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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Nonprofit Fundraising Manager

💰 $50,000 - $95,000

NonprofitFundraisingDevelopmentManagement

🎯 Role Definition

The Nonprofit Fundraising Manager is responsible for designing and executing multi-channel fundraising strategies that increase revenue, deepen donor relationships, and ensure sustainable support for the organization's mission. This role combines strategic planning, donor cultivation (individual, major gifts, corporate, foundation), grant writing, campaign management, CRM stewardship, and performance reporting. The ideal candidate balances tactical execution with strategic stewardship, engages volunteers and board members in fundraising, and uses data to drive decisions and improve donor retention.

Key search phrases: Nonprofit Fundraising Manager, fundraising strategy, donor cultivation, major gifts, grant writing, donor stewardship, fundraising CRM, capital campaigns, annual giving, corporate sponsorships, donor retention.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Development Coordinator or Fundraising Coordinator
  • Grants Specialist or Grant Writer
  • Volunteer Coordinator with fundraising exposure

Advancement To:

  • Director of Development
  • Senior Manager, Philanthropy or Chief Development Officer
  • Executive Director (for smaller nonprofit organizations)

Lateral Moves:

  • Grants Manager / Foundation Relations Manager
  • Corporate Partnerships or Sponsorships Manager
  • Annual Giving or Major Gifts Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Develop, implement, and manage a comprehensive fundraising strategy across major gifts, annual giving, grants, corporate partnerships, planned giving, and special events to meet or exceed annual revenue goals.
  • Create, maintain, and prioritize a robust prospect pipeline for individual donors and major gift prospects; build strategies for solicitation, cultivation, and stewardship tailored to donor capacity and interests.
  • Lead major gift solicitations: prepare briefings, set meeting objectives, draft proposals and solicitation scripts, accompany board and senior leaders to donor meetings, and close major gifts.
  • Research, identify, and cultivate foundation and corporate grant opportunities; write, submit, and track competitive grant proposals and manage grant reporting and compliance.
  • Design and execute year-round donor stewardship programs, including personalized communications, recognition events, impact reports, gift acknowledgments, and legacy society programs to increase donor retention and lifetime value.
  • Develop and manage annual giving campaigns (direct mail, email, telefunding, peer-to-peer, social fundraising), set targets, A/B test appeals, and optimize channels to maximize response rates and revenue.
  • Oversee the planning, budgeting, vendor selection, and execution of fundraising events (in-person, hybrid, virtual) that cultivate donors and deliver measurable returns on investment.
  • Manage the development and execution of corporate partnership and sponsorship programs: identify partners, negotiate agreements, fulfill deliverables, and ensure mutually beneficial activation and recognition.
  • Own CRM data integrity and segmentation strategy (Salesforce, Raiser’s Edge, DonorPerfect, or comparable systems): ensure accurate gift entry, contact records, pipeline stages, and automated acknowledgments.
  • Produce timely, accurate fundraising forecasts, pipeline reports, and performance dashboards for executive leadership and the board; use data to recommend strategic pivots and resource allocation.
  • Collaborate with Communications and Marketing to craft compelling donor-facing storytelling, case statements, campaign collateral, web content, and targeted appeals that align with organizational messaging and outcomes.
  • Manage solicitation and stewardship communications across channels (email, mail, phone, social, events) ensuring messaging is donor-centered, impact-oriented, and optimized for conversion.
  • Supervise, mentor, and evaluate development staff, volunteers, and interns; set measurable objectives, provide coaching, and allocate workload to deliver fundraising goals.
  • Build and manage gift agreements, recognition policies, naming opportunities, and stewardship plans for restricted gifts, capital campaign pledges, and planned gifts, ensuring legal and ethical compliance.
  • Coordinate with finance to reconcile gifts, produce monthly revenue reports, manage contribution audits, and ensure proper accounting of restricted and unrestricted funds.
  • Lead or support capital campaigns and special initiatives: create case for support, timeline, solicitation strategy, feasibility assessments, and campaign progress reporting.
  • Implement and monitor donor segmentation, moves management, and wealth-screening processes to prioritize outreach and maximize ROI on major gift efforts.
  • Train and engage board members, executives, and volunteers in effective fundraising practices, prospect cultivation, solicitation strategies, and board giving accountability.
  • Maintain compliance with fundraising regulations, gift acceptance policies, privacy guidelines, and donor confidentiality; prepare materials for audits and regulatory reporting as needed.
  • Design and execute planned giving outreach and legacy solicitation strategies (bequests, trusts, annuities), in collaboration with legal and financial advisors, to grow long-term endowment support.
  • Manage digital fundraising programs including online giving pages, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer platforms, social giving campaigns, and SEO/SEM tactics to drive traffic and donations.
  • Conduct prospect research and perform donor analytics (retention rates, donor lifetime value, acquisition costs) to inform strategy and improve fundraising effectiveness.
  • Coordinate cross-departmental fundraising initiatives that align programmatic needs with donor interests, ensuring program teams can articulate outcomes and impact.
  • Respond to donor inquiries, resolve donor issues quickly and professionally, and ensure a high-quality donor experience throughout the gift lifecycle.
  • Oversee stewardship schedules, renewal appeals, mid-level donor cultivation, and affinity group engagement to strengthen mid-tier growth and upgrade strategies.

Secondary Functions

  • Prepare ad-hoc donor reports, segmentation analyses, and exploratory data summaries to support executive decision-making and grant applications.
  • Contribute to the organization's fundraising strategy and multi-year development roadmap by providing data-informed recommendations and scenario modeling.
  • Collaborate with programs and communications teams to translate program outcomes into compelling donor-facing materials and measurable impact statements.
  • Participate in strategic planning meetings, fundraising committee sessions, and board development briefings to align fundraising activity with organizational priorities.
  • Support donor database imports/exports, CRM integrations, and vendor relationships to optimize systems and reporting.
  • Serve as a liaison with finance and legal teams on gift processing, restricted fund management, and contract negotiations related to corporate partnerships and sponsorships.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Proficiency with fundraising CRMs (Salesforce Nonprofit Success Pack, Raiser’s Edge, DonorPerfect, Bloomerang) including segmentation, pipeline tracking, and automated acknowledgements.
  • Grant writing and grant management skills: proposal development, budgeting for grants, compliance reporting, and foundation stewardship.
  • Major gift solicitation experience: moves management, donor preparation materials, solicitation scripting, and closing strategies.
  • Data analysis and donor analytics: proficiency with Excel (pivot tables, vlookups), basic SQL or BI tools, donor lifetime value calculations, and performance dashboards.
  • Experience managing online fundraising platforms and tools (Classy, GiveGab, Network for Good, crowdfunding platforms) and donation processing systems.
  • Event planning and sponsorship fulfillment skills including budget management, vendor contracts, and event ROI analysis.
  • Familiarity with tax, gift acceptance, and nonprofit compliance issues, plus experience preparing documentation for audits and regulatory filings.
  • Email marketing and marketing automation (Mailchimp, Constant Contact, HubSpot) for segmented appeals and stewardship flows.
  • Project management skills: timeline creation, milestone tracking, cross-functional coordination, and risk management.
  • Prospect research and wealth screening tools experience (WealthEngine, DonorSearch, iWave) to prioritize and qualify prospects.
  • Strong grant and donor-level reporting capabilities, including experience preparing board-ready fundraising reports and campaign scorecards.
  • Understanding of planned giving vehicles and working knowledge of estate gift solicitation processes.

Soft Skills

  • Exceptional relationship-building and interpersonal skills with the ability to cultivate long-term donor trust and loyalty.
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills; persuasive storytelling with an impact-oriented mindset.
  • Strategic thinking and problem-solving: ability to translate fundraising data into actionable strategy.
  • Leadership and team management: coaching, delegation, performance feedback, and building high-functioning teams.
  • High emotional intelligence and empathy when working with donors, volunteers, and program staff.
  • Attention to detail and accuracy—especially in gift processing, reporting, and legal compliance.
  • Results-driven and goal-oriented with a track record of meeting or exceeding fundraising targets.
  • Adaptability and resilience in a fast-paced nonprofit environment with shifting priorities.
  • Collaboration and stakeholder management at all organizational levels including executives and board members.
  • Time management and organizational skills to manage concurrent campaigns, events, and donor cultivation activities.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Nonprofit Management, Communications, Public Administration, Business, Marketing, or a related field.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor’s plus an advanced degree (MA/MBA) or professional fundraising certification (CFRE, ACFRE).
  • Continuing education in grant writing, nonprofit finance, or digital fundraising.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Nonprofit Management
  • Public Administration
  • Communications / Journalism
  • Business Administration / Marketing
  • Philanthropic Studies / Fundraising
  • Finance or Accounting (helpful for budget management)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 3–7 years of progressive fundraising experience in nonprofit development roles, including direct donor solicitation and CRM management.

Preferred:

  • 5+ years experience with demonstrated success in major gifts, grants, and annual campaign leadership; experience supervising staff and managing budgets.
  • Proven track record of revenue growth, donor retention improvement, or successful capital campaigns.
  • Experience working with boards and volunteer fundraising committees and comfortable engaging senior leaders and major donors.
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