Development Manager, Individual Giving

Position:
Development Manager, Individual Giving Organization Overview

Leadership Brainery is a nonprofit focused on preparing young leaders ages 18–24 for success in graduate school. We equip students with limited access to graduate school with the preparation, guidance, and insight needed to compete for admission to selective master's and doctoral programs—and to thrive once they're there.

By strengthening pathways to advanced degrees, we help develop leaders ready to shape their fields and communities.

Leadership Brainery seeks an entrepreneurial, relationship-driven, and highly strategic Development Manager focused on Individual Giving to help grow and steward the organization’s individual donor portfolio during a critical period of expansion. This role will lead efforts to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward individual donors, with a strong emphasis on upgrading existing supporters from approximately the $1,000 giving level to sustained annual gifts of $5,000+ and on building a growing pipeline of major gift prospects.

This is a tactical, results-oriented role designed to advance the organization’s fundraising goals.

This individual will work closely with the Director of Development, senior leadership, board members, and key stakeholders to deepen donor engagement, strengthen fundraising systems, and build a scalable individual giving strategy that supports national growth. This is an ideal opportunity for a fundraising professional who thrives in a mission-driven, entrepreneurial environment and is excited about helping build a national fundraising program with significant long-term impact.

Relationship Builder: Skilled at building trust and cultivating authentic, long‑term donor relationships. This includes having a high‑energy, socially oriented personality with a strong inclination for making excellent first impressions through verbal cues and body language.

Strategic Thinker: Able to connect donor engagement strategies to broader organizational goals and growth priorities.

Entrepreneurial Mindset: Excited by building systems, testing ideas, and helping shape a growing development function.

Mission‑Driven Communicator: A compelling storyteller able to connect donors to impact through data and personal narratives.

Collaborative Partner: Works effectively across teams, leadership, and external stakeholders.

Results‑Oriented: Motivated by measurable fundraising outcomes, continuous improvement, and the achievement of ambitious goals. This includes maintaining a positive relationship with money and the confidence to ask for large gifts.

Individual Giving Strategy & Portfolio Management:

• Manage and grow a portfolio of individual donors and prospects, and maintain an accurate gift table on gift progress.
• Upgrade existing donors in the $1,000 range to multi-year supporters and major gift donors, and cultivate new individual donors capable of making gifts at or above the $5,000 level.
• Build long‑term donor relationships grounded in mission alignment and transformational impact.
• Develop and implement donor cultivation and stewardship strategies to increase retention and annual giving through email, text, phone, direct mail, and in‑person coffee/lunch/dinners.
• Conduct prospect research and develop individualized engagement strategies for donor prospects.

Communication and Documentation:

• Create and prepare briefing materials, donor proposals, and other impact updates for supporters.
• Contribute to and collaborate with the development team to create quarterly newsletters and impact reports that highlight our students’ successes and the organization’s impact.
• Ensure high‑quality post‑meeting reports are created within 36 hours of each meeting and added to donor profiles in Bloomerang CRM.
• Maintain records in the Bloomerang CRM to track donor engagement activities, pipeline progress, and fundraising metrics.

Donor Engagement & Stewardship:

• Build authentic relationships with donors, alumni, partners, and supporters through personalized and collective engagement strategies.
• Partner with staff to translate organizational impact into compelling narratives.
• Use…