Director of Development, Annual & Special Giving

Garden Spot Communities•New Holland, PA

10h

About The Position

The Director of Development, Annual & Special Giving leads annual and special giving for Garden Spot Communities’ charitable foundation, TrellisWorks. The role builds donor relationships, develops annual giving and recurring support, stewards mid-level donors, and produces fundraising and donor education events. It works collaboratively with the Mission Advancement team to help donors understand the impact of their generosity across Garden Spot Communities. The director manages annual giving strategies and appeals, donor acquisition and retention, stewardship and impact reporting, special fundraising events, peer-to-peer and team giving, gift data and budgets, and staff supervision. The position also supervises the Donor Operations Assistant and coordinates gift processing and reconciliation with finance.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in nonprofit management, communications, marketing, business, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
5–7 years of nonprofit fundraising experience, including direct responsibility for an annual fund, direct mail, or digital appeals.
At least 2 years of supervisory experience hiring, coaching, and evaluating staff.
Proven record of meeting revenue and donor retention goals.
Excellent writing and editing skills, including the ability to write persuasive appeal letters and acknowledgments.
Working knowledge of DonorPerfect or a similar donor database, gift processing, and fundraising metrics.
Strong relationship-building skills with older adults, families, team members, and community partners.
Ability to manage multiple campaigns, deadlines, and budgets simultaneously.

Nice To Haves

Experience in senior living, healthcare, or faith-based philanthropy.
Familiarity with IRA Qualified Charitable Distributions, gifts of securities, and planned-giving referrals.
CFRE or CAP credential, or progress toward one.
Experience with online giving platforms, email marketing tools, and data segmentation.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute annual giving plans with revenue, donor-count, retention, and participation goals for each campus.
Lead year-end appeals, including Garden Spot Village and Frederick Living Benevolent Care appeals and the Benevolent Care Annual Challenge.
Write segmented, multi-channel fundraising appeals and coordinate their production and mailing.
Track responses across gift types, including checks, credit cards, IRA Qualified Charitable Distributions, appreciated securities, and recurring monthly gifts.
Partner with the Associate Director of Mission Advancement to source resident and donor stories for appeals.
Manage a portfolio of mid-level donors and prospects through identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, and recognition.
Grow and steward the monthly giving program, including recurring gifts added to resident invoices.
Engage residents, families, team members, and local communities as first-time donors.
Monitor lapsed and LYBUNT/SYBUNT donors and lead renewal and reactivation efforts.
Identify annual donors with major-gift, campaign, or Legacy Society potential and refer them to the Chief Mission Advancement Officer.
Ensure timely, accurate, personal gift acknowledgments and tax receipts.
Oversee stewardship of TrellisWorks giving societies, designated funds, and recurring donors.
Produce donor impact reports and plan donor recognition and appreciation activities.
Plan and produce signature fundraising events from concept through post-event follow-up.
Set event budgets, net revenue goals, timelines, and run-of-show; secure venues, catering, audiovisual support, and entertainment partners.
Recruit and steward event sponsors, table hosts, in-kind donors, and volunteer committees.
Manage event invitations, registration, ticketing, RSVPs, and seating.
Coordinate planned giving seminars and estate planning luncheons with the Chief Mission Advancement Officer.
Ensure event tickets, sponsorships, and gifts are recorded and acknowledged, and evaluate events using revenue, attendance, donor acquisition, and cost measures.
Develop giving days, team member giving, and resident-led peer giving efforts.
Manage gift entry and acknowledgment processing, donor records, gift coding, and database segmentation.
Manage the annual giving budget, reconcile gifts with finance, and report monthly results against goals.
Participate actively in Mission Advancement team meetings and planning, share donor information, coordinate donor contact, and support colleagues’ priorities and peak-period work.
Hire, train, supervise, and evaluate the Donor Operations Assistant.
Set priorities and turnaround standards for gift entry, receipting, acknowledgments, and monthly gift reconciliation.
Review gift reports and data quality to ensure accuracy and donor confidentiality.