Donor Relations Manager

About the Organization:  

American democracy is at a critical moment. With authoritarianism on the rise globally and deep partisan polarization at home, the values and norms that uphold American democracy are in flux. Junior State of America (JSA) believes that robust civic education and experience working across differences is at the core of strong democracies. We are stepping up in response to this moment in history.

Since 1934, Junior State of America (JSA) has helped over 500,000 students acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to be active, informed and responsible citizens, voters and leaders. With our student-led, student-run model, JSA enables students to experience the challenges and responsibilities of leadership and connect across differences, while developing 21st century skills applicable in any endeavor. JSA chapters serve as the center of political awareness at their schools; JSA conventions bring thousands of students together to share opinions and learn from each other. We are committed to developing an ideologically, geographically, and demographically diverse set of leaders, who work over their lifetimes to build our nation’s future. 

For more information, please visit our website: www.jsa.org.  

Position Summary:  

The Donor Relations Manager is responsible for supporting the Development department in its fundraising and outreach capacities, as well as external communications and operations.

The successful candidate will possess the qualifications and skills necessary to build and develop donor relationships through personal and public communications, to contribute meaningful storytelling and to develop and own projects. The ideal candidate will have extensive knowledge of donor development, media, public policy and civics, and project management.  

Key Responsibilities:  

Donor Communications (50%): Works with the Chief Development Officer (CDO) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to execute on a strategy to communicate the organization’s mission to donors, partners and our youth. 

• Reach out to donors via email and phone to schedule meetings with the CEO and CDO
• Have informational and/or logistical conversations with donors over the phone and email
• Design and draft press releases, articles, one-page leaflets, impact reports, information for websites, and other communications materials in support of fundraising efforts and public relations
• Design and draft creative and thoughtful letters and emails to support donor relationships
• Create campaign-specific thank you letters for general fund campaigns and events, and create personalized thank you letters
• Participate with the CDO and CEO to develop strategy for communications campaigns that broaden public reach 
• Assist program directors and students in identifying and preparing testimonials to be used for donor engagement
• Draft newsletter content for donors

Development Operations Management and Support (20%): Supports operations of the department to meet the expectations of its donors, management team, and alumni relations.

• Manage thank you process for donors and funders; process acknowledgement letters to donors on a regular and timely basis.
• Use Salesforce to research and print donor histories. Post thank you letters to donors in Salesforce.
• Use Donor Search within Salesforce to prepare data on prospective and current donors, and to identify qualified prospects for higher level giving and planned giving

Grants Management & Support (20%): Works with the CDO to support grants management, including funder research and maintenance of the grants database.

• Update and maintain grants calendar and tracking sheet
• Maintain planning spreadsheets for individual donors, prospects and funders
• When requested, support CDO with information gathering necessary for grant applications
• Draft grants proposals and reports 

General Department Support and Outreach (10%): Provide support for development department events, and for donor and alumni relations. 

• Support the execution of annual fund campaigns
• Assist with day-of preparations and onsite execution of events; act as a representative of the organization and touchpoint between the organization and guests

Other duties as needed and assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:  

• At least three years of experience in non-profit fundraising, grant writing, donor communications, and fundraising events
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to listen and make respectful and warm conversation with donors
• Demonstrated ability to write persuasively and copy edit email communications 
• Familiarity with working in the Google Suite of apps is highly preferred
• Experience in design and media, including working with apps such as Canva, Adobe Photoshop, and MailChimp. Competency in Illustrator and InDesign is a plus 
• Experience with standard office software and online technologies.
• Ability to work locally in Oakland when it becomes safe to do so.

Sense of humor; empathetic and compassionate team player; high emotional intelligence, mission-focused, ambitious self-starter; passionate about quality of work; fueled by a need to make a difference.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Prior work experience in fundraising, grant writing, marketing, sales, or equivalent
• Prior work experience in an office environment 
• Experience using Zoom, Google Meet and Google Calendars
• Experience planning, publicizing and executing successful events
• Experience in a customer service environment 
• Experience with marketing/communications applications such as Pardot, Mailchimp, etc.
• Experience with CRM databases (Salesforce preferred)
• Passion for programs that support youth education and leadership development

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:  

• Ability to interface and engage diverse volunteer, donor groups, alumni and youth
• An eye and an ear for impactful storytelling, public relations and design
• Ability to convey a vision of civic youth engagement in verbal and written form 
• Ability to collaborate with colleagues and youth

Junior State of America (JSA), an equal opportunity employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations regarding nondiscrimination; all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment. JSA is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, physical or mental disability, protected veteran status, age, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, creed, marital status, political affiliation, personal appearance, or on the basis of rights secured by the First Amendment, in all aspects of employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.