Donor Engagement Officer

Put your compassion into action! Animal Rescue Corps is seeking a driven and passionate full-time Donor Engagement Officer to join our small but growing team with a focus on engaging individual, foundation, and corporate donors at the mid and major levels and facilitating meaningful ways for them to help animals. Our ideal candidate is passionate about animal protection and fundraising, with the experience, demonstrated relationship-building, strategy, work ethic, and commitment to the craft of frontline fundraising to create engaged and informed donors. Working closely with ARC’s Executive Director and Director of Fund Development, ARC’s Donor Engagement Officer works to advance ARC’s mission to protect animals through engaging, retaining, upgrading, and acquiring leadership donors.

About: Animal Rescue Corps is positioned to make a remarkable leap in impact. With 15 years of history and achievements for animals behind us, a mission that resonates with people across the spectrum of animal protection issues, and a rising need for our services to help the animals who no one else serves, it’s time for ARC to expand current efforts to serve more communities, reach more unhelped animals, and inspire more people into “Compassion In Action.” This is a new position and a special opportunity for the right person to be part of changing the lives of animals and raising awareness around animal issues on a large scale.

Animal Rescue Corps was founded in 2010 with the mission to end animal suffering through direct and compassionate action, and to inspire the highest ethical standards of humanity towards animals. We take direct action in three ways. First, we conduct emergency rescues of animals who fall victim to abuse and disaster. Second, we offer interventions to move high-risk and at-need animals from low-adoption shelters into high-adoption regions and offer other critical assistance to in-need shelters and communities. Third, we raise public awareness of animal suffering, and we offer training for animal shelters, professionals, civilians, and volunteers. We are headquartered in the Washington, DC area and operate a Rescue Center outside Nashville, TN.

Donor Engagement Officer Job Responsibilities:

• Develop, manage, and engage a portfolio of approximately 150 mid, major, foundation, and corporate donors.
• Perform effective, independent, and ongoing prospect research.
• Develop and execute written individual strategies for top-tier donors and prospects; leverage moves management.
• Write meaningful and donor-centered content, including appeals, grant proposals, impact and grant reports, cases for support, giving opportunities, correspondence, presentations, and other high-touch outreach.
• Support and leverage the Executive Director in strategic major donor outreach, including coordinating moves management, meetings, communications, and other stewardship opportunities
• Manage the grants process, tracking system, and calendar; write and edit foundation grants and reports; research new funding opportunities; ensure all grant-related correspondence, guidelines, and requirements are submitted.
• Execute and manage the timely acknowledgment and receipting of all portfolio contributions.
• Keep donors up to date and engaged through face-to-face visits, phone calls, mail, and email.
• Ensure the timely and accurate database recording of all communications, activity, and actions.
• Provide regular reporting on portfolio as well as other written support materials, including briefs for visits and events.
• Other duties as assigned.

This position is remote. Regular travel is required. The position reports directly to ARC’s Director of Development & Marketing and works closely with ARC’s program and executive staff. Benefits include competitive vacation time and sick leave, 11 paid holidays, a non-taxable ICHRA health insurance reimbursement plan, and a taxable pet-sitting reimbursement plan.

Donor Engagement Officer Qualifications / Skills:

• Passion for animal protection and fundraising.
• Top-notch relationship-building skills, including the ability to listen well, leverage emotional intelligence, effectively convey ARC’s needs, and utilize a donor-centric approach with diverse stakeholder groups.
• The ability to effectively collect, analyze, organize, distill, and present information.
• Top-notch verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment and leverage rapidly breaking & fast-moving opportunities, while prioritizing deadlines and long-term strategies.
• Lifelong learner with compassion, perseverance, empathy for others, and impeccable integrity.

Education and Experience Requirements:

• At least two years of experience as a frontline fundraiser.
• Demonstrated experience in relationship-building, qualification, cultivation, solicitation (including the successful closing of gifts), and stewardship.
• Experience with donor CRMs; experience with or willingness to learn DonorPerfect and DonorSearch.
• A working knowledge of (and dedication to) animal protection is a significant plus.
• Candidates within driving distance of the Nashville, TN, region are preferred, but applications from across the U.S. will be considered.

Physical and Working Requirements

• Ability to work evenings, weekends, and holidays as needed. Flexible schedule.
• This office observes COVID-19 protocols; employees are required to be vaccinated when working with donors and volunteers or on site.
• Ability to travel regularly for donor meetings and events.

Animal Rescue Corps is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

Benefits include competitive vacation time and sick leave, 11 paid holidays, a generous non-taxable ICHRA health insurance reimbursement plan, and a taxable pet-sitting reimbursement plan.

Top-notch verbal and written English language communication skills are required.