Leadership Annual Giving Manager

Leadership Annual Giving Manager

The Leadership Annual Giving Manager is a key member of the Philanthropy team, responsible for cultivating, retaining, and stewarding donors giving at the leadership annual level (typically $100–$4,999). This hybrid role combines portfolio management with strategic stewardship execution to deepen engagement, increase donor retention, and build long-term philanthropic relationships.

This role will manage a portfolio of loyal and newly engaged donors, ensuring they feel valued and inspired to continue their support. In parallel, it will support stewardship efforts across the giving pipeline to ensure all donors receive timely, thoughtful, and personalized acknowledgment. This position is ideal for a relationship-driven and organized professional who thrives in both donor-facing work and behind-the-scenes operational excellence.

This role will help ensure every donor—from first-time supporters to long-time champions at their giving capacity—feels meaningfully connected to our mission and the impact of their giving.

Essential Functions/Responsibilities

• Demonstrate a passion for crushing lung disease and embody CHEST values: honor the team, act with integrity, leverage strengths, cultivate innovation, and have serious fun.

Leadership Annual Giving (50%)

• Manage a portfolio of 100–200 donors and prospects giving at the leadership annual level, with a focus on retention, reactivation, and incremental growth.
• Conduct personalized outreach, including phone calls, handwritten notes, emails, and occasional in-person meetings or virtual visits.
• Partnership with the Director of Philanthropy to develop individualized engagement plans that align with donor interests, lifecycle stage, and giving capacity.
• Identify donors with potential for increased investment and partner with the Director of Philanthropy to develop advancement pathways.
• Maintain detailed records of interactions and donor activity, and organize regular donor acknowledgements and communications.

Donor Stewardship (50%)

• Design and execute donor stewardship strategies to recognize, retain, and reengage annual donors—especially those with active pledges or capped giving levels.
• Ensure timely acknowledgment of gifts and pledge payments; develop customized messaging and impact updates as appropriate.
• Serve as the internal operations lead for pledge monitoring and gift tracking, collaborating closely with Finance to ensure timely payments, accurate reconciliation, and reporting.
• Support annual stewardship campaigns, including giving milestones, year-end outreach, and special donor touches tied to organizational priorities.
• Champion a culture of gratitude and responsiveness by embedding donor stewardship best practices across the department.
• Utilize CHEST's fundraising management systems to update donor information, produce reports, perform analyses, and track and cultivate donor relationships.
• Other duties as assigned

Requirements

Required Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of experience in fundraising, annual giving, donor relations, or related nonprofit work.
• Demonstrated ability to build and manage donor relationships through personalized engagement.
• Strong understanding of the donor lifecycle, annual giving best practices, and stewardship strategy.
• Excellent organizational and project management skills; able to manage multiple priorities with keen attention to detail.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with a donor-first, mission-driven approach.
• Proficiency with CRM systems and a data-informed mindset.
• Ability to work collaboratively and cross-functionally in a fast-paced, high-accountability environment
• Ability to accommodate periodic travel.
• Ability to adhere to CHEST's hybrid work schedule, which includes 2 days per week work-from-home, and 3 days per week onsite at CHEST headquarters in Glenview. Tuesday and Wednesday are CHEST's anchor days, and a 3rd onsite will be decided between employee and supervisor.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience managing a leadership-level donor portfolio and meeting annual revenue or retention goals.
• Familiarity with pledge management and coordination with Finance teams.
• Comfort balancing both…