Annual Giving & Stewardship Program Manager

Make-A-Wish Greater Los Angeles; Los Angeles (CA); Hybrid; USD 65,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental, Vision, & Life Insurance

403b with matching

Hybrid Work Environment

Incentive Potential

Employee Assistance Program

Flex Time

Flexible Spending Account

Cell Phone Stipend

Calm app access

Discounted Gym Memberships

Caregiving Support Resources

Job summary

Make‑Wish Greater Los Angeles is seeking an Annual Giving & Stewardship Program Manager to lead donor engagement strategies and grow individual giving. The role oversees annual giving, donor acquisition, retention, and upgrades, while supporting major gift pipeline development in collaboration with the Director of Major Gifts.

The position requires strong writing, campaign planning, and CRM experience, with a hybrid work setup anchored in Century City, Los Angeles.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of fundraising, marketing, or nonprofit communications experience, with at least 2 years in annual giving.
• Demonstrated success in campaign execution, content development, donor segmentation and engagement.
• Strong project management and writing skills with attention to details and deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Develop, calendar, and implement a comprehensive annual giving plan focused on donor retention and upgrades.
• Lead donor program segmentation (first‑time donors, recurring donors, giving groups).
• Plan multi‑channel campaigns across print, digital, and email tied to local events and holidays.
• Manage a portfolio of 80 mid‑level donors and 400+ annual giving donors.
• Collaborate with the Director of Major Gifts to refer donors for major gift pipeline development.

Skills

Fundraising

Campaign planning

Donor segmentation

Project management

Strong writing

Education

Bachelor’s degree or higher

Tools

CRM systems

Job description

Job Title: Annual Giving & Stewardship Program Manager

Department: Advancement

Reports To: Director of Major Gifts

Position Type: Full‑Time

Work Environment: Hybrid. (Mon, Tues, Thurs we are in person at our offices in Century City)

About the Organization:

Make‑Wish is one of the nation’s most recognized nonprofits, creating life‑changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. A wish experience can be a game‑changer for a child with a critical illness. This one belief guides us in everything we do at Make‑Wish. It inspires us to grant life‑changing wishes for children going through so much. It compels us to be creative in exceeding the expectations of every wish kid. It drives us to make our donated resources go as far as possible. Most of all, it is the founding principle of our vision to grant the wish of every eligible child. Make‑Wish of Greater Los Angeles is specifically going through a season of seismic change. We have recently restructured our Board, our Leadership, and our staff, and have a strategic plan for 3 years of methodical growth and expansion in our program delivery, fundraising, and staffing.

Position Summary:

The Manager is responsible for leading donor engagement strategies that build a strong foundation for individual giving growth at Make‑Wish Los Angeles. This role oversees all aspects of annual giving, including donor acquisition, first‑time donors, recurring donor cultivation, and donor upgrade strategies and identifying and qualifying major gift prospects. The Manager designs and executes segmented campaigns across email, direct mail, and social media – in collaboration with the Director of Major Gifts. The Manager will develop stewardship programs that deepen engagement and loyalty and manage mid‑level giving. This position will carry a portfolio of mid‑level donors to deepen relationships and support the major gift pipeline.

Who you are:

Make‑Wish of Greater Los Angeles is seeking a confident, communicative, collaborative, and highly organized, proactive team member who brings a go‑getter mindset, strong follow‑through, and experience building and maintaining relationships and communication strategies with a large group of annual donors as part of an individual giving team. This role is ideal for someone with firsthand experience in donor stewardship, who has the ability to support the leveling up our current annual giving program, and who wants to contribute to a meaningful and life‑changing cause. Friends should describe you as having a positive demeanor, a “problem solver” attitude, and a desire to help others. Experience with fundraising platforms like OneCause and CRMs such as Salesforce is appreciated but not required. Attention to detail, a self‑starter attitude, and the ability to quickly task‑hop should be qualities you are confident you possess.

Key Responsibilities

Annual Giving Strategy and Execution (30%)

• Develop, calendar, and implement a comprehensive annual giving plan focused on donor retention and upgrades.
• Lead the segmentation of donor programs (first‑time donors welcome series, recurring donor program, giving groups, and prospective major gift identification.
• Plan and execute multi‑channel campaigns (across print, digital, email) tied to local events, key calendar/holiday moments, and national campaigns.
• Manage, cultivate, solicit, and steward a portfolio of 80 highly active, mid‑level donors and a 400+ annual giving portfolio.
• Collaborate with Director of Major Gifts to refer donors for the major gift pipeline development monthly
• Utilize CRM and analytics tools to segment audiences, monitor donor behavior, and assess campaign impact.
• Track monthly and quarterly KPIs and metrics including donor renewal rates, open rates, upgrades, and retention metrics and regularly report progress to Director of Major Gifts

Donor Retention and Programmatic Engagement (20%)

• Design stewardship journeys tailored to donor type and giving behaviors, including impact updates, acknowledgement process improvements, and recognition strategies.
• Manage and grow monthly giving program through retention metrics, personalized communications, and upgrade strategies.
• Support the strategy of annual refresh of giving groups (benefits, communication, renewal cadence) in collaboration with Director of Major Gifts and Manager of Corporate and Group Fundraising.
• Develop and launch, in partnership with Director of Major Gifts, new donor engagement programs to strengthen community connection and diversity the donor pipeline.
• Collaborate with Program and Volunteers to identify and steward families and volunteers with potential to become ambassadors, donors, or P2P fundraisers.

Campaign Management (20%)

• Execute appeals in partnership with marketing and communications staff on compelling content, storytelling, and data segmentation.
• Oversee email appeals and digital giving days, coordinating with marketing and communications staff on timing and content development.
• Track and report on campaign performance quarterly and utilize data analytics to refine segmentation and messaging over time

Qualifications

Required:

• 4+ years of experience in fundraising, marketing, or nonprofit communications, with at least 2 years in annual giving roles.
• Demonstrated success in campaign execution, content development, donor segmentation and engagement.
• Strong project management and writing skills with attention to details and deadlines.

Preferred:

• Bachelor’s degree or higher, or equivalent work experience.
• Proficiency with CRM systems and data tracking.
• Knowledge of the donor lifecycle and storytelling best practices.
• Collaborative, data‑driven, and mission‑oriented.
• This is a hybrid role based in the Century City neighborhood of Los Angeles.
• Currently in‑office 3 days a week. (Mon, Tues, Thurs)
• As the organization continues to grow and evolve, we are experimenting with new and innovative ways to create our team culture and reward our staff.
• We use flextime & core hours as a method of team cohesion.

Compensation

• Annual Salary: $65,000 - $80,000. The actual salary offered will becommensurate with experience and in accordance with applicable California state wage and hourly laws.
• Benefits: 100% Employer Coverage option for Medical Insurancefor staff members, with partial coverage for dependents. Dental, Vision, & Life Insurances. 403b with matching.
• o11 Paid Holidays
• oHybrid Work Environment – 3 days (Mon, Tues, Thurs) in the office in Century City
• oIncentive Potential
• oEmployee Assistance Program
• oFlex Time
• oFlexible Spending Account
• oCell Phone Stipend
• oAccess to the Calm app and other mental and emotional support programs
• oDiscounted Gym Memberships
• oCaregiving Support Parenting Resources
• oAnd more!