Donor Relations Officer

The Boston Foundation believes that one of the great strengths of the Greater Boston community is the rich diversity of its residents in race, religion, national origin, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, age and physical abilities. The Foundation seeks to enhance and support that diversity, not only by its grant making, but also by adopting and implementing employment policies and practices designed to recognize and respond to such diversity.

 

The Boston Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We encourage applications from people with diverse backgrounds and experience.

 

All applications should be submitted online. Go to https://www.tbf.org/who-we-are/careers and select “Donor Relations Officer” to complete our online application process.

 

Job Description

Title: Donor Relations Officer

Department: Philanthropy Group

Reports To:  Associate Vice President, Philanthropy

FLSA Classification: Exempt         FTE: 1

Supervises: None

Hybrid Schedule (subject to change): In office at least 2 days a week, Tuesday and Thursday.  Additional days in the office may be required, based on business needs.

Position Budgeted: $75,000.00 to $90,000.00

 

Position Summary:

The Donor Relations Officer plays a key role in advancing the mission of the Boston Foundation by developing and managing meaningful relationships with current and prospective donors. This role is responsible for cultivating, soliciting and stewarding a portfolio of fundholders, individual donors, and prospects to strengthen long-term community investment. Charged with being an ambassador for the Foundation and its Campaign for a Greater Boston, the Donor Relations Officer focuses on the cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of a portfolio of individual donors, ensuring a personalized and strategic donor experience. This role will also coordinate the Foundation’s work with corporate fundholders.

 

This position will contribute towards the Boston Foundation’s ambitious goals under the Campaign for A Greater Boston to inspire and align the community and its many resources in support of achieving equity for Greater Boston residents. The Campaign focuses on building the Boston Foundation’s discretionary endowment, expanding the Annual Fund for Civic Leadership, and growing our base of Donor Advised Fund program to increase alignment with Foundation goals within the wider donor community. With success in this campaign, the Boston Foundation will foster transformative community impact through priorities aligned with its new, equity-centered vision.

 

Essential Functions:

• Develop and manage a portfolio of 50-75 individual donors and prospects to enhance engagement and increase philanthropic investments and aligned giving;
• Create and implement individualized cultivation and stewardship plans to encourage DAF growth, encourage co-investments and encourage aligned giving;
• Build trusted, mission-aligned relationships through one-on-one meetings, personalized engagement, and tailored communication;
• Develop and implement a strategic approach to engage and steward corporate donors and fundholders;
• Partner with donors to identify charitable goals and connect them to community needs and funding opportunities;
• Work closely with program staff to align donor interests with community priorities and grantmaking opportunities;
• Identify and qualify new fund holders to build a strong pipeline of aligned donors;
• Participate in the planning and execution of donor engagement events, site visits, and community briefings;
• Solicit for the Annual Fund for Civic Leadership and other co-investment opportunities;
• Work cross-departmentally to resolve and/or develop creative solutions to fund and grant issues and donor requests; and
• Maintain a high standard of donor data integrity, documenting all interactions and strategies in Salesforce database.

 

Other Duties and Responsibilities:

• Individuals assigned to this position may perform other duties as assigned.

 

Qualifications

Preparation, Knowledge, Previous Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience;
• Advanced degree, CAP and/or CFRE a plus;
• At least 5 years related fundraising and/or donor relations experience.

 

Skills, Abilities, Competencies:

• Demonstrated experience building relationships with high-net-worth donors;
• Familiarity with fundraising and philanthropic empathy;
• Strong interpersonal skills, with demonstrated ability to build trust and rapport with donors, corporate clients, and community leaders;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including comfort with donor-facing materials and storytelling;
• Strong customer service orientation and eager to build and grow;
• Professional and mature interpersonal work style, ability to interact well with a diverse range of people;
• Initiative, organization, and attention to detail, with an ability to prioritize tasks and meet organizational deadlines;
• A can-do and will-do attitude, i.e. no task is too high level nor too basic;
• Strong knowledge of Microsoft Office products - especially Word, Excel, Outlook and Power Point;
• Proficiency in CRM systems (we utilize Salesforce) strongly preferred;
• Commitment to contributing to an overall organizational culture of learning and wellbeing;
• Participatory work style; team player; ability to give and receive feedback;
• Community orientation and cultural humility (an ongoing process of self-reflection and learning);
• Willingness and ability to handle confidential information;
• Strong goal orientation with flexibility to adapt to changing priorities and respond to development opportunities as they arise;
• Familiarity with community foundations, donor-advised funds, and charitable giving vehicles is highly desirable; and
• Preference for a deep awareness, understanding, and connection to the Boston community, including connections to community-based organizations and leaders.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands:

• Ability to work at workstation for long periods of time;
• Ability to use a keyboard and electronic screen for extended periods of time; and
• Ability to work on-site and remotely as required.

 

The content is intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by persons assigned to this job. It is not intended to constitute an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and duties required.

 

External and internal applicants, as well as position incumbents, who are or become disabled as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act or applicable state law, must be able to perform the essential functions of the job (including those listed above) either with or without reasonable accommodation. Reasonable accommodation, if any, will be determined by management in consultation with the employee on a case-by-case basis.

 

This job description is intended to be general and may be revised from time to time. At management’s discretion, the employee may be assigned different or additional duties from time to time.