Title: Donor Relations Manager
Supervised by: Director of Development (DoD)
Job Summary
The Donor Relations Manager connects with the people and resources that will help Outright sustain our mission of building a Vermont where all LGBTQ+ youth have hope, equity, and power.
Along with our DoD and Executive Director (ED), this position is responsible for implementing an expanded program for donor engagement, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship. Through personalized communication and deepened relationships with current and prospective donors (individuals, corporations, and foundations), this
role will broaden Outright’s base of support.
This position is situated within our Essential Alchemy (EA) team, which holds the vital behind-the-scenes work that fuels our impact.
Key Function: Individual Donor Relationship Management (60% time)
- Manage a portfolio of 50-75 donors with mid- to high-level giving capacity ($2,500+), cultivating strong relationships and growing giving through multiple touchpoints of engagement.
- Build the prospect pipeline for this position, as well as for other staff portfolios, through research, cold calls, meetings, cultivation events, and other standard prospecting techniques.
- Create solicitation and stewardship materials to support the work of the EA team, including cases for support, proposals, and donor reports.
- Support individuals fundraising for Outright’s peer-to-peer events (such as The Fire Truck Pull) to allow them to meet and surpass their personal goals.
- Organize periodic small gatherings in our space to steward and cultivate mid-and high-level donors.
Key Function: Foundation Relationships (15% time)
- Manage a small portfolio (under 20) of foundation partners, building
relationships where warranted/invited, and writing letters of inquiry, proposals, and reports in compliance with foundation requirements.
Key Function: Corporate Relationships (15% time)
- Manage a small portfolio (under 20) of corporate partners, building financial support, and also collaborating with the Administrative Coordinator to understand and assist in fulfilling organizational priorities around volunteer and in-kind donation needs via those corporate partners.
Key Function: Internal Collaboration (10% time)
- Actively engage in the work of Outright, including: all-staff meetings and retreats; special projects (typically 1-2 per year; 2023 projects are Strategic Planning and Reimaging Program Evaluation); cross-functional program planning; and as a representative of the EA team at ‘all-in” events (typically 1-2 per year).
Support the organization in other matters as identified and assigned.
Ideal Skills and Attributes
This is an opportunity to work within a growing and dynamic team to ensure LGBTQ+ youth across Vermont have what they need to survive and thrive! A social justice, community-centric lens is a must, as is a demonstrable commitment to Outright Vermont’s mission, vision, and values.
Qualified individuals will have 3 or more years of fundraising experience. This should include donor relationship management, and will also ideally include donor prospecting, proposal writing, donor collateral creation, and event planning.
This position requires a person who has the ability to connect to a wide range of donors, work effectively with a variety of communication styles, and who can balance donor relationships with a youth-centered approach to everything we do.
The person in this role will be self-motivated, with the ability to work independently as well as part of a team, instilling confidence and trust among fellow staff and external constituents. They will be able to prioritize and manage multiple projects and relationships simultaneously, seeing efforts to completion on deadline and with quality. This work can take time to develop results; the mindset to know you are working towards a future goal is important. Strong written and presentation skills, and adept use of Google Suite and Microsoft Office are a must, as is a growth and learning
mindset. Donor database experience is an added bonus.
This position requires reliable transportation and will involve travel throughout Vermont at all times of the year. Some evening and weekend hours may be required, especially around key events.
Compensation and Benefits
Salary range: $56,000-$61,000. This is a full time, 35-hour per week position, with hybrid in-person and remote work possible. We offer a comprehensive benefit package, including:
- Fully paid health insurance; employee-contributed dental insurance; life insurance
- 403(b) retirement plan with 2% salary match
- Cell phone stipend
- 10 vacation days in year one
- 10 days paid Gaycation when our offices fully close each summer
- 13 paid holigays; 3 personal days; 9 sick days
- And other opportunities such as professional development funds each year (we plan to attend the AFP conference in 2024!), tuition reimbursement, 2x year staff retreats, family leave, and sabbatical!
Application Procedure and Hiring Process
Interested applicants should send a resume and cover letter to hiring@outrightvt.org. Please include the job title and your full name in the email subject.
Your cover letter should address why Outright, why this role in particular, and how you feel your skills and experiences align with the skills and attributes described above. We encourage you to allow your personal writing style to come through.
Hiring Process
- Applications will be accepted through Sunday, June 18, 2023.
- First Round Interviews will take place Friday 6/23, Monday 6/26, and Tuesday, 6/27
- Second Round Interviews for candidates who advance will take place Wednesday, 7/5
- Final Candidate Interviews will be held Monday, 7/10 and Tuesday, 7/11. We will request references at that time.
- Reference Checks and an offer to a successful candidate will occur Thursday, 7/13 – Friday, 7/14.
- Preferred start date will be between Wednesday, 8/9 – Monday, 8/14, so that you can join us at our Annual Summer Staff Retreat which begins on Tuesday, 8/15.
Interviews will be conducted in person at our Burlington office as possible, and by Zoom as warranted. Please do not let a conflict with this schedule prevent you from applying, but do let us know in your email where you’d have a conflict (and possible alternatives, if you have a sense of them). Thank you!!!
All applicants will receive a confirmation email.
Outright Vermont is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We recognize the critical importance of being an organization of diverse identities. Queer and trans people of color and trans feminine folks are strongly encouraged to apply. We have listed our ideal skills and attributes – and we know not everyone will 100% check all those boxes. We don’t like boxes anyway! And research shows the folks most likely to select out of applying are those most impacted by inequity. We encourage you to apply if you feel you’d be an asset to the team. Heck yeah!
More details about Outright available via our website: www.outrightvt.org
LGBTQ+ youth transcend every social group and community. Outright Vermont is an anti-oppression organization that actively interrogates white supremacy culture within and without. We act in ways aligned with the understanding that how we do is as important as what we do. We know that a new framework (in practice, principles, policies, and actions) is the only way to a truly liberated future for all. Specifically, in recent years Outright has overhauled HR practices, engaged in regular anti-racism learning opportunities for staff and board members, and built upon relationships of solidarity and accountability with youth and community partners. Ensuring our organizational culture and programs create welcome and belonging for youth of color and neurodivergent youth is critical to our mission.