Member Services & Development Manager

Summary

The Member Services & Development Manager is a critical frontline representative of the Merola Opera Program, responsible for ensuring smooth development operations, exceptional donor/member experiences, and accurate data management. This position processes all gifts, fulfills donor benefits, manages the CRM, supports donor engagement efforts, and serves as the primary relationship manager for donors giving under $250 annually.

The ideal candidate has strong nonprofit development operations experience, a customer-service mindset, and the organizational and data-centric skills to keep systems running smoothly. This role also plays an important part in supporting prospect research, legacy giving initiatives, and institutional giving efforts, contributing directly to Merola’s fundraising growth and donor stewardship.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Member/Donor Services & Development Operations

• Process all incoming gifts and pledges, ensuring accurate and timely entry into the CRM (Salesforce) and prompt acknowledgment.
• Manage benefit fulfillment for all giving levels, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and a high-touch experience for donors.
• Serve as the primary contact for donors and members at $249 and under, answering questions and resolving concerns promptly.
• Support donor stewardship efforts by preparing personalized acknowledgments, impact updates, and benefit reminders.
• Maintain detailed donor records, logging interactions, event attendance, and engagement history.
• Track and monitor donor participation and giving trends, flagging opportunities for stewardship or re-engagement.
• Assist with processing paperwork and tracking revenue from legacy gifts and bequests.
• Support reconciliations between CRM and accounting system to ensure accuracy in financial reporting for contributions.
• Support financial reporting for foundations and other institutional funders.

Events & Engagement Support

• Assist with member/donor events, including managing RSVPs, preparing materials, and providing on-site support.
• Serve as a liaison to donors for event-related questions and benefit access.
• Maintain attendance and engagement records of performances, events, and cultivation activities.

Prospect Research, Legacy Giving & Institutional Giving Support

• Conduct and maintain prospect research on individuals, corporations, and foundations identifying and qualifying new funding opportunities.
• Support stewardship of Merola’s legacy giving program, including processing and tracking bequests, facilitating documentation requests, creating materials, and tracking Legacy Society members.
• Assist in preparing and drafting grant applications, proposals, and supporting documents for institutional funders.
• Support the preparation of grant reports, including gathering data, impact stories, and financial information.

Data Management & Reporting

• Maintain and regularly clean donor and member records in Salesforce, Mailchimp, and other systems of record, ensuring data integrity and accuracy.
• Maintain Merola’s development and membership materials and documentation, in office and on digital file systems, in collaboration with Merola’s Operations team.
• Create, manage, and regularly update performance dashboards that track key fundraising KPIs (e.g., donor retention, membership growth, average gift size, upgrade rates, campaign performance) and ensure the organization has accurate, timely, and actionable data.
• Generate monthly contributed giving reports, membership renewal reports, campaign performance summaries, and other reporting as requested for leadership and board reporting.
• Analyze giving trends to identify retention gaps, upgrade opportunities, and patterns in donor engagement.
• Assist in preparing required documentation for the annual audit as it pertains to contributed revenue.
• Other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in arts administration, nonprofit management, or related field, or equivalent experience.
• 2–4 years of nonprofit fundraising experience, including gift processing and database management.
• Experience with prospect research tools and grant application processes preferred.
• Strong working knowledge of CRM systems (Salesforce preferred).
• Excellent written/verbal communication skills and a customer-service orientation.
• Detail-oriented with strong organizational and time-management skills.
• Ability to handle sensitive information with discretion.
• Comfort working both independently and as part of a team.
• Willingness to work evenings and weekends during peak event seasons.

To learn more about the Merola Opera Program and its impact, please visit www.merola.org

Salary & Benefits: $70,000-$80,000/annually depending on experience. Merola offers generous benefits that include medical, dental, and vision insurance, FSA, 401k match, paid vacation, paid sick time, and paid holidays.

MEROLA OPERA PROGRAM IS AN EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER COMMITTED TO DIVERSITY OF STAFF

TO APPLY: Submit an application at https://merola.bamboohr.com/careers/24