The Senior Manager, Annual Fund is responsible for the strategic development and management of an effective annual giving program. Under the direction of the Director of Development Operations and in collaboration with the Individual Philanthropy and Brand and Communications functions, the Senior Manager, Annual Fund leads the annual giving strategy by identifying funding sources for renewed, increased, and new support, as well as develops and implements strategies for annual giving identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship. This position requires significant experience in project management, donor segmentation, tracking and understanding data performance analytics, and strategy development.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
- Lead the strategic vision of all annual giving work to develop a solid and scalable annual giving program that raises increased funds, year-after-year.
- Develop and implement a strategic plan of action with objectives, timelines, and evaluation plans for the annual giving program to retain, upgrade, and acquire new annual fund donors through the building of thoughtful cultivation materials, solicitations, meaningful stewardship, and creative engagement communications and activities.
- Lead all annual fund donor communications and solicitation programs including:
- Designing and growing a direct mail program in coordination and collaboration with the Brand and Culture Team.
- Coordinate all aspects of the program to meet fundraising goals, maintain a healthy portfolio of active donors, and build a donor pipeline for mid and major gifts.
- Building comprehensive plan to grow revenue of online only donors through digital marketing, stewardship and engagement initiatives.
- Leading a robust monthly giving program.
- Maintain a personal portfolio of donors from whom personal solicitations will be made with the intention of upgrading these donors to the mid-level portfolio.
- Create and monitor yearly annual giving goals including retention, upgrades, and acquisitions. Review monthly to ensure goals are being met, revising goals with the Director as necessary.
- Develop and oversee annual giving budget to ensure appropriate use of resources.
- In collaboration with the Brand and Communications Team, ensure fundraising content on the website and donate pages are consistent, up-to-date, and optimized toward current fundraising campaign goals.
- Regularly track and analyze performance of annual giving program both as a whole and by key segments to enhance strategy and tactics.
- Implement procedures to maintain strong donor relations and increased organization and efficiency through utilization of Salesforce, building of annual fund best practices, and standard operating procedures for all annual fund activities.
- Consistently stay on top of annual giving trends as well as pilot, test, and evaluate the effectiveness of new annual giving strategies, pivoting and building, where needed.
- Maximize the use of Salesforce, EveryAction, and other key fundraising tools and platforms to effectively segment and track donors and understand donor behaviors.
- Ground fundraising and donor education in race, equity, and social justice to increase trust with new audiences.
- Perform any other duties as assigned towards meeting team and organizational goals.
KEY TALENTS/WAYS OF BEING
- Strong interpersonal skills: attentive listening and observation, transparency, emotional intelligence, collaboration, and clear communication
- Attention to detail and excellent problem-solving, project management, analytical and creative-thinking skills.
- Strategic, forward-thinking self-starter with the ability to productively provide and receive feedback
- Exhibit organization, flexibility and time management of daily tasks and long-term projects in a fast-paced environment
- Elicit input from stakeholders to facilitate decision-making and make decisions on behalf of team/organization as appropriate.
KEY SKILLS/WAYS OF DOING
- Minimum of 7 years professional experience in non-profit fundraising with at least 5 years in annual fund programs.
- Tangible experience of having expanded and cultivated existing donor relationships over time.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills: can articulate complex themes for multiple audiences/settings (different types of source and movement partners as well as peer organizations); able to present complex ideas and programs in a pragmatic, compelling manner.
- Ability to influence philanthropy and lead donor education efforts while bringing in and retaining donors.
- Ability to collect, organize and analyze data related to donor giving
- Well versed in direct mail and digital solicitation best practices and implementation
- Proficient in donor database formats; knowledge of Salesforce a plus
- Considerable knowledge of fundraising techniques and sources of funding
- Ability to handle multiple projects, set priorities, and meet deadlines
- Understand and embrace feminist, community-centric funding/fundraising principles.
- Strong organization skills, decision-making, and delegation skills.
- Comfortable working in multi-cultural climates
- Entrepreneurial spirit, with the enthusiasm and energy to implement new strategies and meet ambitious goals.
- Ability to travel nationally and internationally.
The salary range for the position is $92,000 - $140,000*
*This range is reflective of our high-market geo, and will vary based on the candidate’s city and state of residence.
