Philanthropy Research & Technology Analyst

UNITY SCHOOL OF CHRISTIANITY•Unity Village, MO

4d•Onsite

About The Position

Help develop a strategic, technology-enabled prospect research program that enables Unity’s Philanthropy department to identify top donor prospects and grow annual, capital and planned gifts toward the organization’s fundraising goals.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in fundraising or related field required or equal work equivalency.
At least five years’ experience working in a Philanthropy or Development office.
Ability to work when needed, including some travel and hours outside the 4-day workweek.
In-depth knowledge of donor CRM platforms (e.g., ACS, Raiser’s Edge NXT, Salesforce, Virtuous, or comparable) required, with demonstrated interest in adopting new fundraising technology, including AI-enabled research tools.
Superior Internet search skills.
Ability to meet deadlines and manage multiple projects simultaneously.
High comfort level with ambiguity and evolving institutional priorities.
Interpersonal skills that support goals while fostering positive team and organizational morale.
Demonstrated outstanding communications skills.
Attention to detail and ethical information gathering expected.
Minimum advanced end-user of MS Office: MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, and MS Outlook/Calendar.
Advanced PC keyboarding skills.
Knowledge of social media, blogging and web-based communications.
Demonstrated successful experience retaining sensitive and confidential information.
MS Word, MS Excel, and MS PowerPoint skills testing required at time of application.

Nice To Haves

Experience training staff on databases and Microsoft Office desired.
Experience with wealth screening and prospect research platforms (e.g., iWave, DonorSearch, WealthEngine, or comparable) strongly preferred.
Knowledge of Unity principles preferred.

Responsibilities

Conduct prospect research on individuals, corporations and foundations using online, print and in-house sources and staff feedback, and provide quantitative and qualitative information on Unity’s major donors.
Train staff in compiling and analyzing prospect research.
Serve as Philanthropy’s subject-matter expert on prospect research and donor-data technology; with the Director, evaluate, select and help implement CRM, wealth-screening, AI-enabled research tools and data providers.
Partner with the Communications team, which leads mid- and lower-tier donor communications, by providing donor data, segmentation and research insight that keep annual giving and stewardship messaging aligned with major-gift strategy.
Maintain a library of prospect research resources, including books, periodicals, online databases and website bookmarks, for staff use.
Manage the budget for the research library and other philanthropy research costs.
Research new-to-file major donors and supporters attending retreats, events and campus visits, and identify potential donors for specific projects, products and services.
Alert staff to high-capacity or high-propensity donors to maximize the effectiveness of trips and interactions.
Provide ongoing reports, including weekly CEO and special project reports, monthly donor reports, quarterly giving reports and others as assigned.
Organize and lead prospect management strategy sessions.
Create a gift planning calendar and implement year-round activities, such as emails, eblasts and donor surveys, to identify, educate and recognize planned giving donors.
Work with departments across the organization to ensure donations, including pledges and capital campaign gifts, are accurately recorded and acknowledged.
Manage the donor acknowledgement program end to end: research and order acknowledgements, confirm inscription accuracy and honor donor intent for placement and installation.
Gather, analyze and report data to measure each team member’s performance, including annual giving, campaign giving, planned gifts and donor contacts.
Regular and reliable attendance at the worksite/telework.
Adhere to all company and departmental policies and procedures per the guidebook including all safety requirements including all safety guidelines.
Utilize electronic time management system to input time, attendance and paid off request.
Support other divisions as requested.
Participate in organizational planning and/or attend special events.
Attend business meetings and take minutes to distribute, as assigned.
Utilize electronic time management system to input time and attendance.
Review and approve time records on behalf of Director, as needed.