Competing for Major Gift Officer Talent 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 through the strategies below to learn more about the related tools and resources, or download the full 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 recommend creating a database to store contact information and other relevant information on prospective candidates. The table below serves as a template for this database. Copy the table into the database manager of your choice. Microsoft Excel, Google Drive, and FileFinder are most common, but a variety of programs will work.
• Departure Risk Appraisal Tools: Many advancement units may be at risk of employee departures due to a competitive talent crunch and increased demand. While most institutions currently choose to address departures as they occur, multiple MGO departures could quickly lead to staffing gaps and increased time to fill. By proactively identifying the areas where departures are most likely, divisional leaders can target retention efforts and adjust staffing needs to prevent these problems from occurring.
  • Step One: Assess Employees’ Retention Risk
    Managers overseeing teams or departments identified in the first step assess individual retention risk of each employee.
  • Step Two: Pinpoint Employees with Highest Risk Score
    Administrators can use overall employee retention risk scores to identify individual MGOs most at risk of leaving your institution.
  • Step Three: Prioritize Near-Departure Staff by Criticality
    Administrators or strategic talent management staff can equip managers of the most at-risk departments with tools to identify which individual employees are both critical to the department and at risk of departure in the near term. The goal is to craft individualized retention plans for the most critical at-risk employees to encourage their continued service.
  • Practice Assessment
    This practice provides leaders with a direct method to identify areas of their organization with the greatest retention risks, a vital step to prevent damaging staffing gaps and poor donor relationships. Deploying the appraisal requires only a small to moderate time investment from department leaders and hiring managers.
• Employee Retention Risk Assessment
• Departure Impact Scoring Guide
• Risk and Impact Worksheet
• Employee Prioritization Matrix

Strategy 2: Move to Proactive Pursuit

• Social Media Referral Campaign Strategy Guide: This resource outlines six steps to establish a social media referral campaign. These campaigns surface top talent in your employee networks and help fill staff vacancies. While often centered around a specific skill, competency, or position (e.g., MGO), the practices outlined below can be applied to many subunits within your division.
• LinkedIn Candidate Sourcing Guide: Leverage the features of a premium LinkedIn account to source candidates and cultivate relationships with them. For maximum impact, combine this strategy with a Star File.
• Remote Major Gift Officer Hiring Worksheet: Hiring a remote major gift officer comes with some special considerations, such as what competencies are necessary for success in the role and where to base the MGOs. Institutions interested in creating remote major gift officer positions can use the following worksheet to ensure that they avoid common pitfalls.

Strategy 3: Develop Candidate-Centered Recruiting

• Reference Check Question Bank: This resource can be used to get the most value from candidate reference checks. It lists questions that help hiring managers make more strategic hires and surface valuable, useful, and actionable information from reference checks.
• Candidate Prewire Email Template: This email serves as a template which you can use to inform MGO candidate interviewees about their time on campus. We recommend you send the email at least two days prior to the candidate’s arrival on campus.
• Staff Prewire Email Template: Use this email as a template for debriefing interviewers before each candidate arrives on campus. We recommend that you send this email at least one day prior to the interview.
• Candidate Competency Worksheet: Managers should refer to the candidate competency worksheet below designed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Resource Development team to identify the key competencies required for each position when a vacancy occurs. The hiring manager should identify the top five competencies required for the position and rank them in the second and fourth columns below. This will help ensure the recruiting team is able to screen résumés more effectively, not only for top talent, but also for talent that meets the specific needs of the unit’s vacancy.
• Interview Evaluation Matrix Competency Assignments: Managers should use the evaluation matrix designed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Resource Development team to ensure all interviews are high value. Individuals coordinating the interviews should identify specific interviewers to assess the candidate’s performance in one or more specific competencies. Staff who conduct interviews should have access to this matrix in advance of the interview to understand who will focus on what competency to better use the limited interview time.
• Competency Question Bank: Hiring managers and recruiters should provide this competency question bank, designed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Resource Development team, to help individuals conducting interviews maximize the utility of the interview and minimize preparation time. Staff members conducting the interview should receive their assigned competency to assess and the question bank at least 48 hours prior to the interview.
• Candidate Concierge Launch Guide: We recommend designating a candidate concierge—one person in your office who will be the primary point of contact for candidates visiting campus. This person should guide each candidate through his or her interview process while highlighting selling points of the institution and the position along the way.
• Retention Initiatives Website Audit: Office culture and opportunities for professional development are two of the primary factors MGOs take into account when selecting a new employer. When potential candidates scan your website, can they see the work your office has done in these areas? Use this chart to assess whether your website informs candidates about your retention efforts. Share the chart with your website designer to plan changes that will benefit your overall recruitment strategy.

Strategy 4: Accelerate Acculturation and Productivity

• Welcome Email from Major Gifts Team: This tool has been designed by Rice University as a touch point for all new-hire MGOs. The email is provided to current MGOs who then send it to the new employee in their first week of employment. Provide this template to your MGO staff to welcome new team members to the division.
• Onboarding Calendar: Managers and new-hire staff should complete this calendar designed by Rice University to ensure all onboarding materials are covered in the first few weeks of employment. New-hire staff should then keep a copy of this resource to ensure that their first year of employment at your institution is as successful as possible.
• MGO Training Checklist: Managers should reference this checklist designed by Rice University to ensure all onboarding materials presented to new-hire MGO staff include the fundamental tools new MGOs will be required to have to be as successful in their roles in a limited amount of time.

Internal Candidates

Some institutions are beginning to look beyond the traditional recruiting pipeline. Currently, the demand for talent outstrips supply, meaning there are many more openings than experienced fundraisers looking for work.

Strategy 7: Create Channels for Self-Identification

• Vacancy Announcement Checklist: The job posting checklist below ensures uniform application of vacancy announcements across the division to capture the greatest talent/applicant pool possible. While not necessary for every vacancy, it will be beneficial for job openings that are traditionally hard to fill.

Strategy 8: Develop Internal Referral Mechanisms

• Manager Email Blast: This resource can be used to get the most value out of your internal candidate pool. Internal hiring processes can be streamlined because the candidates already have good institutional knowledge and are in the HR database. Yet finding them, especially those outside the advancement division, can be challenging.

Nontraditional Candidates

Recently, advancement leaders have turned their recruiting sights on individuals from out of industry. Nontraditional candidates may lack fundraising experience, but their personal disposition and background in kindred roles can incline them toward success in MGO roles.

Nontraditional candidates pose a double challenge to institutions hoping to recruit them. Not only do they lack experience, but their employment outside of the institution leaves advancement leaders with no established in-roads to connect with them.

Strategy 9: Establish Networks and Pipelines

• Nontraditional Candidate Sourcing Road Map: Career-changers can make great MGOs, but finding qualified applicants can be a challenge. Follow these steps to begin sourcing and recruiting qualified candidates from other industries in your community.

Download the Full Toolkit