Individual Giving Manager

Job Description

New York Focus , New York’s only statewide nonprofit newsroom, is seeking its inaugural Individual Giving Manager to support its major donor program and lead its development operations and membership campaigns. This role sits at the center of our individual fundraising: managing the infrastructure, data, and communications that allow our leadership team to sustain strong donor relationships, while also owning the CRM and public-facing membership campaigns.

The Individual Giving Manager is not a frontline fundraising role. Rather than ask for gifts, you’ll be the person making sure every relationship, prospect, and gift is tracked, every thank-you goes out, every donor meeting is prepped and scheduled, and every campaign email goes out on time and reads well.

The Individual Giving Manager will report to the Chief Strategy Officer. 

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Major Donor Portfolio Support

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• Manage the Editor-in-Chief’s portfolio of major donors and prospects: monitor incoming gifts, draft thank-you and acknowledgement communications, and draft donor and prospect correspondence.
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• Meet weekly with the Editor-in-Chief to review portfolio activity and prioritize outreach for the week ahead.
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• Manage the major donor prospect pipeline, including follow-up tracking and communications drafting.
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• Schedule and coordinate donor and prospect meetings (virtual and in-person) for the leadership team.
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• Help manage relationships with program officers and individual donors. 
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Moves Management & Executive Support

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• Support the Chief Strategy Officer and Publisher with their own donor portfolios: maintain up-to-date portfolio records, ensure timely thank-yous, and flag quarterly (or as-needed) touchpoint reminders.
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Prospecting & Research

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• Research the networks of major donors and board members.
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• Identify individual and institutional supporters of other relevant organizations.
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• Draft outreach notes for New York Focus leadership to send prospects. 
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Development Operations & CRM

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• Own the integrity and organization of New York Focus’s donor CRM (Little Green Light): enter all new gifts, maintain accurate donor and prospect records, and ensure data hygiene across the database.
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• Maintain reporting on gift activity, portfolio movement, and pipeline status for leadership.
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Membership Program & Fundraising Communications

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• Own New York Focus’s four-tier membership program (Reader, Steward, Champion, Executive Chamber) end to end: ensure each tier’s benefits are fulfilled, including the monthly member newsletter, member gatherings, post-publication AMAs, reader-powered explainers, quarterly newsroom visits, “First Read” investigation briefings, and merch discounts.
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• Manage the member donation platform (Donorbox), including recurring gift updates, tier upgrades/downgrades, and annual donor gift fulfillment.
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• Identify and flag members with capacity or engagement signals to upgrade into Champion or Executive Chamber tiers, feeding into broader moves management.
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• Plan and execute New York Focus’s spring and fall membership campaigns, including theme and creative development.
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• Partner with editorial staff to write campaign emails connecting New York Focus’s reporting to the case for membership.
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• Build and manage campaigns in Mailchimp, including list segmentation and scheduling.
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• Create and maintain a fundraising email calendar spanning membership, stewardship, and appeal communications.
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QUALIFICATIONS

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• 3–5 years of development, fundraising, or donor relations experience, ideally including exposure to major gifts and donor CRM management.
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• Excellent writing skills, with the ability to draft in another person’s voice for donor-facing correspondence.
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• Hands-on CRM experience with strong attention to data accuracy and hygiene.
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• Experience planning or executing email fundraising campaigns; Mailchimp experience a plus.
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• Strong organizational skills and comfort managing multiple leaders’ priorities and calendars simultaneously.
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• Excellent judgment and discretion in handling donor and organizational information.
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PREFERRED

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• Experience supporting an executive or principal-level fundraiser rather than holding a portfolio directly.
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• Familiarity with nonprofit journalism, government accountability reporting, or New York state politics.
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• Experience with moves management frameworks and prospect research tools.
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COMPENSATION

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• $80,000 to $90,000 depending on experience level, plus medical, dental, and vision insurance and other benefits.
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TO APPLY

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• Please submit a resume, cover letter, writing sample, and three references using this form ( by Friday, October 30.
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ABOUT NEW YORK FOCUS

New York Focus is an independent newsroom investigating how power works in the Empire State. Our stories have spurred legislation, shaped regulation, and driven national news cycles. The newsroom is small and collaborative, and this job is a chance to be creative and enterprising in a workplace that is still building its identity.

We are committed to an inclusive workspace, and we strongly encourage applications from people of color, women, LGBTQ people, and people with disabilities. Consistent with federal, state, and local law, we are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, veteran status, or other protected categories.