Manager of Donor Relations

Reports to: Director, Donor Relations

FLSA Status: Exempt

Hours/Week Category: Regular Full-Time

Travel Required: Yes

Position Summary:

The Manager, Donor Relations is a key member of the Donor Relations team and plays an integral role in strengthening relationships with major gift donors (individuals, foundations, and corporations giving $10,000 or more annually). This position works alongside the Director of Donor Relations to implement effective stewardship strategies that promote donor retention, renewal, and upgrades. Primary responsibilities include managing the gift acknowledgement program, overseeing donor recognition societies, and providing high-quality stewardship communication resources for major and corporate gift teams.

This position is focused on stewarding new, current, and lapsed major gift donors; Sustainers who are currently major gift donors or who are identified as prospective major gift donors; members of the Board of Directors, Board of Advisors, and Women Fighting Hunger Committee; and identified prospective major gift donors.

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Customized Gift Acknowledgments:
  • Manage major gift acknowledgements including writing letter templates and personalized letters, mailing and/or emailing, maintaining a library of templates, and documenting a large volume of letters.
  • Draft personalized thank you letters for GBFB’s top donors on behalf of CEO, Chair of the Board of Directors, EVP of Advancement, and VP of Philanthropic Partnerships.
  • Write and regularly update thank you letter templates. Collaborate with Advancement Operations and Systems team to manage the templates with vendors.
  • Coordinate signatures and mailing of in-house letters with the offices of the CEO and EVP of Advancement.
  • Collaborate with Advancement Operations and Systems team to support gift receipting as needed.

• Donor Recognition Societies:
  • Collaborate with Advancement team members to support the stewardship of donors who are members of GBFB’s donor recognition societies, including the Kip Tiernan Society for legacy donors.
  • Assess the donor groups who could benefit from additional stewardship/involvement with the organization and recommend the creation of donor recognition societies based on these groups.
  • Monitor public-facing recognition of societies such as mentions in the annual report and associated websites to ensure accuracy in the presentation and placement of member names.
• Communications and Reporting:
  • Collaborate with Advancement teams to align messaging and enhance the donor experience.
  • Work with the Director of Donor Relations to identify opportunities for additional touchpoints throughout the year to keep donors engaged.
  • Write and distribute personalized communications, solicitations, invitations, updates, and reports for prospective and current donors as directed by the Director of Donor Relations.
  • Seek out and prompt opportunities to personalize or repurpose materials, proposals, and reports as needed to support major and corporate gifts teams’ needs for cultivation and solicitation efforts.
  • Manage the annual holiday card project for frontline fundraisers, in collaboration with Advancement Operations team, including list management for each fundraiser, printing/mail merging as needed, and tracking in Salesforce.
• Data Management:
  • Make recommendations for Salesforce coding of communication preferences in support of stewarding donors and/or prospects, in collaboration with Advancement Operations and Systems team as needed.
  • Ensure accurate data for all stewardship activities and engagements, including supporting mass task uploads of donor communications, and collaborating with Advancement Operations and Systems and the frontline fundraising team.
• Engages directly with donors on in-person tours of GBFB and at in-person and virtual donor cultivation and stewardship events
• Serves as an active member of the Advancement Team, contributing to goal setting and the refinement of processes, policies, and procedures.
• Provides support for GBFB fundraising and stewardship events and other activities as needed.
• All other duties as assigned.

Skills & Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• At least 3 years of experience in donor relations, development/fundraising programs, communications, or comparable field.
• Excellent interpersonal, organization, writing, and communications skills.
• Strong foundation and knowledge of donor stewardship planning and coordination.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook.).
• Strong proficiency with CRM databases. Experience in Salesforce preferred.
• Excellent time and project management skills and ability to meet deadlines.
• Ability to build relationships with GBFB stakeholders including donors, prospects, colleagues, and others.
• Genuine appreciation of GBFB’s mission and the ability to authentically communicate it.
• Ability and willingness to travel within Massachusetts; Driver’s License required.

Physical Demands:

• Ability to work in an office environment.
• Ability to sit for up to 3 hours at a time.
• Ability to lift up to 25 pounds with or without assistance.
• Ability the use of hands for simple grasping and fine manipulations.
• Ability to travel based on business needs.

Work Location:

Hybrid: This role follows a hybrid schedule working in accordance with GBFB’s hybrid work policy on the team’s designated days. This schedule is subject to change based on the organization’s mission to end hunger.