Donor Relations Manager

About Humane Society Silicon Valley
Humane Society Silicon Valley (HSSV) delivers innovative programs that save lives and deepen human-animal connection. Our Model Shelter* and the people and programs within it redefine what is possible in the field of animal welfare.

Organizational Culture
HSSV is an exceptional animal welfare organization with leadership that brings a depth and breadth of experience from various disciplines and sectors along with a personal passion to save and enhance both animal and human lives. With that perspective and background informing our culture, we use data to iterate on every aspect of our work -- from animal care and shelter medicine, to volunteer onboarding and communication; from special events to the everchanging landscape of social media -- every area of our work drives measurable impact. That’s how we achieved a 94%
save rate while also increasing our annual intake.

A High-Drive Team
Over the past 15 years, HSSV has successfully completed a $25M Capital Campaign that resulted in the opening of our LEED Certified Animal Community Center, and a $59M Comprehensive Campaign that ensured the sustainability of high impact programs like Shelter Medicine and Regional Rescue. Our development team culture emphasizes the below core values, which have been instrumental to our fundraising success and employee retention and job satisfaction:

• Focused on lifesaving: Our top-level goal -- above financial targets -- is to influence HSSV’s ability to save more lives. We are relentlessly focused on the question “How will this help drive mission results?”
• Iterative and adaptable: From migrating to new data platforms to reinventing trademark events; this team embraces that change is necessary for growth.
• Collaborative end-to-end thinking: Our culture includes frequent working meetings with development colleagues, board of directors, committees, and cross-functional teammates in marketing and shelter operations to stay aligned on organizational priorities and solve problems as a team.
• Recognition and celebration: We work hard to achieve ambitious goals; to keep our motivation high and our focus in place, we celebrate individual and team successes.
• Ambitious and driven: Whether identifying our team’s annual “Wildly Achievable Goals” (aka WAGs) or setting year-over-year growth desired outcomes, we never assume status quo. Instead, we start with HSSV’s strategic initiatives and then determine what we need to do to make them possible.
• Mindful of HOW: We support each other in the ongoing development of soft skills like managerial courage and active listening. We find that talking through how we approach our work creates significant growth for our team and for ourselves as individuals.

Overview
The Stewardship Manager will support the strategy and execution of materials to develop mutually rewarding relationships with current/past donors, prospective donors, and other stakeholders. This role will communicate a compelling case for support demonstrating the impact of philanthropy and will be responsible for implementing and managing a comprehensive donor stewardship, recognition, and retention program in support of HSSV’s desired fundraising goals and milestones. This position will also plan and execute donor appreciation events and experiential donor activities throughout the year. Day-to-day work will include management of projects while managing volunteers and vendors as needed.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop cultivation and stewardship strategies for HSSV’s prospective and current donors to maximize giving potential and ensure donor retention.
• Manage a dynamic experience as donors move in and out of different donor pipelines.
• Interact with board and staff to produce timely and meaningful cultivation and stewardship opportunities and methodologies that demonstrate gift impact.
• Drive strategies and timing for donor/prospect engagement and follow up communications.
• Collaborate closely with internal teams to strengthen HSSV’s event fundraising capacity and leverage the power of storytelling to identify compelling stories.
• Craft and execute targeted stewardship communications for mass donor audiences including donor impact reports, emails, post event communications, and more.
• Determine investment and recognition opportunities for donors who wish to apply their gift to a specific program area.
• Craft program overviews that can be used for cultivation and stewardship across multiple fundraising channels.
• Oversee the proper acknowledgement of donations by drafting thank-you letters, greeting cards, memos, reports, and making timely touch points.
• Develop fluency in donor data management in the Salesforce platform, Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP), Springboard, and Pardot; use systems for constituent journeys/touch points, key reporting, and campaign management.
• Provide direct customer support to annual and monthly donors, including fielding requests for regarding their giving, adjusting their gift, and fulfillment of donor benefits.
• Stay current with fundraising trends including such as story-telling principles, cultivation strategies and events, and stewardship best practices.
  
• Other job duties may be assigned as needed.

Requirements

• Superior writing skills and ability to craft compelling copy for both heartfelt and business-oriented materials.
• Experience in stewardship, fundraising, development, marketing, or public relations with a solid understanding of the donor lifecycle; animal welfare industry experience a plus.
• Ability to work collaboratively in a mission-driven, team-oriented department and communicate a compelling and inspired vision of HSSV’s mission and programs.
• Excellent project management and organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, while paying extreme attention to detail and accuracy.
• Outstanding interpersonal and communications skills and proven ability to work effectively with a diverse population of donors and prospects, board members, volunteers, staff, and community leaders.
• Positive, can-do attitude with strong self-direction and a desire to take the initiative and ensure excellence in a fast-paced environment.
• Discretion in handling confidential information relating to the giving history and backgrounds of donors/prospects.
• Proficient with MS Office as well as CRM systems; donor database experience a plus.

Please include a writing sample with your resume submission.

Work Days and Hours
Primarily day schedule Monday-Friday but will be required to participate in many events throughout the year that are on evenings and/or weekends.

Candidate Tip

Add "apps.bamboohr.com" to your email contact list so you make sure to receive emails from HSSV regarding your application.

HSSV requires all employees and volunteers to be up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccines which includes booster doses upon eligibility, subject to consideration for medical and religious accommodations.

*In 2017, HSSV became the first organization in the world to implement the Association of Shelter Medicine’s 543 guidelines promoting health and wellness in a shelter environment. We are now engaged in sharing our learnings and best practices with peers striving to save more lives in their own communities.