Development Operations & Annual Giving Manager

The Organization Gorilla Doctors is the only organization in the world dedicated to hands-on veterinary care for mountain and Grauer’s gorillas in East Central Africa. Founded in 1986 at the request of Dian Fossey, we have grown into an international team of veterinarians and infectious disease experts from Rwanda, Uganda, DR Congo, and the U.S. There are an estimated 1,063 mountain gorillas on the planet, and research has shown that Gorilla Doctors’ veterinary care accounts for up to 40% of the difference in annual population growth rate between habituated and unhabituated mountain gorillas — the only great ape whose numbers are increasing and that population has nearly doubled since we began.

Position Purpose The Development Operations & Annual Giving Manager serves as the administrative engine of the development department while executing the logistics of the organization’s annual fundraising cycle. Reporting directly to the Chief Development Officer, this role ensures data integrity, manages donor customer service, manages annual giving programs. Depending on the candidate, this role allows for front-line fundraising experience, qualifying donors to strengthen the major gift pipeline. This position is an integral part of a development team that includes the CDO and the Executive Director. Together, the team manages donor relationships, conducts monthly prospect review calls, and works to raise Gorilla Doctors’ $3M annual operating budget through individual, foundation, and corporate fundraising. Database integrity and timely gift processing are the non-negotiable foundation of this role.

Key Responsibilities Database Management & Gift Processing (Approx. 60% – 70% of Time)

Data Entry & Integrity: Accurately enter all donations, pledges, and donor touchpoints into Salesforce for Non-Profits. Maintain clean, updated records through regular duplicate checks, address updates, and data clean-up.

Gift Acknowledgments: Execute the gift processing workflow, ensuring all donor thank-you letters and tax receipts are generated and sent within the organization’s standard window, in compliance with IRS gift reporting requirements. Mail completed thank-you letters/tax receipts weekly.

Reporting & Analytics: Pull reports, lists, and donor segments to support fundraising program oversight, the monthly Fund Development Committee reporting, donor lists, and annual audit.

Pledge Management: Track pledges and issue reminders as needed.

Vendor Liaison: With the CDO, manage relationships with technology vendors including Click & Pledge, Double the Donation, The Giving Block.

Salesforce Consultant Liaison: Serve as the primary point of contact for Gorilla Doctors’ Salesforce consultant, coordinating on complex database operations, system improvements, and technical troubleshooting.

Documentation: Create and maintain policy and procedure documentation for donor database management.

Workflow Improvement: Evaluate and improve gift processing workflows, including the potential migration to a more efficient and secure processing system, and support reconciliation with financial systems.

Annual Giving & Campaign Logistics (Approx. 30% – 40% of Time)

Campaign Coordination: Project-manage the execution and timeline of annual cycle appeals, including direct mail, email, and social media components (in coordination with comms). Campaigns currently include spring, fall, and year-end appeals.

Vendor & Multi-Channel Management: Coordinate logistics with printers, mail houses, and digital platforms to ensure campaigns drop on schedule.

Online Giving Forms: Create online giving forms and map them to Salesforce campaign codes to ensure accurate tracking and reporting across all campaigns.

Matching Gifts: Manage the matching gifts program, including outreach, tracking, donor communications, and administration of the Double the Donation platform.

Recurring Giving: Manage the recurring giving program, including stewardship, upgrade outreach, and lapsed donor reactivation, in coordination with the online giving platform.

Annual Report & Donor Survey: Coordinate the annual donor survey to capture name preferences and delivery preferences. Generate and verify the donor recognition list for the annual report, ensuring accuracy, and produce the mailing list for distribution.

Donor Customer Service: Serve as the primary point of contact for donor inquiries via phone and email, resolving issues related to recurring gifts, tax receipts, or payment updates. Refer managed donors to CDO as appropriate.

Prospect Qualification & Donor Stewardship (Approx. 0% – 10% of Time)

Moves Management: Assist CDO in preparing stewardship plans and tracking donor touchpoints throughout the year in Salesforce.

Prospect Identification: Assist the CDO in reviewing database trends to identify mid-level and consistent annual donors showing potential for increased giving, with opportunity to grow into greater ownership of this function over time.

Donor Profiles: Assist with preparing donor profiles and meeting briefings as requested.

Events: On occasion, support event planning, including managing invitations, registration, and post-event follow-up and reporting. Prepare guest bios for events and meetings as requested.

Discovery Outreach: Conduct proactive discovery calls and personalized emails to qualify donors, learning about their philanthropic interests and capacity.

Portfolio Stewardship: Assist CDO with coordination of annual stewardship videos for top donors. Opportunity to manage a portfolio of annual fund donors, providing consistent and meaningful stewardship to retain and upgrade giving.

Seasonal Flexibility Due to the fundraising campaign calendar, time allocations will shift seasonally.

Qualifications Requirements

Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of 5–7 years’ experience in nonprofit development, database management, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Self-starter who can absorb and organize information quickly and work independently with minimal supervision. Must have effective time management skills.

Excellent organizational skills, including scheduling and managing office procedures.

Experience in donor database management and operations.

Advanced technical skills and computer literacy, including Microsoft Excel (pivot tables).

Strong quantitative, analytical, and problem-solving skills.

Excellent interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills.

Warm, professional customer service manner by phone and email.

Sound judgment and discretion to maintain donor privacy and confidentiality.

Commitment to the Association of Fundraising Professionals Code of Ethics.

Preferred

Experience with Salesforce for Non-Profits; proficiency in queries and flows is a strong plus.

Experience with direct mail campaign management and email marketing platforms.

Experience in annual giving program management or interest in professional growth in this area.

Willingness to continue developing database management and frontline fundraising skills.

Experience with event planning and execution.

Advanced degree in a relevant field (e.g., business, communications, public administration).

Other Requirements

Comfort with heavy keyboard work and extended periods at a desk.

Ability to work occasional weekends or evenings to support events and board meetings.

Ability to participate in virtual meetings outside of typical work hours due to operations across multiple time zones.

Ability to travel domestically and internationally, possibly once per year.

Current passport and willingness to vaccinate as required for international travel.

Openness to engaging in frontline fundraising with the support of the CDO.

Benefits

Flexible schedule in coordination with CDO.

Budget for a remote office including internet and mobile phone.

12 paid holidays.

18 days paid vacation accruing at 1.5 days per month.

1 day of sick time accrued per month.

Monthly health stipend

401(k) retirement plan with company match.

Professional development opportunities.

Salary Range $70,000 – $80,000

Reports To Chief Development Officer (CDO)

Status Full-Time, Exempt

Compensation Salary commensurate with experience; monthly health stipend; 401(k) and matching contributions; other benefits listed below.

Location Remote, US-based

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