THE ORGANIZATIONS
Send Relief
A collaboration between the International Mission Board (IMB) and NAMB, Send Relief (SR) is the Southern Baptist compassion ministry at home and abroad. SR partners with missionaries and local churches to respond to crisis and strengthen vulnerable communities around the world by meeting physical and spiritual needs in Jesus’ name. SR’s twenty (20) North American ministry centers work in five broad areas: 1) Strengthen Communities, 2) Care for Refugees, 3) Protect children and families, 4) Fight Human Trafficking, and 5) Respond to Crisis. Meeting needs and changing lives, SR has worked in 85 countries and touched 2.56 million people.
North American Mission Board (NAMB)
NAMB is the parent organization of Send Relief. A ministry of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), NAMB is a $130 million organization dedicated to the fulfillment of the Great Commission in North America. NAMB is funded through the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering (AAEO) and gifts to The Cooperative Program (CP). Headquartered in Alpharetta, GA (150 FT employees) with field staff located across the U.S. and Canada (300 FT workers), NAMB partners with 45,000 SBC churches to spread the hope of the Gospel to unreached communities through the work of more than 3,000 missionaries in church planting and compassion ministry.
THE NEED
Send Relief seeks an experienced Major Gifts Officer with a heart for missions. Send Relief is funded through individual and church gifts and receives funding from NAMB and IMB. The MGO will be assigned to one or two local ministry centers to add to these funding sources by cultivating and stewarding relationships with potential donors, churches, and local organizations. The MGO will cultivate, nurture, and develop individual givers who have given or have the potential to give at a level of $10k and above to support the mission of the assigned center(s). The position will be remote with occasional travel to Alpharetta GA, frequent travel to assigned ministry centers, and meetings with donors.
THEIR STORY
The North American Mission Board (NAMB) was started by the Southern Baptist Convention in 1845 as the missional entity partner of SBC churches in reaching North America with the gospel.
Since 2010, Southern Baptists have planted more than 10,000 new churches across North America. NAMB’s church planting arm, Send Network, helps Southern Baptists plant churches everywhere for everyone. There are more than 3,300 churches involved in the Send Network strategy as prayer partners or as active participants connected with a ministry location or church planter.
Send Relief (SR) was started by NAMB in 2015 as the compassion ministry arm.
In 2020, NAMB and the SBC International Mission Board (IMB) partnered together to expand SR for ministry both in North America and internationally. Now, Southern Baptists have a single pathway to utilize when serving through and donating to national and international compassion ministry.
WHAT THEY DO
It’s all about the Gospel.
There are more than 281 million people in North America who are without Christ. The weight of this reality is especially felt in regions outside the Southern United States and in the areas where more than 81 percent of the population lives—in and around large cities.
Send Relief exists to respond to life-altering moments with the life-giving gospel of Jesus. Whether it’s responding to natural disasters, caring for refugees, fighting human trafficking, supporting adoption and foster care efforts or providing clean water and medical attention to struggling communities, we are committed to connecting people in need with people who care.
North American ministry centers focus on facilitating compassion ministry in the local city or region, coordinating ministry and mission trips with churches and pastors as well as providing education and training for those seeking to start compassion ministries in their communities.
Send Relief ministry centers are located across the United States and typically specialize in one of the five Send Relief Focus Areas:
Strengthen communities
Fight human trafficking
Protect children and families
Care for refugees
Respond to crisis.
These centers usually have one primary focus area for compassion ministry, but there is often overlap as they work to meet their community’s specific needs.
Core values:
Gospel-focused, Church-centered, Sustainable, and Committed to Excellence
Send Relief provides holistic compassion ministry, which reflects and expresses God’s love when Christians serve their communities in tangible ways so they may share the gospel with the vulnerable among them.
In 2023 alone Send Relief saw:
49,000 Volunteers Mobilized
6,934 Partners engaged
4.1 million people served
1.8 million Gospel presentations
POSITION DESCRIPTION
Title: Major Gifts Officer
Classification: Exempt
Reports to: CDO and VP of Send Relief.
Travel: Travel is a significant part of this role to visit donors, assigned SR ministry centers, and for occasional meetings at the NAMB home office. Travel expenses will be covered.
Location: Remote, NAMB/SR home office is in Alpharetta, GA
Summary: This position supports SR’s ministry objectives by cultivating individual donors to increase major gifts and long-term partnerships. Through collaboration with the NAMB and SR development leadership and team, this role will work to achieve fundraising goals and ensure consistent mission and program messaging. The scope of responsibilities includes securing new major gifts from identification to cultivating donor relationships, preparing the solicitation, and developing transformational giving.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
Key duties and responsibilities would include:
Achieves and maintains a solid working knowledge of NAMB and Send Relief ministries and can effectively articulate each entity both verbally and in writing.
Manages the cultivation and development of 75 – 100 current and prospective individual donor relationships to build a pipeline for major gifts.
Qualifies, cultivates, solicits, and stewards relationships with current and prospective individual donors through excellent planning and strategic development activities via phone, email, mail and in-person visits.
Involves the giver in meaningful and documented gift strategy discussions. This includes both outright gifts and deferred giving options, such as cash gifts, stock, real estate transfers, bequests, and other giving methods.
Writes, assembles, and submits funding requests, solicitation letters, acknowledgements, and stewardship reports on a timely basis.
Develops growth strategies for new and current individual donors and sets annual goals.
Actively works to discover new giving prospects through internal and external sources.
Stewards and acknowledges gifts in a timely and personally appropriate manner, ensuring that donors understand the significance of their gifts while feeling valued and connected to the ministry.
Networks with Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) foundation personnel and pertinent corporate giving peers to introduce NAMB and Send Relief to prospective new major donors.
Maintains timely records of all constituent activity in Raiser’s Edge.
Participates in internal development team meetings and other organizational meetings as needed.
Maintains confidentiality of donors’ information and interactions.
Direct Reports: N/A
Education & Experience:
Undergraduate degree required.
Five years or more of successful experience in non-profit fund-raising and cultivation of major gifts preferably in a Southern Baptist Convention-affiliated organization.
Ability for frequent travel in the U.S. and to the NAMB office in Alpharetta, GA.
Character
Humble
Servant Leader
Relational
Kingdom-minded
Mature
Integrity
Strong Faith
Competence
Emotional Intelligence
Fundraising
Stellar Written and Verbal Communicator
Customer Service
Organized
Digital Native
Customer Relations Software Experience
Culture
NAMB/SR’s culture is one of humility, collaboration, valuing team members and supporters, servant leadership and using strengths and expertise for the good of the mission. Experience within and understanding of the Southern Baptist Convention polity and culture is critical for success. The MGO will need to attend a Southern Baptist church of their choosing and adhere to the NAMB Code of Conduct
Compensation
This position may be contract or contract to hire. A competitive compensation package will be discussed during a personal interview, commensurate with experience.
Employed Benefits Package Includes*
Health Insurance
Health Savings Account
Dental
Vision
Life Insurance
Disability Insurance
403(b) Retirement Plan
*Full Benefit guide available on request.
OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES
Opportunities
The NAMB and SR teams have knowledgeable and visionary leadership devoted to the continual advancement of kingdom work.
NAMB and SR have strong partnerships with the local church base and within the SBC denomination which has led to a solid financial position through church and individual giving with opportunities for growth.
Send Relief has developed a scalable national ministry strategy separate from their traditional identity as a disaster relief organization. They have set goals to engage 40,000 volunteers, engage 7,5000 churches, and serve 300,000 people in 2024.
Challenges
To support Send Relief ministry centers financially and enable them to operate in a more self-sustaining way, there is a need to further develop existing and cultivate new revenue streams within the local community and the church base.
To best improve and grow the impact of Send Relief, and increase giving to their mission, there is a need to increase the SBC's knowledge of the broader mission of the organization beyond the traditional disaster relief function.
NEXT STEPS
If, after prayerfully reviewing this information, you believe this role fits you well, or if you know someone you would like to recommend, please contact:
Dr. Rich Kidd
Partner
MISSION:LEADERSHIP
mobile :: (757) 642–0622
company main :: (615) 422–0884
email :: rich@missionleadership.org
web :: www.missionleadership.org