Donor Engagement Specialist

Feiro Marine Life Center; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 34,000 - 49,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

401(k) with agency match

Job summary

Solid Ground is seeking a Donor Engagement Specialist in Seattle to design donor journeys and manage mid-level donors. You will drive annual campaigns, coordinate with multiple teams, and use CRM data to optimize engagement.

The role focuses on acquisition, retention, and upgrading donor involvement through personalized outreach. You will report to the Director of Development and collaborate with Communications, Volunteer Services, and Programs staff.

Qualifications

• 2 years donor development experience or related field.
• High school diploma or GED required.
• Proven ability to prioritize tasks and manage multiple projects in a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead annual fundraising campaigns and plan donor engagement strategies.
• Manage a portfolio of mid-level donors with personalized outreach and relationship-building.
• Prepare regular reports on performance, trends, and campaign outcomes.
• Represent Solid Ground at events and community activities, communicating the mission and impact.

Skills

Donor development experience

Relationship-building

Public speaking

CRM proficiency

Education

High school diploma or GED

Tools

Virtuous CRM

Job description

Solid Ground believes poverty is solvable. Our communities are stronger when we support stability and break down the barriers to overcoming poverty. Solid Ground does both. We combine direct services with advocacy to meet basic needs, nurture success, and spread change. Through our programs, people gain stability and build skills that equip them to move forward in their lives. Through advocacy, we work toward ending racism and other oppressions embedded in our institutions, policies, and culture that hold people back from succeeding. We bring the voices of people experiencing poverty into the political process, furthering social justice and supporting our entire community to reach its potential.

As our workforce evolves to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve, our agency and workplace will be enriched and strengthened. As such, we will:

• Demonstrate the initiative to learn and enhance skills that promote anti-racism, cultural competency and an understanding of oppression and its impact
• Participate in intentional learning efforts, including events relating to understanding and dismantling institutional racism and building cultural competency

Job Summary:
The Donor Engagement Specialist helps design and advance supporter journeys that help community members move from learning about Solid Ground’s mission to taking action in meaningful, sustained ways. This role manages a portfolio of mid-level donors and leads annual fundraising campaigns, with a focus on acquisition, retention, upgrade, and deeper engagement.

Reporting to the Director of Development, this position helps build pathways that connect individual giving, events, community participation, and major gift readiness. The role works closely with Communications, Volunteer Services, and Programs staff to ensure supporter outreach is relational, data-informed, community-centric, and aligned with Solid Ground’s values.

Essential Responsibilities, Duties & Tasks:

40% – Lead Annual Fund Campaign Planning & Execution:
Lead the planning and implementation of Solid Ground’s annual fundraising campaigns in partnership with the Director of Development. Coordinate cross-functional campaign execution with internal teams, including messaging, copywriting, design, production, timelines, and asset development. Build and execute integrated, multi-channel strategies that move supporters from awareness to giving. Develop segmented cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship approaches based on donor history, interests, engagement patterns, and communication preferences. Track results, analyze performance, and apply insights through testing and continuous refinement to improve future campaigns.

40% – Manage Mid-Level Donor Engagement & Upgrade Pathways:
Manage a portfolio of mid-level donors through personalized outreach and relationship-building strategies that deepen engagement and strengthen long-term support. Conduct donor outreach through meetings, phone calls, handwritten notes, email, and other tailored touchpoints that reflect each donor’s interests and relationship to the organization.

Partner with the Director of Development to assess donor movement and create pathways into recurring giving, major gifts, planned giving conversations, event participation, table hosting, and other deeper forms of support. Regularly evaluate and reclassify donors for appropriate strategies and portfolios. Maintain clear activity goals, track donor engagement in the CRM, and use trend analysis to inform cultivation and solicitation planning.

10% – Produce Reports, Performance Analysis, & Provide Operational Support:
Produce and interpret regular and ad hoc reports to track annual fund performance, donor engagement trends, portfolio movement, and campaign outcomes. Use data to identify opportunities for stronger segmentation, retention, upgrade, and reactivation.

Partner with donor database administrator to maintain accurate records, campaign tracking, list pulls, and reporting processes. Serve as a back-up for gift processing, reconciliation, and operational functions as needed. Contribute to a culture of data integrity, shared accountability, and continuous learning across the team.

10% – Donor Engagement & Community Representation & Learning:
Represent Solid Ground at events, tours, community fairs, workplace giving campaigns, and other public-facing opportunities. Share Solid Ground’s mission, values, and impact in ways that are compelling, community-centered, and rooted in social justice. Help cultivate relationships that expand awareness, trust, and engagement with current and prospective supporters.

Participate actively in departmental, cross-functional, and agency-wide meetings, planning processes, and trainings. Engage in ongoing learning related to racial equity, trauma-informed engagement, and community-centered fundraising. Stay informed about Solid Ground’s programs, strategic priorities, and social justice commitments to strengthen donor communication and engagement strategies.

Education & Experience:

Requires the following:

a) 2 years donor development experience or related field.

b) High school diploma or GED required.

Preferred background:

Community centric fund-raising experience.

Minimum Qualifications:

Proven ability to prioritize tasks, manage multiple projects, and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.

Strong relationship-building, interpersonal, and communication skills, including public speaking and donor engagement.

Excellent organizational and project management skills with attention to detail and follow-through.

Self-motivated and proactive, with the ability to work independently and collaboratively within a team.

Resourceful problem-solver with sound judgment and strategic thinking skills.

Experience working with donor databases (e.g., CRM systems); Virtuous CRM experience preferred.

Demonstrated commitment to high-quality work, data accuracy, and continuous improvement.

Physical Demands/Working Conditions:

This position works in an office setting 80% of the time and in the field 20% of the time. Position requires employee to lift up to 30 pounds and push/pull up to 10 pounds. Employee will spend 75% of their time working in office on the computer and 10% on the phone and performing misc. office work. Position will spend 20% of the time in the field at donor meetings, events, giving campaigns and public presentations, and 5% driving. Position has ability to sit/stand as needed.

Hours & Compensation:

This is a full-time (40 hours per week) union position paying $30.04 per hour plus benefits. Benefits include medical, dental, short-term and long-term disability insurance, basic life insurance, 401(k) savings plan including agency contribution and match, holiday pay, generous paid personal leave package and tax-sheltered health care and dependent care accounts.

Solid Ground is an equal opportunity employer committed to workplace diversity. We do not discriminate on the basis of gender, age, race and color, religion, marital status, national origin, disability or veteran status.