Development Manager

Association of Fundraising Professionals; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 65,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

BiblicalTraining.org, a donor-funded ministry, seeks a development professional to lead donor relations and crafting BT's annual fundraising strategy. You will cultivate Ministry Partners and mid-level donors, run multi-channel campaigns, and shape the donor experience across email, web, and events.

You will collaborate closely with leadership to build a scalable giving program, with emphasis on warm touches, stewardship, and personal connection to BT's mission.

Qualifications

• 3-5 years of nonprofit development/fundraising experience.
• Experience with annual giving and recurring/monthly giving programs, and comfort managing a donor CRM.
• Excellent written communication for donor-facing appeals, stewardship reports, and campaign copy.
• Personal alignment with BT's evangelical Statement of Faith and mission.
• A collaborative self-starter who thrives with autonomy in a small, distributed team.

Responsibilities

• Build genuine, personal relationships with Ministry Partners and mid-level donors through calls, notes, and regular check-ins.
• Set and own BT's development strategy: annual plan, fundraising calendar, budget, and channel mix with the President.
• Plan and run BT's seasonal and year-end giving campaigns in partnership with the Website Director.
• Grow the Ministry Partner recurring-giving community with tiered levels and onboarding experiences.
• Launch and grow BT's mid-tier giving community with personalized outreach and stewardship paths.
• Design onboarding pathways that convert BT's free learners into donors through lifecycle emails.
• Manage the donor database/CRM with data hygiene and gift processing.
• Partner with the President on major-donor and board relationships, including donor research and briefing materials.
• Report fundraising progress regularly to the President and celebrate wins with the wider team.

Skills

Nonprofit fundraising

Donor CRM management

Data dashboards

Written donor communication

Relationship building

Education

CFRE credential

Tools

Little Green Light

Bloomerang

DonorPerfect

Virtuous

Salesforce NPSP

Job description

About BiblicalTraining.org

BiblicalTraining.org is a 501(c)(3), donor-funded ministry that provides free, high-quality Bible education to "every Christian, everywhere, forever." Founded by Dr. Bill Mounce and led today by Bill Mounce (Founder) and Rob Marcello (President), BT offers classes across four levels - Basics, Foundations, Academy, and Institute - taught by a growing roster of world-class professors, pastors, and authors. In FY26 alone, BT welcomed 25,000+ new learners and saw 146,000+ lessons completed, on top of 880,000+ site visits over the past year. BT is ECFA-accredited and entirely crowdfunded - there is no tuition or paywall.

BT is entering an exciting season of growth, and our strategic plan puts donor relationships and development strategy at the center of what's next. This role is where that vision comes to life - and it's built to be highly relational: your success will come from genuinely connecting with the people who make BT's mission possible, not just running campaigns behind a screen.

The Opportunity

You're joining at a pivotal, energizing moment. BT already has a global following - 880,000+ site visits and 25,000+ new learners this past year alone, in nearly every country on earth - and a small, close-knit, growing team ready to invest in building real relationships with the people who support this mission. Here's where you'll make your mark:

• Build relationships at scale. You'll get to know our learners as people, not just numbers - building warm, personal on-ramps (in-app invitations, post-class conversations, thoughtful email touchpoints) that turn free learners into engaged, joyful supporters.
• Grow our recurring-giving family. Our Ministry Partner community already gives from the heart every month. You'll get to deepen those relationships with tiered giving levels, a genuine welcome experience, and personal check-ins that make every partner feel seen.
• Launch a mid-tier giving community. You'll create something new: a mid-tier giving community for donors ready for a closer relationship with BT - personal calls, handwritten notes, and stewardship that feels like friendship, not a transaction.
• Help set our development strategy. You'll shape BT's first annual development strategy from the ground up - goals, calendar, and a giving rhythm for the year - working closely with the President and the wider team to bring it to life.
• Build the systems behind great relationships. You'll build the donor data and CRM practices that help us remember what matters to each supporter, so every relationship gets more personal as we grow, not less.
• Team up across the organization. You'll partner closely with our Website Director and the rest of the team, aligning development and marketing so every touchpoint - web, email, and campaign - feels like one coherent, welcoming relationship with BT.

What You'll Do

• Build genuine, personal relationships with our Ministry Partners and mid-level donors - calls, notes, and regular check-ins that make people feel like true partners in the mission, not names on a list.
• Set and own BT's development strategy: the annual plan, fundraising calendar, budget, and channel mix across email, web, and direct appeals, shaped in close collaboration with the President.
• Plan and run BT's seasonal and year-end giving campaigns (Giving Tuesday, December appeal, spring campaign), in partnership with the Website Director.
• Grow the Ministry Partner recurring-giving community: design tiered giving levels, a warm onboarding experience, and thoughtful re-engagement for anyone who's stepped away.
• Launch and grow BT's mid-tier giving community for donors ready for a closer relationship with BT - personalized outreach, upgrade paths, and dedicated stewardship.
• Design welcoming pathways that introduce BT's free learners to giving - in-app invitations, post-class conversations, and lifecycle email sequences.
• Manage the donor database/CRM as a relationship tool: data hygiene, gift processing, tax receipting, and segmentation that helps you remember what matters to each supporter.
• Partner with the President on major-donor and board relationships - donor research, briefing materials, and stewardship follow-through.
• Report fundraising progress regularly to the President, and celebrate wins with the wider team.

What You'll Bring

Required

• 3-5 years of nonprofit development/fundraising experience.
• A warm, relational style - you genuinely enjoy getting to know people and building trust that turns into lasting support.
• Experience with annual giving and recurring/monthly giving programs, and comfort managing a donor CRM (e.g., Little Green Light, Bloomerang, DonorPerfect, Virtuous, Salesforce NPSP).
• Comfort with fundraising data and reporting - you can build a dashboard, not just a spreadsheet.
• Excellent written communication for donor-facing appeals, stewardship reports, and campaign copy.
• Personal alignment with BT's broadly evangelical Statement of Faith and mission.
• A collaborative self-starter who thrives with real autonomy inside a small, growing, distributed team.

Preferred

• CFRE (Certified Fund Raising Executive/CFP) credential or active AFP (Association of Fundraising Professionals) membership; candidates without current certification should be willing to pursue AFP membership and CFRE certification.
• Experience with mid-level donor cultivation specifically.
• Background at a church, parachurch ministry, or Christian education organization.

Why This Role Matters

BT has already solved distribution - world-class Bible teaching is reaching learners in nearly every country on earth, for free. The next chapter is relational: turning that reach into a genuine community of supporters who feel personally connected to the mission. You'll join a small, tight-knit, growing team at exactly the right moment to help build those relationships and shape what BT's giving community becomes.