Director of Donor Relations

BlueSteps Connect; United States; On-site; USD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

BlueSteps Connect is seeking a Director of Donor Relations to lead major gift fundraising for a nonprofit news organization serving the Pittsburgh region and Western Pennsylvania. You will build and steward leadership gifts ($1,000–$100,000+) and align donor engagement with newsroom growth plans.

You will collaborate with senior leadership, manage a relational fundraising strategy, plan donor events, and use wealth screening to identify prospects ready for leadership giving, while ensuring

Qualifications

• Proven track record of raising leadership gifts and managing donor portfolios.
• Strong relationship-building and communication skills with senior stakeholders.
• Ability to develop and implement a relational fundraising strategy.

Responsibilities

• Identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward leadership gifts across multiple tiers.
• Create and manage a fundraising strategy aligned with organizational growth.
• Plan donor events and engagement activities in Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania.
• Develop materials for leadership donors and provide impact reporting.
• Collaborate with senior leadership and peer directors across Pennsylvania.

Skills

Fundraising

Donor relations

Communication

Strategic planning

Tools

Wealth screening

Job description

The client is seeking a Director of Donor Relations to lead individual major gift fundraising for a nonprofit news organization serving the Pittsburgh region and Western Pennsylvania. The role will focus on building and strengthening individual leadership giving, supporting independent journalism, and engaging an expanding community of donors. The Director of Donor Relations will collaborate closely with senior leadership and will be part of a team with peer directors across other parts of Pennsylvania.

Responsibilities include identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and steward prospective donors capable of making leadership gifts across multiple tiers; creating and managing a relational fundraising strategy that moves prospects beyond transactional support; and stewarding existing major donors through timely communications and impact reporting tied to their interests, with the goal of increasing giving according to donor capacity. The role also involves working with the team to identify current donors who may be ready to become leadership donors (using wealth screening and other tools), planning and leading small-group events and donor engagement activities in Pittsburgh and the broader Western Pennsylvania region, and developing materials for leadership donors.

The client seeks an experienced fundraiser with a proven track record raising individual gifts in the leadership range, typically from $1,000 to $100,000+; demonstrating results from initial cultivation through conversion to major donors; and maintaining strong organizational and communication practices to track progress and ensure regular, individualized outreach. The position requires comfort working collaboratively in a team environment while also performing independently, with a goal-oriented, self-starting mindset. Commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion through both team efforts and fundraising is expected, and the role will support community newsroom expansion efforts by aligning donor engagement with the organization’s growth plans.