Development Manager

Deschutes Children's Foundation; Bend (OR); On-site; USD 72,000 - 82,000; Full time

Job summary

Deschutes Children’s Foundation is seeking a Development Manager in Bend, Oregon to advance the organization’s mission by leading donor development, fundraising campaigns, events, and communications.

Reporting to the Executive Director, you will strengthen donor relationships, manage annual campaigns, oversee development systems (DonorPerfect, Greater Giving), and coordinate engagement with volunteers, partners, and the community.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and professional experience in nonprofit development, fundraising, communications, event management, marketing, or a related field.
• Experience in nonprofit development, fundraising, donor relations, and communications is strongly preferred.
• Proven ability to build relationships and manage multiple projects with attention to detail.

Responsibilities

• Develop and manage donor development and stewardship programs, including major donor cultivation and corporate partnerships.
• Lead annual fundraising campaigns, donor communications, and advancement of development systems.
• Plan and execute signature fundraising events and oversee event logistics and sponsorships.
• Coordinate marketing, communications, and website content to showcase impact and opportunities.
• Provide regular reporting on fundraising revenue, projections, and donor engagement to the Executive Director.

Skills

Fundraising

Donor stewardship

Donor relations

Event planning

Communications

Project management

CRM systems

DonorPerfect

Greater Giving

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent

Tools

DonorPerfect

Greater Giving

Job description

Development Manager

Reports to: Executive Director

Status: Full Time, Exempt

Salary Range: $72,000–$82,000 annually, depending on experience

The Development Manager advances Deschutes Children’s Foundation’s mission by managing fundraising, donor stewardship, special events, and communications. Working closely with the Executive Director, this position strengthens individual and corporate donor relationships, manages annual fundraising campaigns and development systems, leads DCF’s signature fundraising events, and coordinates communications that engage donors, volunteers, partners, and the broader community.

1. Donor Development & Stewardship

• Manage DCF’s donor stewardship program, including cultivation, solicitation, recognition, engagement, retention, and relationship-building with individual donors, corporate partners, sponsors, and community supporters.
• Partner with the Executive Director to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward major and prospective donors and support Board members in donor outreach.
• Coordinate donor communications, acknowledgments, stewardship activities, and engagement opportunities.
• Track donor relationships, commitments, next steps, giving history, retention, and trends in DonorPerfect to inform future engagement.

2. Fundraising Campaigns & Development Operations

• Coordinate and implement DCF’s annual fundraising plan in partnership with the Executive Director and maintain the organizational development calendar.
• Lead DCF’s Annual Appeal/year-end fundraising campaign, including timeline, donor segmentation, mailing lists, communications, production, digital outreach, Board participation, and follow-up.
• Manage DonorPerfect and related development systems, ensuring accurate donor records, gift entry, acknowledgments, pledge and sponsorship tracking, campaign coding, mailing lists, donor notes, and reporting.
• Monitor fundraising revenue and in-kind contributions and provide regular reports and projections to the Executive Director.
• Coordinate fundraising collateral, solicitation and sponsorship materials, and other development resources.
• Maintain organized development records, SOPs, templates, timelines, and appropriate organizational access to development-related systems and platforms.
• Assist with grant development and funder stewardship as needed, including prospect research, data collection, impact stories, reporting support, and development materials.

3. Special Events

• Lead the planning, coordination, and implementation of DCF fundraising and donor-engagement events, including Ripples Gala, Chip in FORE! Kids, The Big Dill, Bingo events, and other development activities.
• Develop event timelines, work plans, budgets, revenue projections, and progress reports in collaboration with the Executive Director.
• Manage Greater Giving and related event fundraising systems, including event setup, registration, sponsorships, auction and raffle items, guest information, payment processing, reporting, and post-event reconciliation.
• Manage event sponsorships and in-kind contributions, including solicitation support, tracking, communications, benefit fulfillment, recognition, and stewardship.
• Manage event logistics, vendors, registration, fundraising activities, supplies, and day-of execution.
• Recruit, coordinate, and communicate with event volunteers and engage Board members and staff in fundraising, sponsorships, and donor engagement.
• Coordinate event communications, post-event stewardship, revenue reconciliation, evaluation, and follow-up; maintain event SOPs and historical resources for consistent execution.

4. Marketing & Communications

• Coordinate DCF’s marketing and communications efforts to communicate the organization’s mission, community impact, partnerships, fundraising opportunities, and accomplishments.
• Develop and maintain an organizational communications calendar and manage content for DCF’s social media platforms.
• Develop and distribute email marketing and donor communications.
• Manage and maintain DCF’s website, including regular content updates, event and fundraising pages, sponsor recognition, forms and links, staff and partner information, and other time-sensitive organizational content.
• Regularly review website functionality, accuracy, accessibility, and SEO, and coordinate with DCF’s website vendor on maintenance, troubleshooting, updates, and opportunities to improve the user experience.
• Develop promotional campaigns and print/digital materials for fundraising events, annual campaigns, donor engagement, and organizational initiatives.
• Lead production of DCF’s Annual Report and support organizational storytelling by gathering impact information, stories, photos, testimonials, and program data.
• Draft press releases and coordinate media outreach with the Executive Director while maintaining consistent DCF branding across communications.

5. General Responsibilities

• Maintain a strong working knowledge of DCF’s mission, campuses, nonprofit partners, community impact, and funding needs and represent DCF professionally in the community.
• Participate collaboratively in staff, organizational, Board, committee, volunteer, and community activities as appropriate.
• Support the Executive Director and broader organizational priorities and complete other duties as assigned.

Skills & Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and professional experience in nonprofit development, fundraising, communications, event management, marketing, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience in nonprofit development, fundraising, donor relations, or a closely related field; experience with fundraising events and communications strongly preferred.
• Strong relationship-building skills and excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong project management, administrative, organizational, and detail-management skills, with the ability to manage multiple projects and competing deadlines.
• Experience with donor databases or CRM systems; DonorPerfect experience preferred.
• Ability to handle confidential donor and organizational information with professionalism and discretion.
• Experience with email marketing, social media, website content management, and common nonprofit technology platforms.
• Ability to work independently, take initiative, anticipate needs, identify solutions, and collaborate effectively within a small, mission-driven team.
• Knowledge of and passion for the mission of Deschutes Children’s Foundation.

Physical & Other Requirements

• Frequent computer use, keyboarding, sitting, and communication by phone, email, and in person.
• Ability to occasionally lift and move materials weighing up to 30 pounds.
• Ability to participate in occasional evening or weekend fundraising events and community activities and travel locally throughout Central Oregon as needed.