Senior Donor Engagement Manager, Principal Gifts

Overview:

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is a non-profit environmental advocacy organization. We use law, science, and the support of 3.1 million members and online activists to protect the planet's wildlife and wild places and to ensure the rights of all people to clean air, clean water, and healthy communities. NRDC was founded in 1970 and our staff helped write some of America's bedrock environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act, and many of the implementing regulations. Today, our staff of more than 700 lawyers, scientists, economists, policy advocates, communications experts, and others work across the United States and internationally from our offices in New York, NY; Washington, D.C.; Chicago, IL; Santa Monica, CA; San Francisco, CA; New Delhi, India; and Beijing, China.

Position Summary:

Reporting to the Associate Director, Principal Gifts, the Senior Donor Engagement Manager, Principal Gifts supports principal gifts fundraisers in implementing effective engagement strategies for a portfolio of NRDC’s top donors and prospects. This individual collaborates with NRDC support staff, including the offices of the President, Executive Director, Chief Program Officer, Chief Counsel, Chief Development Officer and others to ensure that leadership and frontline fundraisers are fully prepared to engage with donors and prospects capable of investing $5M+ in NRDC’s work. This includes coordinating logistics and internal prep (including writing confidential briefs and talking points) for in-person donor meetings, writing and editing tailored donor communications, and project managing all related follow-up. This role may also be called upon to support the principal gifts team in the development and writing of concept notes, proposals, and stewardship reports for these donors as needed.

Please note a cover letter is required for your application to be considered.

Responsibilities:

• Project Management for Donor Engagement
  • Oversee prep and debrief process for leadership meetings with principal donors and prospects. This includes:
    • Partnering with internal and external administrative support staff to arrange donor/prospect meetings and internal prep.
    • Writing detailed meeting briefs and talking points, attending prep discussions, and incorporating leadership feedback on engagement strategy.
    • Scheduling meeting debriefs and ensuring engagement summaries and next steps are memorialized in Salesforce and Development Contact Reports.
    • Working with key stakeholders to assign post-meeting action items and ensure next steps are executed upon in a timely fashion. Track and report back on progress to leadership as appropriate.
  • Partner closely with the President’s Office, c-suite support staff, and program staff to ensure all are aware of principal gift deliverables (i.e. donor presentations, concepts, proposals, reports, etc.) and prepared to facilitate engagement between their executives and principal gifts donors/prospects.
  • Ensure timely and high-quality cultivation and stewardship via the Development Department’s new moves management tracking systems.
  • Partner with Principal Gifts Associate to maintain database integrity for donors in the portfolio.
• Fundraising Support
  • Write tailored email communications for senior NRDC leaders and frontline principal gifts fundraisers to send to donors and prospects regarding NRDC’s work.
  • Partner with colleagues from the principal gifts, major gifts, and research teams to identify prospects and prioritize them as appropriate for cultivation.
  • Collaborate with Development and NRDC Action Fund staff on strategies and materials to raise non-deductible 501(c)4 advocacy and political funding.
  • Assist the principal gifts team in producing concept notes, proposals, and other donor-facing written materials as needed.
  • Maintain a working knowledge of NRDC’s issues and programmatic work, as well as the interests of the organization’s principal donors and key prospects; develop and maintain strong relationships with relevant program staff.
  • Ensure that all messaging aligns with donor engagement strategy.
  • Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
• 4-7 years of experience working in a high-volume non-profit Development department.
• Extremely organized project manager with outstanding attention to detail.
• Strong ability to multitask, meet competing deadlines, and effectively work with numerous partners to achieve a high-caliber final product.
• Excellent writing, editing, and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to collect, synthesize, and process complex information quickly and with accuracy - avoiding jargon.
• Understanding of the philanthropic and political environment and best practices in fundraising.
• Strong customer service orientation that centers donors as a critical part of mission-driven work.
• High level of professionalism and discretion when communicating with executives and donor/prospect support staff.
• Collegial team player that works well with diverse internal and external constituencies.
• Donor database (Salesforce) experience required.
• Strong understanding of climate issues and interest in environmental advocacy preferred.
• Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is essential.

The position you are applying for is part of the bargaining unit represented by The Washington Baltimore News Guild (WBNG / The Newsguild-CWA Local 32035).

NRDC is committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, both in our work and in our workplace. We believe that celebrating and actively welcoming diverse voices and perspectives is essential to solving the planet's most pressing environmental problems, and we encourage applications from candidates whose identities have been historically under-represented in the environmental movement.

We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

We offer competitive salaries, excellent benefits, and a supportive working environment. Salary is based on a nonprofit scale and is commensurate with skills and experience. Internal equity will be reviewed and considered to determine a final offer. For this position, the salary range is $100,000 to $111,000.

Our offices are open and we are operating in a hybrid model. We offer NRDCers flexibility, and we ask them to come into the office and spend meaningful time there in collaboration with their colleagues. We call this purposeful presence.

As a science-based organization, NRDC aims to do our part to help contain the COVID-19 public health crisis. For the sake of health, safety, and equity, we ask that people be vaccinated unless they have an approved medical or religious accommodation or other exemption in accordance with state and local law. We consider a person to be vaccinated two weeks after receiving one full course of a CDC-approved vaccine. In accordance with state or local law, new hires will be asked to attest to vaccination, those wishing to do so may request medical or religious accommodations or other exemptions via NRDC Employee Relations. NRDC treats all vaccine-related data confidentially, in keeping with local, state, and federal laws.

To apply, visit and upload your résumé and cover letter. Please note a cover letter is required for your application to be considered. Please mention where you saw this posting and upload any additional materials that showcase your abilities. Due to the high volume of applications, we will contact only those candidates we would like to interview. Please no phone calls, emails, or in-person résumé drop-offs.

If you experience technical problems while applying or if you are a person with a disability and need assistance applying online, please reach out to iCIMS Customer Care at 1-800-889-4422.

For more about NRDC, visit

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