How to apply for Development Officer, Major & Institutional Giving

About Our Children's Trust

Our Children's Trust is a nonprofit law firm that represents young people in constitutional climate cases against governments. It describes its work as youth-led and science-based. The organization states that diversity and inclusion are critical to its success and that it recruits from a diverse candidate pool.

About the role

The Development Officer, Major & Institutional Giving raises philanthropic support by managing a portfolio of individual donors, family foundations, institutional funders, and high-capacity prospects. The role reports to the Senior Director of Donor Development and works with organizational leadership on engagement strategies and solicitations. It is remote within the US and full-time.

A typical day

A typical day might include drafting or reviewing a foundation proposal, preparing a briefing memo for a donor meeting with leadership, and updating a portfolio of prospects in the donor database. The exact mix of internal meetings, donor calls, and writing depends on the team's calendar, so ask about weekly rhythms and travel expectations in the interview.

Who Our Children's Trust is looking for

• Has direct experience cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major individual donors and family foundations, not just processing gifts.
• Has worked with institutional funders such as foundations or other grantmaking bodies, including proposal and report writing.
• Can manage a portfolio independently in a remote setting and coordinate with senior leadership on donor strategy.
• Is comfortable representing a legal nonprofit whose work involves constitutional climate litigation and youth plaintiffs.

Tips for this application

• Read Our Children's Trust's website, especially the cases it has filed, before writing anything. Name one or two cases accurately in your materials.
• Address the portfolio management part of the job directly. Give examples of how many donors or prospects you managed and what results you produced.
• Show both individual and institutional fundraising experience. The title combines major giving and institutional giving, so cover both.
• Since the role is remote, state how you have worked with distributed teams and senior leadership before.
• Confirm your location is in the US and note your time zone, because the posting says remote (US).

What to cover in your cover letter

Describe a specific major donor or family foundation you cultivated and what the solicitation resulted in. Explain your experience with institutional funders, including grants you wrote or managed. Show how you have worked with organizational leadership on donor strategy. State why you want to raise money for youth-led constitutional climate litigation specifically, not nonprofits in general.

Research before applying

• The active and past cases listed on Our Children's Trust's website, including the youth plaintiffs involved and the legal claims.
• The organization's revenue sources and any public annual reports or Form 990 filings that show how major and institutional giving fit into its funding.
• The backgrounds of the Senior Director of Donor Development and other leadership, so you understand who you would work with.
• Any public statements about the organization's diversity and inclusion commitments, since the job description repeats them.

Likely interview topics

Based on the job description, expect questions about:

• How you would build and prioritize a portfolio of major donors and high-capacity prospects for a climate litigation nonprofit.
• A time you moved a donor or foundation from initial contact to a significant gift, including the steps you took.
• How you would work with the Senior Director of Donor Development and organizational leadership on engagement strategies.
• Your experience with institutional funders: proposal writing, reporting, and relationship management.
• How you would describe Our Children's Trust's legal work to a prospective donor who is new to the organization.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Submitting generic fundraising language that could apply to any nonprofit. This role is tied to climate litigation and youth plaintiffs, so the materials should show you understand that context.
• Focusing only on individual major gifts or only on grants. The role covers both major and institutional giving, so leaving one out is a gap.
• Ignoring the remote setup. If you do not show you can manage donor relationships and internal coordination without an office, it raises doubt.