Impact Society Donor Relations Officer
For nearly 100 years, the ACLU has been at the forefront of every major civil liberties fight in our country’s history. Whether it’s reducing the prison and jail population, achieving full equality for the LGBTQ community, reducing immigration detention, or ending unjust laws that strip people of their fundamental right to vote, we take up the toughest civil liberties issues to defend all individuals from government abuse and overreach. With ACLU affiliate offices in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, we fight tirelessly to defend our rights in the courts, influence public policy and empower communities to advance rights for all. The ACLU of Michigan, founded in 1959, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, public interest organization dedicated to the defense and expansion of civil liberties and civil rights in Michigan. We are a passionate, highly motivated group of 40 lawyers, public policy experts, lobbyists, community organizers, communicators and fundraisers, and we’re looking for exceptional talent to join our team.
The ACLU is deeply committed to racial equity and social justice and is driven to act on these core values. Applicants must be able to recognize ways our identities intersect and play out in the work, especially with communities we serve, and must demonstrate the cultural competency to work with a diverse team as well as with historically marginalized communities.
We are looking for a dedicated fundraiser to join our Development team which is charged with raising $5M annually through individual major gifts and foundation grants while growing our major gift pipeline and deepening donor investment. In the Development department we pursue our mission by building long-term donor relationships and organizational partnerships, demonstrating impact in response to threats, engaging donors how they wish to engage, taking interest in our donors and facilitating personal action, being accountable stewards of their funds, and by asking donors to consider giving the ACLU-MI their full support.
POSITION DESCRIPTION Leveraging a new national ACLU giving circle, this giving officer will qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward donors giving between $5,000 - $25,000 annually. The goal is to build, cultivate, solicit, and steward a midmajor gift portfolio of approximately 75 donors by the end of the first year. The ideal candidate is someone who’s relentless in building a pipeline of qualified major donors and excels in serving donors through meaningful giving experiences. This position will be based initially in the Detroit office with most donor contact taking place in the Metro Detroit area, Ann Arbor, and West Michigan. Occasional travel to Lansing, Traverse City, and other areas of the state is possible. During the Covid-19 pandemic, it is understood that face-to-face meetings with donors and colleagues will be replaced by phone contact and video meetings from the donor relations officer’s home facilitated with ACLU-MI operations support. The ACLU provides equipment for remote work
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Manage a portfolio of approximately 20 existing donors, creating comprehensive cultivation and solicitation strategies, including financial goals, for each individual and executing those strategies so that donors are retained and upgraded.
- Qualify a portfolio of 500 donors for major gifts of $5,000 +.
- Secure giftsthrough a process of qualifying, cultivating, soliciting, closing, and stewarding donors and prospects.
- Manage the ACLU of Michigan’s Impact Society primarily through annual intimate donor experiences in Detroit, Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Proven experience getting face-to-face meetings with individual donors and building long-term relationships that result in strong retention and increases in giving.
- Minimum three years’ experience in nonprofit fundraising preferred, with a proven track record of soliciting, closing, and stewarding gifts, or comparable experience.
- Demonstrated experience in moving donors through a pipeline by use of individualized strategies.
- Experience applying excellent writing skills with an ability to synthesize and communicate complex issues clearly and concisely, adapt writing styles for varied audiences, and positively influence and persuade.
- Demonstrated commitment to and passion for civil rights / social justice.
- A commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion; a personal approach that values the individual and respects differences of race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, marital status, disability, veteran status, and record of arrest or conviction.
- Experience fundraising with communities of color and other historically marginalized groups a plus.
PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS:
- Exceptional interpersonal skills including active listening and interviewing aptitudes.
- Passion for helping the donor achieve their philanthropic goals.
- Candidates should be highly disciplined, well organized, and self-motivated.
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS: The salary range for this position is $85,000 - $92,500 per year, depending upon experience. Excellent benefits including health insurance, a 401(k) plan with matching contributions, and an employee assistance program.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE: Email a cover letter that: 1) Describes your interest in this position; and, 2) The ways in which you satisfy the qualifications specified above, and 3) How you learned of this position; along with a resume and two samples of your writing for fundraising purposes.
These could include informal emails to donors, written solicitations, case statements, grants, or other examples.
Application emails should be sent to donorrelationsofficer@aclumich.org. Please include “Donor Relations Officer Job” and your name in the subject line of the email. Application review will begin on May 25.
The position will remain open until filled. Interviews will be conducted by phone and videoconference until such time that the State of Michigan determines that regular business may resume and/or the ACLU returns from remote work. Accommodations will happily be made to adjust to restricted internet, computer or technology access. Likewise, interview logistics can be adjusted to suit candidates’ time constraints during the pandemic.
The ACLU of Michigan is an equal opportunity employer. We value a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture. The ACLU encourages applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, marital status, disability, veteran status, and record of arrest or conviction.
ACLU of Michigan comprises two separate corporate entities, the ACLU of Michigan and the ACLU of Fund of Michigan. The ACLU of Michigan and the ACLU Fund of Michigan share the same mission, office space, and employees. This job posting refers collectively to the two organizations under the name “ACLU of Michigan”.