Donor Relations Manager

Job Title: Donor Relations Manager

Reports To: Director of Development

About Equality Federation and Equality Federation Institute:

Equality Federation is an advocacy accelerator rooted in social justice, building power in our network of state-based lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) advocacy organizations. We work collaboratively on critical non-partisan issues—from advancing workplace fairness and family recognition to defeating anti-transgender bills and HIV criminalization laws—that affect how LGBTQ+ people experience the world from cradle to grave. 

The greatest opportunities for victories to improve the lives of LGBTQ+ people are in the states—where the work is hard but the impact is great. Equality Federation builds state-based leadership and resilience through our programs to catalyze the national movement for equality and win policy changes.

The Opportunity

As the donor relations manager you will work closely with our director of development and communications team to prospect, steward and engage new and existing donors. You serve as the primary steward and solicitor for grassroots donors, support the director of development with research and prospecting and ou work closely with the communications team to manage the annual e-appeal campaigns. You work with director of development and events manager on sponsor-specific items for our Leadership Conference.

The person in this position will be responsible for engaging with donors and potential donors at all levels. They should enjoy interacting with donors and building relationships. They will have strong writing skills and an understanding of solicitation emails. They will work with different departments to execute the individual giving campaigns and will steward donors at all levels. They will actively prospect utilizing donor tools and maintain prospect databases and calendars.

You are organized and a strong communicator, both written and verbal, with a passion for promoting LGBTQ+ work in the states You have an understanding of how LGBTQ+ issues intersect with racial justice, disability justice, and economic justice priorities. You understand how to work collaboratively with team members to develop realistic and achievable goal-oriented plans. 

As part of our entirely distributed team, you will work remotely and may be based anywhere in the contiguous United States with broadband internet and access to a major airport. You’ll love the flexibility and opportunity to do national work from your own community. You’ll be available for a five-day trip for our conference, two 3-4 day trips for staff or departmental retreats, as well as occasional travel to convenings and external conferences.

Key Objectives and Responsibilities: 

Ensure Equality Federation meets or exceeds its annual income goals from grassroots and mid-level donors by maintaining current donors, building relationships, managing an annual e-appeal campaign and actively prospecting while supporting the development department. 

Primary responsibilities:

Grassroots Donor Program

• Using the developed annual calendar, write e-appeals throughout the year
• Write e-appeals and collaborate on fundraising strategy for Give OUT Day, Giving Tuesday, and end-of-year fundraising campaigns
• Acknowledge donations between $1 and $500

Stewardship 

• Manage a portfolio of prospects and donors by creating and executing engagement plans and strategies to secure ongoing and new contributions. 
• Ensure that donor and gift records and reports are maintained accurately and updated in a timely fashion in EveryAction
• Create and send tax receipts for all donations annually
• Review information tracking processes regarding acknowledgment, recognition, ongoing communications, and continued cultivation of past and current donors to enhance their relationship with the organization and increase the likelihood of continued contributions
• Help devise consistent, accurate, and appropriate information-sharing mechanisms for stewarding prospects and donors across the organization.

Prospecting 

• Support the Development team in building a consistent mid-level and major donor prospect pipeline
• Document donor interactions in the database, EveryAction, and conduct appropriate research on donors and prospects
• Create a system to track prospects and move them through the donor cycle
• Maintain and monitor planned giving program including research on bequests

Solicitation 

• Be the primary solicitor for portfolio 
• Make asks for donations and donation increases via a variety of communications   

Leadership Conference 

• Collect and track logos and sponsor ads for Leadership Conference 
• Schedule office hours for sponsors during Leadership Conference
• Assist with setting meetings for executive director, deputy director, and vice president of external relations at Leadership Conference.
• Collaborate with the development director on creating sponsorship kits annually 
• Build database of prospective sponsors
• Provide administrative support to the director of development

Key Competencies/Experience

Qualified candidates will:

• Have at least 3 years of experience in donor relations and fundraising ideally in a nonprofit or advocacy setting
• Must be able to multi-task and demonstrate good judgment and decision-making when working with donors.
• Have excellent organizational, interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills
• Exhibit excellent social skills, with large groups as well as with individuals
• Be detail-oriented, well-organized, focused, and goal-oriented, with a high level of initiative and energy
• Exhibit problem-solving skills and use judgment in situations requiring independent initiative and tact
• Have experience directly asking for donations 
• Demonstrate experience in writing compelling fundraising emails and other materials
• Have experience creating and maintaining a stewardship calendar 

Research shows marginalized groups are less likely to apply for positions unless they meet 100% of a job description; please consider applying even if you don’t 100% meet these criteria.

Additional Competencies/Experience (not required, but a plus)

• Experience with Zoom, Google Hangouts, or other video conferencing programs
• Experience with Asana or other task management programs
• Experience with Slack
• Experience using Google Suite
• Experience with EveryAction
• Experience with Donor Lead/DonorSearch
• Experience with Hustle 
• Experience with FreeWill