Major Gifts Officer

Emergent Order Foundation (EO.F) has partnered with Big Fish on this search. For questions or referrals, please contact Angel Fimbres-Barcelo at angel@recruitbigfish.com.

Big Fish is a boutique recruiting firm specializing in public policy talent, working with nonprofits, trade associations, and corporations to recruit mission-forward talent. To learn more about Big Fish, please visit recruitbigfish.com.

Position: Major Gifts Officer

Location: Austin, TX (remote-friendly for the right candidate)

Reports To: Director of Development, Ivy Karns

Job Type: Full-time

Salary: $75,000-$85,000

About the Organization

Emergent Order Foundation is a nonprofit media studio based in Austin, Texas. We believe in free markets,

free expression, and the enduring promise of the American founding. Our films and editorial projects are

built on the conviction that the most consequential ideas of our time deserve storytelling with real craft and

genuine honesty, and that audiences are far more ready for that than most of the media industry assumes.

We are not interested in making content that flatters a consensus. We are interested in making content that

is true. Our development team is small and highly effective. The person who joins us in this role will work

directly under a Director of Development who built EOF's fundraising infrastructure from the ground up, and

alongside a founder and CEO who is deeply engaged in donor relationships. Learn More: eo.foundation

Position Summary

Emergent Order is looking for a Major Gifts Officer who will own a portfolio of individual donors and prospects and take

responsibility for moving those relationships forward. This is a frontline fundraising role. You will be making

asks, closing gifts, and building the kind of long-term donor relationships that sustain an organization over

time. You will report directly to the Director of Development, who sets the roadmap, handles the strategy,

and is available to you as a resource and thought partner throughout the fundraising process. Your job is to

work that roadmap with skill, instinct, and genuine relational investment.

The right person for this role is comfortable in a room with a high-capacity donor, equally at ease on Zoom,

and motivated by the direct connection between their own effort and their outcomes. If you love having a

personal number to hit, and you want to see that number reflected in your paycheck, this role is built for

you. Meaningful fundraising is built on trust, and the best fundraisers know that the relationship always

comes first. 

What You'll Be Doing

• Own a portfolio of major gift donors and prospects, with personal fundraising goals established in
• partnership with the Director of Development.
• Execute cultivation and stewardship activity using your relationship instincts and judgment, working
• within the donor roadmap set by the Director of Development.
• Report directly to the Director of Development, who provides strategic direction, serves as a
• resource and sounding board, and holds accountability for the portfolio's overall performance.
• Reengage lapsed donors through personal, relationship-first outreach, drawing on the messaging
• framework and relational strategy developed by the development team.
• Identify and surface new prospects for portfolio consideration and move qualified prospects from
• introduction through to the ask.
• Travel to meet donors in person on a regular basis and maintain active relationships with remote
• donors through consistent Zoom and phone communication.
• Maintain accurate and timely records of all donor activity in the CRM and participate in regular
• portfolio reviews with the Director of Development.
• Track your personal fundraising metrics and bring questions, updates, and obstacles to your
• manager proactively. 

Required Skills

• Two or more years of frontline fundraising experience with a demonstrated track record of personally soliciting and closing major gifts.
• Experience managing a donor portfolio and moving prospects through a cultivation pipeline.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to articulate a compelling case for support without relying on scripts.
• Willingness and ability to travel domestically to meet with donors in person on a regular basis.
• High degree of self-direction and comfort working in a lean, mission-driven organization where you own your outcomes.
• Genuine alignment with EOF's mission and the content we create.

Nice to Have Skills

• Experience with Virtuous CRM or a comparable donor management platform.
• Familiarity with the philanthropic landscape around media, education, or civic institutions.
• Experience in a small-shop

Compensation & Benefits

Compensation $75,000-$85,000, plus additional bonus pool compensation benefits bi-annually.

Robust group PPO health insurance and other benefits. Must be able to work legally in the US.