Planned Giving Officer

Position Title: Planned Giving Officer

Reports to: Senior Director of Individual Giving

Location: Remote (US-Based), w/ occasional travel

Salary: $85,000-$115,000  

Background 

The Lupus Research Alliance is the largest non-governmental, non-profit funder of lupus research worldwide. The organization aims to transform treatment by funding the most innovative lupus research, fostering scientific talent, and driving discovery toward better diagnostics, improved treatments and, ultimately, a cure for lupus. Because the Lupus Research Alliance’s Board of Directors funds all administrative and fundraising costs, 100% of all donations goes to support lupus research programs.  

Position Summary 

The Planned Giving Officer (PGO) reports directly to the Senior Director of Individual Giving and is responsible for designing, growing, and managing LRA’s planned giving and legacy program. This role serves as the internal subject-matter expert on planned giving, estate intent documentation, and donor-centered best practices. The PGO manages a national portfolio of donors and prospects and positions LRA as a trusted philanthropic partner for donors seeking to make a lasting impact.

In alignment with Advancement’s three-year strategic plan, the Planned Giving Officer will help advance long-term revenue and donor engagement objectives by integrating planned giving into LRA’s broader fundraising and stewardship strategies. The role will contribute to building a sustainable planned giving pipeline by increasing awareness of planned giving opportunities, deepening donor relationships through personalized philanthropic planning conversations, and cultivating a strong community of mission-aligned legacy donors. In close partnership with cross-functional Advancement colleagues, the Planned Giving Officer will support coordinated planning, messaging, and donor experiences that reinforce LRA’s long-term growth and impact goals.

Primary Roles & Responsibilities

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Design and implement a comprehensive planned giving strategy aligned with LRA’s long-term goals.
• Own and manage LRA’s planned giving efforts, including strategy, pipeline growth, and personalized donor stewardship. Cultivate, solicit, and steward planned gifts, including bequests, trusts, retirement assets, and other complex gifts.
• Partner regularly with donors, professional advisors, legal and financial planners to craft charitable gift plans that align donor philanthropic and financial goals.
• Prepare and deliver tailored presentations, proposals, and illustrations that clearly demonstrate the philanthropic, financial, and tax advantages of various planned giving vehicles.
• Collaborate with Marketing & Communications to create and distribute planned giving marketing materials, digital campaigns, and web content that raise awareness and generate planned giving leads.
• Manage a portfolio of approximately 125–150 donors and prospects.
• Oversee and optimize the use of FreeWill and estate intent forms.
• Maintain accurate records in Salesforce and contribute to forecasting and reporting.

Qualifications & Skills 

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
• 3–5+ years of experience in planned giving or major gifts fundraising.
• Knowledge of estate planning concepts and donor cultivation strategies.
• Demonstrated expertise with a wide range of planned giving vehicles, including bequests, charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, lead trusts, designated beneficiary gifts, and complex assets.
• Exceptional presentation and public speaking skills, with the ability to deliver compelling cases for support to donors and to internal audiences.
• Experience working with or cultivating relationships with professional advisors (attorneys, accountants, financial planners) that can drive planned giving referrals and participation.
• Experience with donor database systems and analytics to track intent forms, expected future receipts, stewardship activity, and communication pipelines.
• Track record of identifying new planned giving prospects and growing planned giving pipelines through data-informed prospect research and outreach.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.

The Lupus Research Alliance is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to equal opportunity for all regardless of race, ethnicity, color, ancestry, national origin, citizenship, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/orientation/preference, class or socioeconomic status, marital status, age, ability, or Veteran status.