Advancement Specialist

Advancement Specialist

Advancement Department

Function: The Advancement Specialist supports SAR’s Advancement Division by leading donor data strategy, prospect research, and fundraising analytics to strengthen development efforts. This role manages the Raiser’s Edge NXT database and gift documentation, ensuring data integrity, accurate processing, reporting, and stewardship. In collaboration with leadership and cross-departmental partners, the Advancement Specialist provides insights to support donor cultivation, membership growth, campaigns, grants, and strategic decisions. This full-time, non-exempt position conducts prospect research and analytics for individual giving, foundations, grants, and membership records, while maintaining the database and gift files and ensuring accurate reporting, grant correspondence, and donor stewardship. Position is 80% in office with 20% remote, optional.

Characteristic Duties

Prospect Research & Reporting

• • Uses a broad spectrum of sources to research, organize, and evaluate a prospect:
  • Financial capacity
  • Ability and willingness to give
  • Charitable interests
  • Connection to SAR
  • Produces in-depth, well-written prospect reports using:
  • Donor database information
  • Financial records
  • Real estate ownership
  • Other indicators of high-value donors
  • Develops and delivers recurring and ad hoc reports, dashboards, and data summaries on donors, membership, campaign, and event performance for Advancement staff and senior leadership. Prepares and presents prospect briefings for:
  • Director of Advancement
  • President
  • COO
  • Development Committee
  • Board of Directors
  • Other portfolio-holding staff

Database & Gift Management

• • Maintains and manages the Advancement/donor management database.
  • Enters and tracks contributions and documents for donor communication, cultivation, and stewardship.
  • Enters routine data, including:
  • Event processing
  • Gift processing
  • Data matching with online programming software
  • Enters constituent data for lectures, salons, and courses.
  • Ensures accurate and timely entry of membership information.
  • Updates membership records for new and renewing members.

Analytics & Data Use

• • Generates regular and special reports analyzing:
  • giving trends
  • donor retention and renewal
  • campaign performance and solicitation response
  • event attendance and conversion outcomes
  • membership acquisition, renewal, and upgrade activity
  • Builds and maintains dashboards, scorecards, and reporting tools to track fundraising progress and key performance indicators.
  • Performs ad hoc queries, segmentation, and analysis to support:
  • appeals
  • donor cultivation and stewardship
  • event invitations and follow-up
  • prospect pipeline development
  • board and committee reporting
  • Identifies trends, opportunities, and gaps in donor and membership activity, and provides data-informed recommendations to Advancement leadership.
  • Supports forecasting and goal tracking for annual giving, membership, campaign, and institutional fundraising initiatives.

Gift Processing & Stewardship

• • Works with the Business Administration Division to ensure alignment with Financial Edge.
  • Submits daily gift batches and supporting documentation to the Business Administration Division.
  • Creates records for all received gifts (mail, online, in person), ensuring complete and accurate coding.
  • Collaborates with the Grants Manager on grant entry.
  • Processes gifts, including acknowledgement letters and donor/funder correspondence.
  • Ensures timely acknowledgement of gifts and generates confirmation letters for donations and memberships (including letters requiring the President’s signature).

Database Oversight (Raiser’s Edge)

• Maintains data standards, documentation, and procedures to ensure accuracy, consistency, and integrity across donor and membership records. Conducts routine audits, data cleanup, and quality-control reviews to improve reporting reliability and operational efficiency.
  • Creates and updates constituent records as needed.
  • Inputs public programs activity data into Raiser’s Edge.
  • Maintains Board of Directors records in Raiser’s Edge.
  • Tracks event data and produces reports for Advancement and Public Programs the day after events.

General Advancement Support

• • Ensures donor recognition information for:
  • Annual report
  • SAR’s website
  • is accurate and updated regularly
  • Other duties as assigned

Supervision Position is supervised by the Director of Advancement.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree required. Preferred experience includes 2–4 years in: Prospect research, Donor analytics, Database management, demonstrated understanding of fundraising principles. Ability to analyze and synthesize large amounts of data into concise, usable formats. Excellent computer skills, including Fundraising software/databases (Raiser’s Edge or similar strongly preferred). Data analytics software, highly organized, detail oriented, and effective in fast paced deadline- driven environments. Strong writing, editing, and verbal communication skills. Demonstrated judgment, discretion, and sensitivity with confidential information. Ability to work independently and complete assignments.

Establishes and maintains positive, collaborative internal and external relationships that support SAR’s mission and programs. Regularly interacts with the President, COO, and other staff. Expected to exhibit professionalism, enthusiasm, courtesy, adaptability, flexibility, and strong collaborative spirit.

• • Comprehensive benefits package including:
  • Medical, dental, and retirement plans; Flexible spending account; Life and disability insurance; Generous paid time off and all federal holidays.