Director, Donor Growth & Development Operations

GSNEO; Macedonia (OH); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

GSNEO is seeking a Director of Individual Giving and Development Operations to lead and expand the organization’s donor base. This hybrid, full‑time role reports to the Chief Development Officer and focuses on individual giving, major gifts, and planned giving while ensuring robust database management and reporting.

You will develop strategies to increase revenue, supervise the Fund Development Coordinator, and collaborate across Marketing, Communications and Finance to advance GSNEO’s mission

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience with 8–10 years in fundraising and 3 years supervisory experience.
• Experience leading donor acquisition, stewardship and moves management.
• Strong communications, writing, and analytical skills for donor engagement.

Responsibilities

• Lead growth of the individual giving program and development operations.
• Set annual revenue targets and donor engagement metrics.
• Oversee donor database management, reporting, and stewardship processes.
• Develop strategies across annual giving, major gifts, and planned giving.
• Collaborate with Marketing/Communications and Finance on donor materials.
• Supervise Fund Development Coordinator and partner with CDO.

Skills

Fundraising leadership

Supervisory experience

Donor relations

Strategic planning

Communication

Donor database management

Moves management

Reporting & analytics

Project management

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience

CFRE (preferred)

Tools

DonorPerfect

Microsoft Office

Job description

Description

This is a full-time, hybrid position.

Reporting to and working in close collaboration with the Chief Development Officer, the Director of Individual Giving and Development Operations will oversee and execute fundraising efforts focusing on individual giving. The Director of Individual Giving and Development Operations will develop a strategy to support overall revenue growth and diversification and to broaden GSNEO’s donor base across annual giving, major gifts, and planned giving.

The Director of Individual Giving and Development Operations leads two core elements of GSNEO’s fundraising strategy and development team:

(1) growth of the individual giving program and

(2) development operations across the whole department to ensure high quality database management, reporting, departmental systems, prospect research and donor stewardship for both institutional and individual giving.

MAJOR ACCOUNTABILITIES:

• Engage current donors and reach new donor audiences through creative digital strategies, mail solicitations, events, relationship management, and networking.

• In coordination with the Chief Development Officer and the CEO, work with the Community Engagement Committee to engage the committee members in fundraising strategies and cultivating new donor prospects.

• Build lists and pipelines of individual donors, vet and engage potential donors, and actively engage a portfolio of donors

• Lead the process to improve, maintain and fully utilize the DonorPerfect donor database, including oversight of database upgrades, gift entry, acknowledgement, and reporting processes across the department, including both institutional and individual giving.

• Develop and communicate clear and consistent development department policies, procedures and protocols, including those that support collaboration between development and other departments, such as Marketing and Communications and Finance.

• Ensure that the systems and resources are in place to scale-up prospect research strategies to identify new individual and institutional prospects.

• Represent GSNEO with key external audiences and in the community as needed

• Set and meet annual targets for revenue, donor acquisition, donor meetings and related metrics.

• Maintain current knowledge of GSNEO programs and partner with other departments to identify and create donor engagement opportunities.

• Manage portfolio of current and prospective individual donors, serving as one of the team’s front-line fundraisers.

• Partner with Chief Development Officer to grow the Juliette Gordon Low Society (planned giving)

• Provide direct supervision of Fund Development Coordinator

• In-conjunction with Chief Development Officer, ensure that Development’s voice and donor centered perspective is reflected in GSNEO’s marketing and communications effort

• Collaborate with the marketing and communications team to create compelling fundraising materials and campaigns

• Ensure that key donor marketing and communication assets are produced and delivered in a timely, efficient, and effective manner, including, but not limited to Annual Report, Newsletters, and other donor related collateral

• Lead efforts to enhance donor recognition and acknowledgment processes to ensure ongoing engagement and retention of donors

• Monitor and analyze individual giving fundraising performance metrics to optimize strategies and achieve revenue goals

• Stay informed about trends and best practices in fundraising and donor relations to enhance organizational effectiveness

• Produce and maintain annual department calendar utilizing a collaborative tool that informs the efforts of the department

• Partner with the Chief Development Officer to nurture the Culture of Philanthropy throughout the organization

• Additional tasks and projects may be assigned as needed

Requirements

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience and at least 8-10 years of progressive fundraising and 3 years supervisory experience in a development department

• Past supervisory experience and demonstrated success as a team leader

• Strong experience with Microsoft Office suite of programs

• Strong presentation, communication, writing, and analytical skills to communicate complex issues in ways that are compelling to donors.

• Knowledge of best practices in donor solicitation, stewardship, and acknowledgement.

• Knowledge of database management, moves management, and reporting

• Ability to manage multiple projects, engage collaborators across and outside the organization, and maintain project timelines to meet deadlines

• Ability to work onsite at least 3 days per week required

• Regular and predictable attendance, working some evenings and weekends to support meetings and events

• The ability to understand, express, and exchange complex ideas in a fast-paced environment

• Stellar time and project management and problem-solving ability

• The ability to communicate detailed or important information through written documents and emails and through verbal means over the telephone, using virtual meeting platforms, and in person

• Knowledge of, and experience with, the AFP Fundraising Code of Ethics to align with ethical fundraising and best industry practices

Preferred Education and Experience:

• CFRE

• Experience with DonorPerfect

• Experience growing annual fund and mid-level giving programs, including a successful track record developing strategies to build donor pipelines

• Experience leading and improving development operations

• Planned giving experience