Donor Engagement Manager

ZACHARY AND ELIZABETH M FISHER; New York (NY); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Annual bonus

Medical insurance

401K with match

Generous PTO

Professional development

Job summary

The Donor Engagement Manager at Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation will build meaningful donor relationships within a lean, mission-driven team, managing a portfolio of mid-level donors and executing moves to upgrade gifts while aligning segmentation with revenue goals.

This role collaborates with the Managing Director of Fundraising, supports donor communications, events, and pipeline growth, and leverages Salesforce to track progress, ensuring timely acknowledgments and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree preferred.
• 7–12 years of fundraising experience, preferably in Alzheimer’s, neuroscience, or health-related nonprofits.
• Demonstrated success managing donor portfolios and securing 5-figure gifts, with some 6-figure experience preferred.
• Strong writing skills and experience crafting donor-centered communications for appeals, stewardship, and targeted outreach.
• Familiarity with moves management, segmentation, and pipeline strategy.
• Experience with Salesforce or similar CRM systems, with experience in fundraising performance tracking and reporting.

Responsibilities

• Mid-Level Donor Portfolio Management: Manage a robust portfolio of mid-level donors ($1K-$9,999), execute disciplined moves management to upgrade donors into major-gift prospects, and develop individualized cultivation plans based on donor capacity, loyalty, and engagement.
• Support cultivation of select major donors as assigned by the Fundraising Managing Director and maintain Alzheimer's-specific donor literacy to deepen donor connection to the mission.
• Donor Engagement & Stewardship: Lead stewardship for mid-level donors through personalized outreach, virtual lab tours, Why I Give integration, donor updates, and targeted follow-ups.
• Ensure timely acknowledgments and donor communications in partnership with the Fundraising Coordinator; support donor events and virtual engagement experiences; and strengthen donor loyalty through consistent, mission-centered engagement.
• Segmentation & Pipeline Strategy: Partner with the Fundraising Managing Director to refine donor segmentation models that support upgrades and long-term pipeline growth. Identify upgrade opportunities using recency, frequency, loyalty, capacity, donor lifetime value, and relationship depth. Track donor movement through the pipeline using Salesforce and provide donor intelligence to support forecasting and revenue planning.
• Campaign & Appeal Support: Support campaign architecture by contributing donor insights, identify segmentation, and messaging strategy.
• Draft donor-centered communications for appeals, stewardship, and targeted outreach, and analyze donor data to improve campaign performance and donor conversion.
• Light Grant Writing: Draft and submit approximately 12 grant proposals annually to support fundraising goals and assist with grant reporting and donor impact communications. Manage the annual Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) application, reporting, and donor communications.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with Programs to integrate research updates into donor communications.
• Partner with Operations and the Database Manager to maintain accurate donor records, ensure reporting consistency, and track fundraising performance against strategic plan goals and objectives.
• Collaborate with the Fundraising Coordinator to ensure seamless stewardship, administrative support, and donor follow-up.
• Perform other related tasks and special projects as assigned and/or required.

Skills

Strong writing skills

Moves management

Donor segmentation

Grant writing

Fundraising strategy

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Master’s degree

Tools

Salesforce

Job description

REPORTS TO:

Fundraising Managing Director

ORGANISATONAL SUMMARY

For over 30 years, the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation has been a leader in advancing Alzheimer’s research and awareness. The Foundation has provided millions of dollars funding groundbreaking science at world-renowned institutions: Fisher Center lab at Rockefeller University, NYU Langone, and Imagine Institute in Paris, France and have earned Charity Navigator’s highest rating for 15 consecutive years. Join a passionate, mission-driven team making a real impact—help us raise millions to change lives!

POSITION SUMMARY

Are you ready to build meaningful donor relationships for a cause that matters? The Donor Engagement Manager is a frontline fundraising professional responsible for managing a robust portfolio of mid-level donors ($1,000-$9,999 annually), executing disciplined moves management to retain and upgrade donors into major gift prospects, strengthening donor segmentation and engagement within a lean, high-performing fundraising department. This role is designed for a fundraiser who can operate independently, manage a significant donor pipeline, and meaningfully contribute to revenue strategy execution.

This position works closely with the Managing Director of Fundraising and fundraising coordinator to support donor communications, stewardship, events, campaigns, and pipeline growth. The Donor Engagement Manager helps stabilize and strengthen the donor pipeline during a period of organizational growth and future leadership transition. The ideal candidate brings Alzheimer’s, neurodegenerative, neuroscience, or health-related fundraising experience; strong donor-centered communication skills; and the ability to balance strategic portfolio management with hands-on execution in a small nonprofit environment.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Mid-Level Donor Portfolio Management: Manage a robust portfolio of mid-level donors ($1K-$9,999), execute disciplined moves management to upgrade donors into major-gift prospects, and develop individualized cultivation plans based on donor capacity, loyalty, and engagement. Support cultivation of select major donors as assigned by the Fundraising Managing Director and maintain Alzheimer's-specific donor literacy to deepen donor connection to the mission.
• Support cultivation of select major donors as assigned by the Fundraising Managing Director and maintain Alzheimer's-specific donor literacy to deepen donor connection to the mission.
• Donor Engagement & Stewardship: Lead stewardship for mid-level donors through personalized outreach, virtual lab tours, Why I Give integration, donor updates, and targeted follow-ups.
• Ensure timely acknowledgments and donor communications in partnership with the Fundraising Coordinator; support donor events and virtual engagement experiences; and strengthen donor loyalty through consistent, mission-centered engagement.
• Segmentation & Pipeline Strategy: Partner with the Fundraising Managing Director to refine donor segmentation models that support upgrades and long-term pipeline growth. Identify upgrade opportunities using recency, frequency, loyalty, capacity, donor lifetime value, and relationship depth. Track donor movement through the pipeline using Salesforce and provide donor intelligence to support forecasting and revenue planning.
• Campaign & Appeal Support: Support campaign architecture by contributing donor insights, identify segmentation, and messaging strategy.
• Draft donor-centered communications for appeals, stewardship, and targeted outreach, and analyze donor data to improve campaign performance and donor conversion.
• Light Grant Writing: Draft and submit approximately 12 grant proposals annually to support fundraising goals and assist with grant reporting and donor impact communications. Manage the annual Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) application, reporting, and donor communications.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with Programs to integrate research updates into donor communications.
• Partner with Operations and the Database Manager to maintain accurate donor records, ensure reporting consistency, and track fundraising performance against strategic plan goals and objectives.
• Collaborate with the Fundraising Coordinator to ensure seamless stewardship, administrative support, and donor follow-up.
• Perform other related tasks and special projects as assigned and/or required.

Q UALIFICATIONS:

• Education: Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree preferred from an accredited college or university.
• Experience: 7–12 years of fundraising experience, preferably in Alzheimer’s, neuroscience, or health-related nonprofits.
• Demonstrated success managing donor portfolios and securing 5-figure gifts, with some 6-figure experience preferred.
• Strong writing skills and experience crafting donor-centered communications for appeals, stewardship, and targeted outreach.
• Familiarity with moves management, segmentation, and pipeline strategy.
• Experience with Salesforce or similar CRM systems, with experience in fundraising performance tracking and reporting.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, metric-driven environment.
• High emotional intelligence, professionalism, and discretion.

Working Conditions

• Position resides in a beautiful new office space with a friendly work environment.
• Work 40 hours a week in-person, Monday–Friday, plus a one-hour lunch. Business smart attire is the style of dress with occasional business attire for executive meetings.
• Talking in-person with team members, researchers and donors as well as on the phone and video conference.

Perks & Benefits

• Competitive salary with annual reviews and bonus potential
• Eligible for annual performance review and bonus
• Medical, dental, vision, life insurance, FSA, and 401K with employer match
• Generous paid time off and holidays
• Professional development opportunities
• A vibrant, supportive team environment