Competing for Major Gift Officer Talent Toolkit

This toolkit includes resources to help institutions recruit high-performing major gift officers in an environment of increasing demand for top recruiters.

About the Toolkit As institutions rely on major gifts to replace alternative sources of revenue, finding a high-performing major gift officer (MGO) has never been more crucial—and competition for the best major gift officers has never been higher. This toolkit—a supplement to our Competing for Talent study—helps members build long-term candidate pipelines, design an interview and hiring process that puts the candidate’s needs first, and provide an onboarding program that accelerates productivity so your institution comes out ahead in your MGO search. The toolkit contains tools to supplement seven of the nine strategies outlined in the study, which is segmented into sections focused on candidate types: traditional, internal, and nontraditional. Click on the strategies below to learn more about the related tools and resources, or download the full toolkit. Strategy #1: Systematize Vacancy Planning Strategy #2: Move to Proactive Pursuit Strategy #3: Develop Candidate-Centered Recruiting Strategy #4: Accelerate Acculturation and Productivity Strategy #5: Unlock Strategic Talent Management Strategy #6: Cultivate Students for Fundraising Careers Strategy #7: Create Channels for Self-Identification Strategy #8: Develop Internal Referral Mechanisms Strategy #9: Establish Networks and Pipelines Download the toolkit Traditional Candidates When seeking a new hire, most CAOs prefer a candidate who has experience in major gifts fundraising at a higher education institution. These candidates have spent time in the industry developing their fundraising skills and learning the terrain. Often, they ramp up to full productivity more quickly than new hires who have no fundraising experience. Strategy #1: Systematize Vacancy Planning Star File Excel Spreadsheet We…