Manager of Donor Relations- YMCA of Greater Boston

YMCA of Greater Boston

Amazing opportunity to join our Development Team!

Job Description

 
Position Summary: Provide the organization with strong, energetic, and strategic leadership in all matters related to donor and volunteer stewardship.  Help design and implement a creative, comprehensive and integrated stewardship program that results in stronger brand connection, better retention rates and higher lifetime value. Execute with the branches, volunteers, Leadership Giving, Mid-level, all key revenue programs (Walks, Galas, Golf outings, Rides etc.), Corporate, Board members and supporters.

We define stewardship as the process responsible for transparent and appropriate promised uses of donors’ and volunteers’ investments, demonstrated appreciation for those investments and strategic communications and experiences that connect donors and volunteers to the impact of their investments in meaningful, productive and personal ways.

YMCA of Greater Boston’s Stewardship components include:

  • Thanking donors and volunteers promptly (24-72 hours)
  • Understanding donors’ and volunteers’ intent in giving and honoring those intentions
  • Documenting intent and motivation
  • Recognizing investments in fair and appropriate ways; working with communications to develop and build suite of engagement opportunities along with appropriate treatments/assets
  • Spending money wisely and being fiscally responsible, transparent and accountable
  • Developing a stewardship matrix for donor recognition that includes meaningful donor engagement activities
  • Connecting donors and volunteers through experiences and communications with the impact of their investments
  • Keeping stewardship experiences, materials, and communications fresh, relevant and as engaging as possible
  • Providing meaningful and timely reporting where appropriate; and
  • Customer service at the highest levels and determining what and how-to scalable deliver.
 

This position is responsible for the donor experience across all programs and for seeking input, facilitating problem solving and communication, and tracking and reporting on progress against newly adopted retention and upgrade goals.

This position will be working with marketing and communications, ensures a fresh, compelling catalogue of stewardship tools, communications and experiences and easy access to these tools and experiences for field staff, programs and users.

As an individual contributor, you will participate in major gift strategy sessions for past and current major gift donors, helping development officers maximize stewardship opportunities to advance the relationship towards a next gift.

Specific responsibilities include:

  • Assess, on an annual basis, the effectiveness of the stewardship program based on agreed upon metrics and goals.
  • Develop a comprehensive, integrated stewardship plan with measurable goals and objectives that will provide appropriate levels of stewardship, as defined above and guided by the plan, for all donors and volunteers. This plan will cover all giving channels, giving levels, constituents and volunteers. It will include a comprehensive stewardship calendar and budget.
  • Provide a baseline of stewardship and accountability reports, letters and/or audio and visual information and experiences to all volunteers, and restricted and unrestricted donors.
  • Create, maintain, refresh in collaboration with marketing and communications, a catalog of stewardship materials and experiences.  Keep the catalog fresh, meaningful and productive.
  • Work closely with gift officers, researchers, board members, staff leaders and volunteers in order to provide the most personal stewardship experiences possible for top donors and highest performing volunteers.
  • Ensure proper training for staff and volunteers involved in delivering stewardship, and for all staff on delivering outstanding customer service.  Provide training for incorporating stewardship in donor plans, using stewardship impact statements and recognition opportunities at the time of solicitation, and on re-purposing and maximizing stewardship experiences and communications.
  • Develop policies and standard operating procedures guiding the philosophy and implementation of the stewardship program.
  • Test the effectiveness of the stewardship program through donor and volunteer satisfaction surveys and other feedback mechanisms including retention, and upgrade metrics.
  • Test organizational buy-in and culture change through staff surveys.
  • Facilitate problem solving, co-ownership of the program and organization wide celebrations based on the success of the program.
  • Actively participate in major gift strategy development, helping incorporate stewardship into donor engagement plans.
  • Keep the stewardship program visible throughout the organization, elevating understanding and perceived level of importance.
 

Qualifications

EXPERIENCE & REQUIREMENTS:

  • 5+ years of success professional individual and foundation major gift fundraising experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
  • Track record of working effectively with volunteers and staff through effective persuasion and influencing techniques.
  • Strong organizational, managerial/mentoring and leadership skills; able to quickly address conflicts to achieve effective solutions.
  • Able to effectively establish priorities and work in a fast-paced environment.  Highly efficient in time management and ability to meet deadlines under pressure.
  • Strong background working with cross-functional teams to achieve unified goals.
  • Superior active listening, observation, analytical, and problem recognition and solving skills.
  • Ensure that the confidentiality and security of all information under his/her supervision is maintained.
  • Perform all other responsibilities and projects as assigned by his/her immediate supervisor and senior management.
  • Understand of various computer systems and databases.  Proficient in Raiser’s Edge, Microsoft Office, including Microsoft PowerPoint and Excel. 
  • Experience in developing budgets.
  • Ability to travel, including overnight travel and weekends.
  • Bachelor's degree required.
 

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES:

  • Coalition builder, Empathy, Humility
  • Will to succeed, tenacity, grit
  • Strong presentation skills
  • Strategic, Creative thinker
  • Problem-solver
  • Group facilitation skills
  • Strong belief in the power of philanthropy and service
  • Understands customer service
  • Experience supporting/managing high level volunteers and senior staff