Manager of Annual Giving

Kenneth Young Center•Schaumburg, IL

2h•$48,000 - $65,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Manager of Annual Giving (MAG) is responsible for planning, implementing, and evaluating annual fundraising strategies that generate sustainable philanthropic support for Kenneth Young Center. The position leads annual giving campaigns, donor stewardship, fundraising events, sponsorship development, donor communications, and moves management activities designed to acquire, retain, upgrade, and engage individual and corporate donors. The Manager of Annual Giving plays a key role in building and managing the organization's donor pipeline, identifying prospective major donors, and creating meaningful donor experiences that strengthen long-term relationships and increase philanthropic investment. The position is responsible for executing revenue-generating activities including annual fund appeals, peer-to-peer fundraising, event fundraising, sponsorship solicitation, donor stewardship, and donor engagement communications. Working closely with the Director of Development and Communications, Finance, program leadership, and the Manager of Media and Communications, the Manager of Annual Giving ensures fundraising strategies align with organizational priorities, mission impact, and stakeholder engagement goals. The Manager of Annual Giving serves as an ambassador for Kenneth Young Center and actively cultivates relationships with donors, sponsors, volunteers, community leaders, and prospective supporters.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
Minimum 3 -5 years of progressively responsible fundraising experience.
Demonstrated success in annual giving, donor stewardship, fundraising campaigns, sponsorship development, and event fundraising.
Experience using donor database/CRMs and fundraising analytics.
Strong written communication and donor-centered storytelling skills.
Experience managing multiple projects and deadlines simultaneously.
Knowledge of nonprofit fundraising best practices and donor lifecycle management.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute annual giving strategies to achieve revenue goals.
Manage direct mail, email, digital, and year-end fundraising appeals.
Develop donor segmentation strategies and targeted solicitation plans.
Monitor campaign performance and recommend adjustments to maximize donor participation and revenue.
Manage recurring giving and monthly donor programs.
Track donor retention, acquisition, reactivation, and upgrade metrics.
Identify, qualify, and research prospective major donors.
Maintain donor moves-management plans and cultivation strategies.
Coordinate donor meetings, site visits, and stewardship opportunities for leadership and board members.
Prepare donor profiles, briefing materials, and gift proposals.
Research, author, and support the creation, editing, submission, and tracking of grant applications and reports.
Coordinate with programs, finance, and media and communications staff to ensure reporting and funder recognition.
Maintain donor database, pulling donor records, reports and mailing lists for fundraising, stewardship, and operational activities.
Manage and analyze donor and fundraising data to improve efficiency, donor experience and event participation.
Develop donor-centered fundraising and stewardship communications.
Create campaign messaging, donor impact reports, appeal letters, and stewardship material.
Collaborate with the Manager of Media and Communications to ensure brand consistency and effective donor engagement.
Support storytelling efforts that demonstrate mission impact and donor outcomes.
Determine messaging priorities and produce external stakeholder-facing newsletter content including organizational and programmatic updates, fundraising updates, campaign appeals, event invitations and recaps, and donor impact stories.
Coordinate with the MoMC to ensure consistent tone, branding, and formatting.