[Hiring] Partner Engagement Manager @Christianity Today

Role Description

The Partner Engagement Manager (Mid-Level Giving & Donor Development) is responsible for building meaningful relationships with Christianity Today's (CT) Sustaining Partners and emerging major donors, creating personalized engagement strategies that strengthen retention, increase annual giving, and develop a strong pipeline of future major donors. The manager will guide the Sustaining Partner program (those giving $1K or more annually), steward active donors up to $5K, build systems for appropriate touchpoints, move relationships from transactional to relational to transformational, and invite increased giving.

Functions and Responsibilities

• Donor Relationships:
  • Build authentic, trusted relationships with a caseload of approximately 250-300 mid-level donors at $1K-$5K.
  • Inspire and align those donors with CT’s mission and values, contributing to the achievement of the annual philanthropic budget.
  • Optimize Virtuous CRM processes and tools to create and deploy meaningful touchpoints (including email, calls, letters, video meetings).
  • Execute individual giving goals and stewardship/ask plans relevant for each donor based on their passions, interests, motivations, giving history, and capacity.
  • Result in the upgrading of average gifts and improved donor retention.
• Donor Programs:
  • Lead the growth and relational engagement strategy for the Sustaining Partners ($1K+ gifts) and The Thread (recurring giving) programs.
  • Partner with Mission Advancement colleagues to strengthen acquisition, retention, upgrading, and donor experience.
• Pipeline Development:
  • Identify and qualify donors with the capacity and demonstrated interest to make major gifts at $10K or more.
  • Develop relationships and prepare qualified prospects for transition into a major gift portfolio.
  • Support prospect identification, research, and qualification for the Mission Advancement team.
  • Support an event strategy on behalf of the President, Board, and President’s Council as well as major donors.
• Strategic Development & Operations:
  • Maintain updated constituent records and provide monthly reports.
  • Collaborate with the SVP of Mission Advancement to craft strategic plans, annual budgets, and donor communications.
  • Stay current on fundraising best practices.
  • Perform additional job-related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree
• 5+ years fundraising and mid and major gifts experience
• Christian nonprofit experience

Requirements

• Mid and Major donor cultivation and proposal writing
• Proven track record of building donor relationships through giving circles/clubs and personal engagement
• Strong relationship-building skills with a demonstrated ability to move donors toward deeper engagement and increased giving
• Experience retaining and upgrading donors through personalized cultivation and solicitation
• Experience managing a large portfolio and building scalable systems for meaningful and engaging donor touchpoints
• Demonstrated skill in both digital and personal donor engagement
• Comfort using CRM data and technology to prioritize and systemize donor outreach
• Ability to identify, qualify, and develop emerging major gift prospects
• Ability to authentically represent the ministry’s mission, vision, and values
• Strong communicator; excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Excellent project management and organizational skills with high attention to detail
• Ability to travel six times a year on average

Benefits

• CT offers a comprehensive benefits package - check out our careers page to learn more.
• Exact compensation may vary based on experience, skills, and location.