Donor Relations Manager

Archdiocese of Detroit; Southfield (MI); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

The Archdiocese of Detroit is seeking a Donor Relations Manager to lead fundraising efforts and donor stewardship that strengthen the annual fund and major gift program. The role reports to the Chief Development Officer and collaborates with the development team to engage parishes, priests, and diocesan leadership in Catholic Charities initiatives.

Key responsibilities include managing annual giving campaigns, overseeing online giving and donor recognition, and expanding the Circle of Mercy

Qualifications

• Requires a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in a related field.
• Minimum of two years fundraising, donor relations, PR, marketing, or community engagement experience.
• Excellent organizational, writing, and communications skills; ability to manage multiple projects.

Responsibilities

• Lead annual giving, including direct mail campaigns and online giving programs.
• Oversee donor stewardship, acknowledgements, and donor communications to improve retention.
• Collaborate with the marketing team to share impact stories and donor newsletters.
• Support engagement at community events and donor relations activities.
• Ensure accuracy in donor databases and reporting using Blackbaud Raiser's Edge.

Skills

Servant leadership

Project management

Communication

Constituent relationships

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Business, Public Relations, Marketing, Communications, Philanthropy, Nonprofit Management or related field

Tools

Microsoft Office Suite

Blackbaud Raiser's Edge/NXT

Job description

POSITION SUMMARY

The Donor Relations Manager leads fundraising efforts and donor stewardship initiatives designed to build the annual fund, increase donor retention, and support growth of the major gift program. This individual reports to the Chief Development Officer (CDO) and is an integral part of the development team, working in collaboration the CDO, Corporate and Foundation Relations Manager, and Development Associate, along with the Director of Marketing and Communications and other administrative and program management team members.

The Donor Relations Manager is outward-facing and often the first point of contact with the agency for donors and other constituents. This includes working with others on the development team to develop meaningful Catholic parish engagement and awareness around the mission of Catholic Charities, including how that translates into enhanced giving and volunteerism opportunities.

Reports to: Chief Development Officer

Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

Education:

Bachelor's Degree in Business, Public Relations, Marketing, Communications, Philanthropy, Nonprofit Management or a related field from an accredited college or university; or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Substantial experience can be taken into consideration for the education requirement.

Experience:

Minimum of two years of professional experience in fundraising or across a combination of the following fields of work: fundraising, donor relations, public relations, marketing, communications, and community engagement.

Certificates, Licenses, Registrations:

N/A

Other Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Servant leader with a collaborative and team-oriented approach to work; experience working on a team preferred
• Excellent project management skills and a demonstrated ability to prioritize multiple streams of work

Knowledge of:

• Teachings and traditions of the Catholic Church
• Annual giving outreach techniques including direct mail, online, recurring donations, tributes, and matching gifts
• Digital platforms including social media, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer fundraising, and digital media
• Best practices in relationship-based donor communications
• Nonprofit agency operations and funding
• Microsoft Office Suite applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• CRM software: Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge, Raiser’s Edge NXT, and related Blackbaud platforms preferred

Ability to:

• Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing
• Build successful, positive, and productive constituent relationships
• Relate to diverse populations and cultures while communicating with constituents in a thoughtful and effective manner
• Maintain accuracy and confidentiality of constituent records and files
• Prepare reports and proposals
• Demonstrate a high attention to detail
• Work independently, execute good judgment, and problem solve
• Be well-organized and multi-task
• Anticipate team needs and assist as needed
• Communicate with parishes, priests, diocesan officials, and Catholic leadership.
• Adhere to the mission, values, and vision of Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan.
• Must successfully pass a criminal background check.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Annual Giving
• Manage and drive direct mail appeals (currently four mailings annually), including establishing theme, writing content, planning the schedule, identifying and segmenting the mailing list, working with vendor on design and production
• Oversee online giving program including forms, gift recognition, QR codes and URLs, and weekly online gift reconciliation with accounting
• Utilize digital resources including website, social media, and peer-to-peer (Just Giving) platforms to create and conduct concurrent complimentary campaigns/appeals or additional independent campaigns, such as Giving Tuesday
• Create and implement new donor acquisition strategy including more fully engaging donors that come to our attention through community giving such as United Way and annual in-parish appeal collection
• Assist in successful implementation of annual in-parish appeal collection
• Collaborate with program managers to gather content and testimonials to inform appeals and impact reporting
• Manage tribute program including recognition and communication with donors and area funeral homes
• Expand the Circle of Mercy monthly recurring gift program
• Ensure accuracy and integrity of Raiser’s Edge donor database; record donor contacts, donations and other data as needed
• Work with data management associate to build and pull necessary data and reports from Raiser’s Edge and act as back-up for gift entry and acknowledgement
• Support fundraising aspects of third-party events, community partnerships, and Annual Celebration as needed in coordination with colleagues
• Donor Stewardship
• Create, refine, and implement timely and meaningful donor acknowledgement and recognition mechanisms and procedures
• Utilize relationship-based donor communications, including impact reporting and exclusive donor newsletter, to increase donor retention
• Collaborate with communications colleagues to compose and disseminate donor-related social media and newsletter content
• Assist in donor engagement and identification of prospective major gift donors
• Represent CCSEM at community events and conduct oneself in an ethical, mature, and professional manner with honesty and integrity, welcoming clients, donors, parishioners and other stakeholders with dignity and respect

Work Environment, Physical Demands & Travel

While performing the duties of the position, the employee is regularly required to speak, listen, and have the ability to drive.

This position involves a combination of office-based work and travel to other Agency offices, events, benefactor and/or client locations as required by position responsibilities and/or Agency management. This position will be routinely exposed to typical office noise levels and/or exposure to various weather conditions.

Position Classification, Type & Expected Hours of Work:

This is a full-time, 40 hours per/week salaried exempt position. Days and hours of work include but are not limited to 8:30 – 5:00. Evening and/or weekend hours may be required.