Donor Relations Specialist

The Donor Relations Specialist is a highly-organized, relationship-focused role that supports the organization’s fundraising, donor engagement and stewardship efforts. This role is ideal for someone who enjoys building relationships, managing details, communicating effectively and helping move projects from idea to completion.

The Donor Relations Specialist plays an important role in ensuring donors and prospective supporters have a thoughtful, consistent experience with Birmingham Promise. This role works closely with the Director of Development, CEO, Board of Directors and other team members to support donor cultivation, fundraising campaigns, grant development, events and communications.

This role encompasses five key areas that strengthen our high school coaching and improve student outcomes:

Strong donor stewardship builds trust and ensures sustained long-term donor relationships.

• Maintain accurate and up-to-date donor and prospect information in Bloomerang and other internal records.
• Manage daily gift processing, reporting, acknowledgements, and donor correspondence in a timely and accurate manner.
• Track donor interactions, requests,, and follow-up activities to ensure commitments and next steps are completed.
• Record Executive Director and Development Team donor interactions and coordinate follow-up communication as needed.
• Create donor prospect, capacity, giving, and activity reports to support fundraising strategy and decision-making.
• Partner with the Finance Team to reconcile daily, weekly, and monthly giving reports and resolve discrepancies.
• Maintain organized and accurate development records in Google Drive and other internal systems.

Meaningful donor relationships deepen connection and create opportunities for increased investment for our students.

• Build relationships with prospective and current donors by learning about their interests and identifying opportunities for deeper engagement with Birmingham Promise.
• Participate in donor meetings and in-person engagement alongside the Director of Development, CEO, and other team members.
• Serve as a consistent point of contact following donor meetings, providing timely communication, materials, acknowledgements, and next steps.
• Ensure donors receive thoughtful and personalized stewardship throughout their relationship with the organization.
• Coordinate connections between prospective donors, corporate partners, Board members, and appropriate members of the Birmingham Promise team.
• Support the Director of Development in cultivating and advancing prospective donor relationships.
• Represent Birmingham Promise professionally in donor-facing meetings, events, and community settings.

A strong and diverse funding pipeline ensures we have the resources needed to sustain our programs and expand our impact.

• Coordinate the administrative and logistical work supporting annual giving campaigns, online giving efforts, individual giving, corporate donations, foundation support, and other fundraising initiatives.
• Conduct ongoing grant research and identify prospective funding opportunities aligned with programs and strategic priorities.
• Evaluate funding opportunities based on eligibility, programmatic fit, deadlines, potential award amounts, and org priorities.
• Maintain accurate records of prospective funders, applications, requests, deadlines, awards, and reporting requirements.
• Develop near-complete grant applications for Director review and approval, including researching funder requirements and tailoring content to specific opportunities.
• Coordinate information and supporting materials from departments across the org to move grant applications forward.
• Prepare reports, charts, donor lists, and other materials to support leadership and Board discussions regarding fundraising progress.

Engaging our Board as fundraising partners expands our reach and strengthens our ability to secure long-term support.

• Serve as a key Development Team contact for Board members participating in fundraising and donor outreach, including activities related to the organization’s endowment campaign.
• Equip Board members for donor outreach by researching prospective donors and compiling relevant information on philanthropic interests, giving history, relationships, and capacity.
• Prepare campaign messaging, case-for-support materials, donor briefings, and other resources to support Board outreach.
• Coordinate regular check-ins with Board members to monitor outreach, answer questions, identify resource needs, and maintain campaign momentum.
• Facilitate communication among Board members, Development leadership, and other staff related to fundraising activities.
• Prepare Board-facing reports, dashboards, briefing documents, and other materials summarizing fundraising progress and donor activity.
• Coordinate development-related Board meeting materials, logistics, and follow-up items.
• Exercise discretion and sound judgment when working with confidential donor and prospect information.

Intentional donor and fundraising events create opportunities to share impact and inspire support of our mission.

• Support the planning and execution of annual fundraisers, Board-driven fundraising events, donor cultivation activities, and other Development Team events.
• Coordinate event sponsorship efforts, including sponsor outreach, commitments, recognition, and acknowledgements.
• Manage invitations, ticketing, guest communications, and related event details.
• Coordinate vendor communication and serve as a point of contact throughout the planning and execution process.
• Help ensure donor-facing events reflect Birmingham Promise’s brand and provide a welcoming, professional experience for guests and supporters.

Compelling communications help stakeholders understand our story, our mission and opportunities to invest in our work.

• Collaborate with Development and Communications staff on strategic donor communications, including newsletters, annual reports, campaigns, and stewardship materials.
• Coordinate newsletter content and production, including developing story ideas, conducting interviews, collecting information, editing content, and preparing materials for publication.
• Proactively identify content opportunities across the organization that support fundraising priorities and communicate Birmingham Promise’s impact.
• Support the Executive Director and Development Team in developing personalized and general donor communications.
• Create donor-facing presentations, campaign materials, trade advertisements, invitations, event signage, promotional materials, and other visual communications using Canva.
• Develop personalized donor/prospect presentations that translate data and organizational info into clear, compelling materials.
• Maintain brand consistency across Development Team communications and donor-facing materials.
• Manage assigned communications and design projects from concept through final product while balancing deadlines and rapid-turnaround requests.

The ideal candidate will have:

• Strong organizational skills and exceptional attention to detail.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to build professional relationships with donors, Board members, community partners, and colleagues.
• Ability to manage multiple projects, deadlines, and competing priorities.
• Strong follow-through and a proactive approach to identifying and completing next steps.
• Comfort working independently while collaborating effectively across teams.
• Sound judgment and discretion when handling confidential donor and organizational information.
• Strong writing, editing, research, and proofreading skills.
• Experience using donor databases, CRM systems, or similar tools; experience with Bloomerang is a plus.
• Experience with Canva or other design tools and an ability to create polished, professional materials.
• Interest in fundraising, donor relations, nonprofit development, and Birmingham Promise’s mission.