and weekend work may be required as job duties demand. This is a 40 hour per week, 12 months per year position.

Bethel is committed to offering meaningful benefits to our employees including health insurance, retirement plans, and a generous time off package. Learn more about these offerings here.

Learn more about our commitment to diversity in hiring .

Bethel University is a leader in Christ-centered higher education with approximately 4,700 students from 50 states and 32 countries enrolled in undergraduate, graduate, seminary, and adult education programs. Based in St. Paul, Minnesota, Bethel offers bachelor's and advanced degrees in nearly 100 fields. Educationally excellent classroom-based and online programs equip graduates to make exceptional contributions in life-long service to God and the world.

Bethel University’s Christ-centered mission includes a commitment to equal educational opportunity and equal employment opportunity. Bethel does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, national origin, sex, marital status, disability, status with regard to public assistance, familial status, or age in its admissions, educational programs, or employment practices.

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