Major Gifts Officer Resume Example & Writing Guide
Use this Major Gifts Officer resume example and guide to improve your career and write a powerful resume that will separate you from the competition.
If you’re an excellent communicator who loves working with people and helping them find the perfect gift, you might be ready to join the ranks of major gifts officers. These specialists are tasked with generating high-value donations for their organizations. And for major gifts officers, it’s all about knowing your audience and understanding what motivates them.
If you want to break into this field or just looking for a new opportunity, here are some tips and an example resume to help you write an outstanding major gifts officer resume that hiring managers will love.
How to Write a Major Gifts Officer Resume
Here’s how to write a major gifts officer resume of your own.
Write Compelling Bullet Points
When you’re writing your bullet points, it can be tempting to just list your responsibilities. But that’s not going to make a strong impression on recruiters. Instead, you should focus on the results of your work.
For example, rather than saying you “managed donor database,” you could say that you “increased number of donors by 20% in six months, resulting in $50K increase in annual revenue.”
The second bullet point is much stronger because it provides specific numbers and details about how you contributed to the organization’s bottom line.
Identify and Include Relevant Keywords
When you submit your resume for a major gifts officer role, it’s likely that it will be scanned by an applicant tracking system (ATS) for certain keywords. This software looks for specific terms related to the job, like “fundraising” or “development,” in order to determine whether your skills and experience are a match. If you don’t have enough of the right words on your resume, the ATS might not forward your application to a recruiter.
To increase your chances of getting an interview, use this list of major gifts officer keywords as a guide when writing your resume:
- Donor Relations
- Planned Giving
- Major Gifts
- Nonprofit Organizations
- Fundraising
- Grant Writing
- Fundraising Events
- Community Outreach
- Philanthropy
- Grant Management
- Volunteer Management
- Event Planning
- Strategic Communications
- Community Development
- Program Development
- Public Speaking
- Social Media
- Stewardship
- Communication
- Grantseeking
- Marketing
- Sales
- Business Development
- Social Media Marketing
- Sales Management
- Strategic Planning
- Leadership
- Management
- Negotiation
- Microsoft Access
Showcase Your Technical Skills
fundraisers are typically expected to be proficient in the use of a variety of technologies, including donor management software and fundraising analytics software. Additionally, fundraisers may be asked to use social media platforms to promote their organization’s work. So if you have experience with any of these technologies, be sure to list them on your resume.