Senior Donor Relationship Manager

OFFICE LOCATION: OAKLAND, RICHMOND, SANTA ROSA, OR SAN JOSE

 While young people from low-income communities – who are disproportionately young people of color – face systemic inequities in school, in the workforce, and in life, they possess unique strengths, resilience and tremendous potential. When provided with support and resources, these young people fulfill their potential and achieve success in school, work, and life.  

Through a combination of mentoring and transformative experiences, Summer Search supports young people to successfully transition from adolescence into adulthood. We aim to unleash the potential of our young people while also building a toolkit for navigating and challenging systemic barriers to higher education and career opportunities. 

THE OPPORTUNITY

Summer Search Bay Area is seeking an entrepreneurial and results-oriented Senior Donor Relations Manager (SDRM) to manage and grow an existing portfolio of individual donors and family foundations capable of making five- to six-figure gifts. With primary responsibility to meet an annual revenue target of ~$750K+, the SDRM will serve as an engaging external representative of Summer Search and coordinate individual donor engagement, cultivation, and solicitation across Summer Search staff. This role will strategically build on our deeply committed base of major donors and identify untapped opportunities for major giving through close partnership with Bay Area and National staff and board leadership.

The SDRM will report to the Associate Director, Donor Relations & Events and will be part of a dedicated and hard-working 6-member development team. This is an exciting position for a motivated, relationship-oriented professional to join a collaborative and mission-driven team and play a significant role in growing Summer Search’s impact in the Bay Area and nationwide.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

Specifically, the SDRM will:

• Manage a portfolio of 50-75 existing major individual donors and family foundations, with a current annual revenue target of ~$750K, and contribute to the team’s overall success against a ~$5 million annual revenue target.
• Qualify and cultivate individual donor prospects who are aligned with Summer Search’s growth plans and core values and have the capacity to make five- and six-figure gifts, with the objective of a major gift portfolio of ~150 donors with a $1M+ revenue target within 2-3 years.
• Partner with leadership, board, staff, and alumni to ensure that the donor portfolio is engaged through a strategic mix of in-person meetings, events, student engagement opportunities, and personalized communications.
• Ensure exceptional and personalized stewardship through impact reports, email, letters, videos, and other donor communications.
• Serve as the staff liaison to the Bay Area Board’s Nominating Committee, including scheduling and attending meetings, preparing agendas and materials, and tracking of Bay Area Board prospect pipeline.
• Utilize a “moves management” system for donors and prospects in Raiser’s Edge, ensuring that all touchpoints and projections for gifts are tracked with a high degree of timeliness and accuracy. 
• Partner with the Bay Area Donor Relations team to manage the individual donor pipeline (including major gifts, mid-level donors, and annual fund), ensuring effective and efficient donor stewardship and revenue growth.
• Represent Summer Search at strategic outreach opportunities, including meetings, conferences, and events, to cultivate and manage relationships with individual donors.
• Collaborate with development colleagues across the Summer Search network to share best practices and participate in network-wide initiatives as a representative for the Bay Area site, as needed. 

WHO YOU ARE

The Senior Donor Relations Manager position calls for someone with a strong track record of building authentic partnerships in a professional setting, inspiring a variety of audiences through a clear, concise articulation of the importance of an organization’s work. Specifically, this hire will bring:

• PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: 5 years of related work experience, ideally in nonprofit development, fundraising, relationship management or business stewardship, with at least 2-3 years of demonstrated experience in demonstrated success in advancing individual relationships through the cultivation/sales process, ideally toward gift sizes of five figures or greater.
• COMMUNICATION SKILLS: Strong communicator with the ability to inspire a variety of audiences and articulate the importance of an organization’s work in a concise and compelling manner. Demonstrated ability to articulate an organization’s mission with a high degree of respect for constituents served.
• RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT: Comfort level in a forward-facing role and a track record of building authentic partnerships that demonstrate respect, empathy, and connection. Demonstrated skill in active listening and building rapport with others. 
• PROJECT MANAGEMENT: Approaches work in an organized manner to achieve goals and objectives. Adept in balancing competing priorities when managing projects.
• ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET: Resourcefulness and a “get it done” attitude, with the ability to drive innovation, change, and growth and maintain a high degree of flexibility and creativity in a dynamic environment. Creative and strategic thinker with the ability to see the big picture, anticipate problems, and address challenges. 
• CRITICAL CONCIOUSNESS: Recognizes sociopolitical barriers and understands the systems of oppression that operate in day-to-day lives of stakeholders e.g. students/participants, staff members, donors, community partners, alumni, volunteers). Applies critical thinking and takes action against the oppressive aspects of reality.
• TECHNOLOGY SKILLS: Experience with managing data in Raiser’s Edge or comparable CRM preferred. Proficiency in Microsoft Office 365 suite, including but not limited to PowerPoint, Excel, Word, SharePoint, and Outlook preferred.  

Above all, all Summer Search staff bring a commitment to our mission of unleashing students’ potential through mentoring and transformative experiences, as well as the ability to thrive in an environment that values excellence, gratitude, well-being, diversity, authenticity, and collaboration.  

LOCATION AND OTHER RETURN-TO-WORK REQUIREMENTS

Effective April 2022, this position will be based out of the Summer Search Bay Area office in downtown Oakland (potential to be based out of Richmond/Santa Rosa offices as well). The Bay Area Development team is expected to be in-person at least three days a week, with the opportunity to work remotely two days a week. In-person days include work in the community visiting with donors or at events, in addition to in-office work. The SDRM must be able to travel as needed between our Bay Area office locations (Oakland, Richmond, and Santa Rosa) and to meetings & events across the entire region, as well to staff/attend events outside of normal work hours, as needed (frequency of travel is 15%).

Summer Search requires all of its staff be vaccinated against COVID-19. Employees who are unable to be vaccinated due to a medical reason or sincerely held religious objection may be able to qualify for an exemption, consistent with state and federal law.