Major gifts officer jobs in guildford, surrey

You will be joining us at a time that holds the greatest potential for fundraising in our history, following the launch of the UK Government’s Delivery Plan for ME and initial findings of the DecodeME genetics study (co-led by Action for ME) in Summer 2025. 

Building on our charity’s already established level of support from major donors, you will provide exceptional relationship management to existing donors alongside growing our network of high value supporters.

Working closely with the CEO, alongside managing a portfolio of donors and prospects ensuring excellent stewardship, you will support our Breakthrough-ME Group (a group of high net worth and highly networked individuals). There is an established level of support from major donors at Action for ME so this is a role that will require exceptional relationship management to retain our current valued supporters while growing this crucial area of fundraising. 

This would be an ideal role for an experienced philanthropy professional seeking to work for a small but ambitious charity, helping us to achieve our mission to improve the lives of all people affected by ME – better meeting their needs today while taking action to secure change for tomorrow.

Key duties

Major Donor Fundraising

• Successfully develop and implement the philanthropy strategy to secure and maximise funds from high value individuals for Action for ME achieving annual income of £250k+

• Set plans and budgets which will deliver income through major gift fundraising and philanthropic giving through family trusts and foundations, including quarterly forecasting.

• Manage a portfolio of prospects and donors at the £5k to £100k level, to develop and maintain strong and long-standing partnerships

• Work closely with the Director of Fundraising and Development and other colleagues to ensure that plans and activities for fundraising from high value individuals are integrated into the overall fundraising strategy and plan for significant growth.

• Be responsible for our Breakthrough-ME Group with high quality proposition development.  Contribution to Group fundraising activities with a specific focus on ensuring their networks support pipeline growth for future fundraising.

• Lead the delivery of our biennial fundraising gala dinner, maximising income and new opportunities from attendees.

• Develop engaging and inspiring opportunities to steward and cultivate support creating a calendar of activities including events, presentations, approaches, networking and meetings.

• Utilise the CRM database (Raisers Edge) to provide the data required to strategise your approach to philanthropy, monitor progress and provide a high-quality donor experience.

• Ensure utilisation of insight & data, producing management information data to inform planning and strategy development.

• With the Director of Fundraising & Development, create inspiring cases for support and resulting propositions with clear budgets and outcomes.

• Create adequate systems and processes to support the major donor programme.

• Undertake and manage research into prospects and major donors, preparing for approaches and presentations and briefing senior leadership and trustees for donor meetings and events.

• Develop and maintain relationships with donors, a wide range of staff and volunteers from trustee level down.

• Provide regular feedback and internal reporting to line management.

• Work with other fundraisers to ensure that all fundraising opportunities and leads are followed up – particularly in corporate, community and trust fundraising.

• Work with Trustees, the Chief Executive and members of the Leadership Team to develop relationships with major donors.

• Self-administrate including managing your own diary and meetings, keeping accurate and up to date records of activity

• Occasional travel to London, Bristol & events

Other duties

• To positively promote the work and activities of Action for M.E. at all times.

• To contribute to the team’s overall, ongoing and annual planning and budgeting.

• To undertake any other reasonable activity in line with the responsibilities of the post as requested by the Director of Fundraising and Development, Chief Executive or any other senior Action for ME management.

• Act as an advocate for the Charity and its work.

• To work in accordance with Action for ME’s values of collaboration, equity and empathy.

Partnerships Manager

Location: Fully Remote

Salary: £27,992 per annum

Vacancy Type: Permanent, Full Time

Closing Date: 24th September 2025

We have an exciting opportunity for a Partnerships Manager to join our team and grow income from high-net-worth individuals and corporate supporters. You will identify, engage, and steward prospects to secure funding, while developing and implementing long-term relationship and stewardship plans.

You’ll be joining a passionate, fun, and target-driven team in a motivating environment, with the chance to make a real impact on the services we provide.

Key responsibilities include:

• Researching and identifying potential major donors, determining appropriate stewardship pathways, and involving Trustees or staff as needed.
• Implementing stewardship plans for major donors to secure five-figure gifts and above.
• Developing and supporting external fundraising committees to raise funds for local Forward Trust services.
• Researching and approaching potential corporate supporters, cultivating relationships, and securing funding.
• Collaborating across the organisation to develop engagement packages, partnership proposals, and progress reports.
• Managing the Fundraising Officer, providing support, motivation, and guidance.
• Representing Forward Trust at meetings, networking events, and conferences.
• Supporting the Head of Fundraising to develop strategies to maximise income from high-net-worth individuals and corporates.
• Ensuring data in the CRM is accurate, compliant with GDPR, and used effectively to inform fundraising activities.
• Managing and reporting on income and expenditure budgets, liaising with Finance, and contributing to reports for Senior Management and Trustees.
• Collaborating with other fundraising team members and participating in team meetings, supervision, and training.

What We’re Looking For

Essential Skills & Experience:

• Proven track record of major donor fundraising, securing five-figure sums and managing effective stewardship pathways.
• Proven experience in identifying, managing, and growing corporate supporter accounts of at least five figures.
• Experience managing at least one member of staff.
• Skilled at managing high-level relationships internally (Trustees) and externally (high-net-worth individuals).
• Experience managing budgets related to your area of work.
• Proficient in using a CRM or other database to manage contacts.
• Understanding of GDPR principles and their impact on fundraising.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to explain complex issues clearly and compellingly.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to understand departmental income and expenditure projections.
• Willingness to attend fundraising events, which may be out-of-hours or away from home.

About Us

We are The Forward Trust, the social enterprise with charitable status that empowers people to break the often-interlinked cycles of crime and addiction to move forward with their lives. For more than 25 years we have been working with people to build positive and productive lives, whatever their past. We believe that anyone is capable of lasting change. Our services have supported thousands of people to make positive changes and build productive lives with a job, family, friends and a sense of community.

We are committed to our cause and the work we carry out as a charity. Equally the wellbeing and the employees who work for us are also important. Joining us an employee, we will offer you the following benefits:

• Flexible working
• Training and development opportunities
• Simply Health Cashback Scheme (optional)
• Season Ticket Loan Scheme 
• Cycle to work scheme
• Crisis Loan Scheme
• Electric Car Scheme
• 3 x Wellbeing Days (pro rata'd for part time employees)
• Access to Blue Light Card
• 25 days (rising to 30 with length of service) Annual Leave plus Bank Holidays 
• Contributory Pension Scheme – Employer matched contributions of up to 6% in the first two years’ service and up to 9% thereafter 
• Death in Service Payment (2x annual salary) 
• Critical Illness Insurance (subject to qualifying criteria)

To Apply

If you feel you are a suitable candidate and would like to work for the Forward Trust, please click apply to be redirected to their website to complete your application.

Trusts and Foundations Manager
Alton, Hampshire (flexible/hybrid working considered with a minimum of one day per month at Head Office)
37.5 hrs per week or Part Time considered. Permanent
£35,000 to £39,000 a year, dependent on experience

About the role

For 50 years, Kidney Care UK has been at the forefront of supporting people with kidney disease. From our early days when we campaigned to introduce donor cards in the UK, we have worked hard to support and represent the interests of everyone affected by kidney disease.

We are looking for a passionate, talented Trusts and Foundations Manager to join our ambitious, successful Fundraising team that has been growing non-legacy income 34% year-on-year since 2021 as we approach our new 5 year fundraising strategy.

This role is responsible for managing and developing the charity’s portfolio of Trusts and Foundations, securing significant gifts and growing the long-term potential of this portfolio (target for this 12 months period is £378,000). There are no direct reports, however the successful candidate will be expected to work closely with Senior Management Teams, other departments and stakeholders to build and develop cases for support to help fund our much-needed work.

The successful candidate will utilise their expert writing skills to shape those cases for support into compelling, high-quality proposals and reports.

Building relationships with a wide range of audiences including funders is key. Inspiring them to support kidney patients across the UK and engage with the kidney community, enabling them to tell their stories and better communicate how larger trust grants can make a real difference for people with chronic kidney disease.

A dynamic, self-motivated, ambitious and pro-active fundraiser is required for this role, demonstrating enthusiasm for the projects and services we are seeking funds to support.

About you

The ideal candidate for this role will have experience and a proven track record of successful income generation and delivering against targets.

You will have demonstratable experience in researching potential Trust funders, submitting compelling proposals, securing funding and project managing successful bids through to completion of the grant award.

You will also have a background in report writing and demonstrating grant impact whilst being able to build relationships with funders, individual/major donors and senior stakeholders.

Experience of providing excellent supporter care, building mutually beneficial long-term relationships with funders is a must for this role.

Key responsibilities

Research and process management

• Work closely with our Director of Patient Support Services (Patient Grants, Hospital Grants, Advocacy and Counselling) to fully understand our work, and with our Director of Finance to fully understand the costs of delivering our work
• Build strong cases for support, ensuring that you have all the information needed to create compelling proposals and reports for high and mid-value funders
• Research and identify prospective trusts and foundations and other grant giving bodies
• Grow and maintain a strong trust funding pipeline, creating new trust prospects for our priority funding areas
• Develop our long-term trusts and foundations strategy, and agree ongoing budgets and targets for this income stream
• Maintain accurate records including tracking and analysing opportunities, results, and outcomes

Fundraising 

• Identify and manage a pipeline of high-value prospects and opportunities which have the potential to deliver five- and six-figure grants
• Work with colleagues across Kidney Care UK to develop and submit high-value and high-quality trust and foundation bids for a range of short, medium and long term projects
• Develop relationships with the Senior Management Team and other key stakeholders across the charity maximising every opportunity for cultivation and development
• Champion ways of working with the kidney community to enhance your fundraising approaches
• Plan and organise opportunities for funders to view Kidney Care UK’s work first-hand, ensuring all safeguarding procedures are followed and met

Reporting 

• Compile comprehensive and compelling progress reports to feed back to grant makers in a timely fashion and incentivise continued support
• Alongside the Director of Finance prepare accurate budgets detailing spending of specific grants
• Draw down on any multi-year grants as outlined in our annual budget
• Provide briefing notes and income pipeline on donor activities and potential funding opportunities

Employee Benefits:

Employee assistance programme | Generous annual leave | Pension | Cycle2Work scheme | Flexible working | Retail discounts | Family leave | Health cash plan

Royal Star & Garter are a charity that provides loving, compassionate care and support to veterans and their families, both in our Homes and through services that reach into the wider community. Following our recent merger with the Armed Forces charity Care for Veterans in Worthing, we’re looking for a skilled and motivated Fundraising Assistant.

We are looking for someone committed to making a difference to our work and interested in developing a career in fundraising. We welcome experience gained outside the charity sector and are committed to supporting learning and development in this role.

This person must be passionate about delivering high levels of personalised care to a range of donors and have the ability to communicate effectively, while maintaining attention to detail to ensure the smooth delivery of the processes behind donor engagement. You must also be flexible and confident in providing wider support across the fundraising teams within the Royal Star & Garter group.

This is a hybrid role, with two days a week at our Worthing Home to build strong relationships and gain a deeper understanding of our work. There may also be occasional visits to outside events and to Royal Star & Garter’s other Homes as needed.

Purpose of the role

- To provide excellent customer care to all donors, delivering optimum supporter journeys working effectively with the wider team within the Royal Star & Garter (RSG) group 
- To manage all associated fundraising payment processes and procedures and work effectively with finance to manage safe and effective banking and reconciliations
- To provide fundraising support across the department and locations of our services in respect of a range of activities including fundraising events
- To support the High Value Events & Corporate Manager in time bound projects as and when necessary

Supporter care

- To be proactive in enabling the supporter journey with timely communications (phone, email and letters) and clear stewardship with both existing and new donors
- Ensure effective frontline support and response for donors across a range of incoming systems
- Ensure donation processes and procedures are adhered to and executed in a timely manner, in accordance with guidelines – updating those wherever required with approval by the RSG Fundraising Officer.
 
Donations and data entry

- Ensure that the fundraising CRM database is up to date and that supporters contact and financial data is accurate, including creating new records
- Complete weekly banking and allocation tasks in accordance with the approved process, liaising with the finance department to ensure that all batched income is allocated correctly
- Data inputting on the CRM to include: regular giving, importing income from external agencies including CAF and Just Giving, processing Gift Aid and accurately storing declarations
- Filing and management of paperwork, ensuring due diligence and security measures are followed.

Fundraising & volunteer support

- To provide active support to a range of events including: managing participants, sending information, monitoring online giving pages and on the day set up and pack down
- To directly source donated items and contributors to support fundraising events including raffle/auction prizes and coordinating suppliers, stallholders and entertainers 
- Coordinate and communicate with volunteers for events and corporate volunteering days and activities, ensuring they are briefed and supported
- To support any regular mailings or email contact to supporters, assisting with the cleaning and compliance of data once an agreed annual schedule is in place regular.

Other

- To manage all aspects of incoming fundraising post and dedicated inboxes along with outgoing mailings
- Ensure general department are kept up to date including attendance at meetings within RSG group wherever possible
- To be conversant with relevant fundraising legislation and the guidelines of the 
Fundraising Regulator and the GDPR
- To undertake other duties as may be required and which are consistent with the nature of the role.

Knowledge and experience:

- Experience of working in a customer focused environment, preferably within fundraising
- Good working knowledge of CRM database
- Experience of banking processes and consistent financial reconciliation 
- Ability to manage a busy workload meeting deadlines
- Experience of working on own initiative and as part of a team
- Experience of supporting fundraising events, including logistics and on-the-day delivery (desirable)
- Experience of coordinating or working with volunteers, including corporate groups (desirable).

 Skills:

- Excellent communication skills including written (and email) and on the phone
- Excellent attention to detail with a good eye for numbers 
- Excellent general IT skills including Word & Excel
- Good relationship building skills and an ability to work across teams creating strong internal networks
- Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple tasks in a live event environment
- Confidence in engaging with a range of stakeholders, including participants, local businesses, and community groups.
 
Personal characteristics should include:

- A consultative approach to solving problems
- Planning and organising; schedules activities effectively
- A positive upbeat attitude
- Effective team player
- Role model our values in all aspects of work
- Flexible and adaptable, with a willingness to work occasional evenings and weekends to support events.

We reserve the right to update and amend your job description to ensure it accurately reflects the role.