Donor Engagement Manager

Careers In Nonprofits • New York City, NY

3d • Onsite

About The Position

The Donor Engagement Manager is a newly created position on a growing fundraising team at a nationally recognized health research foundation. The role manages a substantial portfolio of mid-level donors, strengthens long-term relationships, and develops strategies to cultivate, retain, and upgrade supporters into major-gift prospects. The position contributes to a fundraising team with a target annual goal of $12 million and reports to the Fundraising Managing Director.

The manager works with researchers, program staff, database and analytics professionals, and fundraising and operations colleagues to connect donors with scientific research and demonstrate the impact of philanthropic support. The position also contributes to fundraising campaigns and appeals, donor stewardship, grant development, and the Foundation’s Combined Federal Campaign application and related communications. The role is full-time, permanent, direct hire, and fully on-site in Manhattan, New York.

Requirements

• 7–12 years of progressive fundraising experience.
• Demonstrated success managing individual donor portfolios, cultivating relationships, and securing five-figure gifts.
• Strong understanding of donor cultivation, stewardship, moves management, and strategies for transitioning mid-level supporters into major-gift prospects.
• Ability to use donor data, segmentation strategies, and giving trends to identify opportunities, strengthen retention, and inform fundraising decisions.
• Experience with Salesforce or a comparable fundraising CRM, including donor tracking, portfolio management, and performance reporting.
• Strong writing and communication skills, including the ability to create compelling donor appeals, personalized stewardship communications, and impact stories.
• High emotional intelligence, professionalism, discretion, and ability to build trust with donors, researchers, colleagues, and organizational leadership.
• Proactive, results-oriented approach and ability to balance strategic planning with hands-on execution in a lean fundraising environment.
• Bachelor’s degree required.

Nice To Haves

• Experience securing six-figure gifts.
• Fundraising experience in medical research, neuroscience, neurodegenerative diseases, healthcare, or medical research organizations.
• Ability to understand scientific concepts and communicate their significance to nontechnical audiences.
• Master’s degree preferred.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with database and analytics professionals.

Responsibilities

• Manage a substantial portfolio of mid-level donors contributing $1,000–$9,999 annually and develop personalized engagement strategies to strengthen loyalty, retention, and long-term philanthropic investment.
• Use moves management practices to identify donors with increased giving potential, cultivate deeper relationships, and transition qualified supporters into major-gift prospects.
• Collaborate with researchers and program staff to translate complex Alzheimer’s research into accessible communications that demonstrate the impact of philanthropic support.
• Partner with the Fundraising Managing Director and database team to analyze donor behavior, refine segmentation strategies, identify upgrade opportunities, and track portfolio performance using Salesforce.
• Lead personalized stewardship efforts, including donor updates, virtual laboratory tours, mission-focused communications, and other engagement opportunities.
• Contribute donor insights and messaging strategies to fundraising campaigns, develop donor communications, and help optimize outreach based on engagement and giving trends.
• Draft and submit approximately 12 grant proposals annually and assist with grant reporting.
• Coordinate the Foundation’s annual Combined Federal Campaign application and related communications.
• Collaborate with the Fundraising Managing Director, Fundraising Coordinator, researchers, and operations staff to support donor engagement, accurate reporting, and coordinated fundraising initiatives.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level