Philanthropy Operations Specialist

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Philanthropy Operations Specialist

Reports to: Chief External Affairs Officer (CEAO)
Direct Reports: None
FLSA Status: Exempt
Location: Association Office / Hybrid
Pay: $58,000–$65,000

Position Summary
The Philanthropy Operations Specialist strengthens the YMCA of Columbia-Willamette’s mission by serving as the operational and data governance lead for philanthropy systems, donor accuracy, stewardship workflows, and cross‑department coordination. Reporting to the Director of Philanthropy, this exempt specialist role maintains disciplined data integrity, ensures reliable CRM workflows, and supports the association’s modernization efforts.

The Specialist ensures accurate donor and gift information across Virtuous, Daxko CRM, Daxko Engage, and Crescendo; designs operational workflows for acknowledgments, stewardship, and monthly giving; and partners with Finance to support coding accuracy and batch readiness. The role collaborates with Marketing, IT, and regional teams to deliver consistent donor experiences and data‑informed insights.

As the primary internal owner of philanthropy data standards, workflow implementation, and integration hygiene, the Specialist applies judgment in operational decisions, resolves data discrepancies, recommends coding solutions for leadership approval, and maintains data quality that informs fundraising strategy. The Specialist upholds high standards of confidentiality, accuracy, and equity‑centered practices in support of the Director of Philanthropy, CEAO, and CEO.

• Maintains accurate donor and gift data across Virtuous, Daxko CRM, Daxko Engage, and Crescendo, ensuring the reliability needed for informed decision‑making.
• Conducts regular data hygiene reviews, cleanup cycles, documentation of workflows, and monitoring of multi‑system integrations.
• Monitors integration hygiene across CRM systems, identifies discrepancies, resolves issues within scope, and coordinates solutions with IT and Finance when needed.
• Designs and maintains standardized data entry procedures and operational workflows that support consistency across branches and departments.
• Builds reports, queries, lists, and dashboards that support the portfolios of the Director of Philanthropy, CEAO, and CEO with professionalism, discretion, and accuracy.
• Ensures correct donor coding (fund, campaign, appeal, package), accurate batch preparation, and clean pre‑reconciliation handoffs to Finance.
• Owns accuracy and completeness of all pre‑batch data and makes coding determinations within established standards, escalating exceptions to the Director of Philanthropy or Finance as appropriate.
• Tracks pledges and recurring gifts, ensuring integrity of commitments and timely updates.
• Prepares donor records for year‑end tax statements with a commitment to accuracy and risk mitigation.
• Upholds confidentiality of donor information, financial data, and executive portfolios.

• Executes timely acknowledgments, tribute notifications, stewardship letters, and inclusive donor recognition touchpoints.
• Implements and maintains operational stewardship workflows that support accuracy, timely follow‑through, and consistent donor experiences across regions.
• Coordinates stewardship calendars established by the CEAO, ensuring all donor touchpoints (welcome series, birthdays, anniversaries, holiday outreach) are executed consistently and equitably.
• Prepares segmented lists and mailing data aligned with list criteria selected by the Director of Philanthropy.
• Drafts donor stewardship content aligned with the Director of Philanthropy’s donor communications strategy and Marketing brand standards, with final approval from the Director of Philanthropy or CEAO.
• Provides donor service support for technical or logistical giving questions, recurring gift adjustments, and general inquiries.
• Provides accurate donor data and stories for the Annual Report, storytelling materials, and board reporting packets.
• Applies the Y’s equity commitments to ensure segmentation, naming conventions, communication lists, and donor touchpoints reflect inclusion, respect, and…