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Individual Giving Manager

The Ideal Candidate

You’re ready for the next step in your fundraising career – managing a growing individual giving program. A database geek, you know that data is the backbone of robust fundraising. You love to dig into the details, keep the information clean, and use technology to its fullest capacity. You’re not afraid to try new things. Efficiency could be your middle name – your organizational skills get applied as you create and implement processes and methods to keep all aspects of the donor cycle moving, from introduction through solicitation to stewardship. You’re motivated by a vital mission that changes lives and being part of a committed team that works collaboratively to achieve goals. 

The Mission

Waukegan to College creates brighter futures for students, families, and communities by preparing students to enroll in and graduate from college.We foster a college-going culture within a school district with a majority of first-generation (their parents did not attend college) and low-income students. Based on the great need, we are leveraging our solid track record and strong support base to scale our impact. We recently launched a vision called 1000 Dreams and aim to be serving 1000 students from 5th grade through college graduation by 2029.

The Opportunity

Waukegan to College is experiencing significant revenue growth, with a 30-40% increase year over year. The role of the Individual Giving Manager is pivotal in sustaining this success. The funds raised currently stem from a diverse range of sources, with individual contributions (25%), grants (30%), government (15%), corporate sponsorship (10%), faith communities (10%), and events (10%). As the Individual Giving Manager, you will oversee all aspects of the individual giving program, with a strong focus on annual fund and supporting major gifts. Your contribution will be instrumental in helping the executive director and board foster relationships with current and potential donors.

Key Responsibilities

  • Manage and track individual donor relations: communications, contacts, database, relationship cycle, visits, etc.
  • Equip and prep the executive director for major donor cultivation and solicitation
  • Maintain a portfolio of individual donors
  • Design and manage donor acknowledgment and stewardship program
  • Manage all appeals: design, implementation, reporting
  • With executive director, set annual individual giving goals; track and report progress
  • Create and maintain efficient fundraising processes and procedures using Little Green Lite and Grant Hub
  • Manage digital fundraising and maintain the website
  • Manage all database functions for appeals and email campaign

Key Characteristics

  • Loves and thrives in the details – a process and systems thinker who can envision and create efficient processes from beginning to end
  • Highly organized and able to complete projects independently
  • People person – easily builds relationships, unafraid to reach out to new people
  • Technology nerd – loves to dig in and use technology to its fullest capacity, creating processes and creative solutions to support fundraising
  • Team player – wants to be part of a motivated team working hard to live the mission and values of Waukegan to College
  • Continuous learner – desire to grow skills and take on new responsibilities, willingness to learn and pass it on to teammates

Experience

  • Bachelor’s degree required
  • Three years of experience in nonprofit development, preferably with campaigns, individual giving, and annual appeals
  • Proficiency in Google and Microsoft products (e.g., Drive, Docs, Sheets, Word, and Excel) and managing donor and grant databases Little Green Light (LGL) and GrantHub
  • Superior writing skills
  • Excellent presentation skills and willingness to do public speaking

Salary and Benefits

  • Salary is $60,000-70,000 depending on experience.
  • Excellent benefits include generous time off, including 15 vacation days; medical, dental, and vision (90% covered by employer); fully funded FSA dependent care, retirement – 2% of your annual salary, eligible after one year of employment; and a hybrid work environment.

Waukegan to College is an equal opportunity employer. We encourage applications from all individuals regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation and evaluate all candidates based on merit; we strongly encourage and seek qualified applications from underrepresented groups.

The only way to be considered for this position is by applying below. Anchor Advisors is conducting the search; please do not contact Waukegan to College directly.