Individual Giving Manager

Junior Achievement of Central Iowa; Des Moines (IA); On-site; USD 65,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Junior Achievement of Central Iowa is seeking a Manager/Senior Manager – Individual Giving to grow donor revenue through cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, and retention of individual supporters in Des Moines.

This role manages a portfolio of about 150 donors, partners with leadership and volunteers, and develops strategies to engage family foundations, board members, and planned-giving prospects in support of JA’s mission.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 2-4 years of demonstrated success meeting or exceeding fundraising revenue targets from individual donors.
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills.
• Detail-oriented, proactive, organized and demonstrated ability to manage a high-volume donor portfolio.
• Passion for Junior Achievement’s mission and ability to communicate impact effectively.
• Familiarity with planned giving or legacy giving programs.
• Self-directed and results oriented.
• Experience working cross-functionally with marketing, programs, or leadership to align messaging and donor engagement.

Responsibilities

• Qualify, manage, and grow an assigned portfolio of 150 individuals through strategic cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
• Build mission-driven relationships with individuals by consistently connecting donor support to the impact on students’ futures.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date donor records in the donor database, including contact information, giving history, interactions, and communication preferences to ensure effective donor engagement and reporting.
• Collaborate with internal, cross-departmental teams to identify and qualify new donor prospects.
• Partner with leadership, board members, and volunteers to support donor engagement and solicitations
• Develop and execute individualized engagement and solicitation strategies aligned with donor interests and JA priorities.
• Steward donors through acknowledgment, recognition, and ongoing communication to strengthen retention and long-term partnership.
• Collaborate with Grants and Data Manager to prepare for the timely submission of family foundation grant applications and reports.
• Create and manage a planned giving initiative, identifying and cultivating prospective legacy donors while building awareness of planned giving opportunities.
• Collaborate with Director of Community Impact to identify opportunities and implement a process to maximize corporate matching gift opportunities.
• Partner with internal teams to align funding with program impact and create opportunities for donors to experience JA’s mission in action.
• Support development planning, tracking, and reporting efforts.
• Other duties assigned by the Director of Community Impact

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and experience

2-4 years fundraising revenue targets from individual donors

Strong communication and relationship-building skills

Detail-oriented and organized

Self-directed and results oriented

Cross-functional collaboration (marketing, programs, leadership)

Job description

Manager/Senior Manager – Individual Giving

CLASSIFICATION: Full-time – Exempt – Salary, 40 hours a week

Reports to: Director – Community Impact

Direct Reports: None

Job Location: Des Moines, IA

About Junior Achievement of Central Iowa® (JA)

Junior Achievement is education for what’s next. As a strategic partner collaborating with educators, employers, investors, leaders, and the communities they serve, we are dedicated to helping students achieve academically today and economically tomorrow. As a local leader in experiential learning backed by a national network and a century of experience, we are driving toward lasting change. This means ensuring a generation of students has the transferable skills and competencies needed to navigate a rapidly changing world. By delivering career-connected learning, we are invested in accelerating economic mobility through education. By helping students become confident, capable, and connected today, we can ensure they have access to opportunity-filled futures tomorrow. Junior Achievement of Central Iowa reaches more than 40,000 students annually across 200 schools and is part of JA USA, which serves 4.6 million students annually across nearly 100 U.S. markets. Learn more at www.jacentraliowa.org.

TEAM VALUES: The below five values are the guiding characteristics that define our organization's culture.

• POSITIVE ENERGY: Exhibits enthusiasm about the JA Mission when talking to staff and others. Displays a \"can-do\" attitude.
• INTEGRITY: Demonstrates sound ethical behavior that builds confidence and trust of coworkers and external constituents, and other business contacts. Operates without hidden agendas and always accepts responsibility for own actions. Emphasizes the importance of accuracy in all work products.
• EXCELLENCE: Focuses on continuously improving the way work is done. Understands that the status quo often means \"falling behind.\" Strives for \"customer delight\" when delivering value to various JA stakeholders.
• FLEXIBILITY: Effectively responds to shifting priorities, change, challenges, and setbacks; makes an effort to accommodate personal styles and needs.
• TEAM PLAYER: Respects the perspectives and talents of each staff member and all constituents. Collaborates with others to achieve team and overall organizational priorities; involves others to prevent and solve conflict; shares risk and recognition.

POSITION CONCEPT:

The Senior Manager of Individual Giving is responsible for growing Junior Achievement of Central Iowa's individual donor revenue through the cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, and retention of individual supporters. This role manages a portfolio of current and prospective donors, with a particular focus on family foundations, board members, former board members, planned-giving prospects and other philanthropic individuals with the capacity and interest to support JA's mission.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Qualify, manage, and grow an assigned portfolio of 150 individuals through strategic cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
• Build mission-driven relationships with individuals by consistently connecting donor support to the impact on students’ futures.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date donor records in the donor database, including contact information, giving history, interactions, and communication preferences to ensure effective donor engagement and reporting.
• Collaborate with internal, cross-departmental teams to identify and qualify new donor prospects.
• Partner with leadership, board members, and volunteers to support donor engagement and solicitations
• Develop and execute individualized engagement and solicitation strategies aligned with donor interests and JA priorities.
• Steward donors through acknowledgment, recognition, and ongoing communication to strengthen retention and long-term partnership.

Strategic Giving & Development Initiatives

• Collaborate with Grants and Data Manager to prepare for the timely submission of family foundation grant applications and reports
• Create and manage a planned giving initiative, identifying and cultivating prospective legacy donors while building awareness of planned giving opportunities
• Collaborate with Director of Community Impact to identify opportunities and implement a process to maximize corporate matching gift opportunities.
• Partner with internal teams to align funding with program impact and create opportunities for donors to experience JA’s mission in action.
• Support development planning, tracking, and reporting efforts.
• Other duties assigned by the Director of Community Impact

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE/SKILLS DESIRED

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 2-4 years of demonstrated success meeting or exceeding fundraising revenue targets from individual donors.
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills.
• Detail-oriented, proactive, organized and demonstrated ability to manage a high-volume donor portfolio.
• Passion for Junior Achievement’s mission and ability to communicate impact effectively.
• Familiarity with planned giving or legacy giving programs
• Self-directed and results oriented.
• Experience working cross-functionally with marketing, programs, or leadership to align messaging and donor engagement

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

The physical demands are representative of a typical office work environment and must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Additionally, the person in this role will be required to occasionally lift or carry 25-50 pounds. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Junior Achievement is committed to an inclusive culture that celebrates diversity. We encourage candidates from all identities, backgrounds, and abilities to apply. In all aspects of the employment process, we provide opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, marital status, national origin, pregnancy, veteran status, or any other protected status in accordance with applicable law.