Annual Fund Manager

Description

What if your fundraising expertise could turn generosity into greater community impact? As Annual Fund Manager at United Food Bank, you’ll lead annual giving strategies that grow revenue, strengthen donor retention, and inspire continued support. Using donor insights, testing, and multi-channel fundraising, you’ll help build a stronger annual giving program that fuels our mission to alleviate hunger.

Our Mission and Values:

We are passionate about our Mission of Uniting Communities to Alleviate Hunger. You are most likely to find success at United Food Bank if you are motivated to embrace our values:

               We are Uniters – working together as one united team.

               We are Cultivators – with a growth mindset and willing to try new things.

               We are Optimists – with a positive attitude and a commitment to move our mission forward.

Position Summary: 

The Annual Fund Manager is responsible for the strategy, execution, and performance of United Food Bank's annual giving program. Reporting to the Director of Individual Giving, this position manages broad-based individual donor fundraising with responsibility for achieving annual revenue, donor acquisition, retention, renewal, and growth goals.

The Annual Fund Manager manages direct mail, email fundraising, digital appeals, and other annual giving campaigns and uses donor data, segmentation, testing, and performance analysis to improve fundraising results. This position works closely with Marketing & Communications to develop compelling, donor-centered campaigns that align fundraising objectives with United Food Bank's broader brand, messaging, and storytelling strategy.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

Annual Fund Strategy & Revenue Management (40%)

• Develop and execute United Food Bank's annual giving strategy in alignment with individual giving and overall philanthropy goals.
• Manage annual fund revenue goals and regularly forecast, monitor, and report performance against plan.
• Develop and manage the annual solicitation and stewardship calendar for broad-based individual donors.
• Lead donor acquisition, renewal, retention, reactivation, and upgrade strategies.
• Develop donor segmentation and journey strategies that increase engagement, retention, giving frequency, and donor value.
• Identify opportunities to move annual donors into mid-level and major giving programs.
• Partner with the Director of Individual Giving to establish annual fund goals, priorities, budgets, and performance expectations.
• Manage annual fund expenses and evaluate return on investment across fundraising channels and campaigns.

Direct Response Fundraising (40%)

• Lead the strategy and performance of direct mail, email fundraising, digital appeals, giving days, and other annual fund campaigns.
• Develop campaign objectives, fundraising offers, audience segments, solicitation strategies, testing plans, and performance goals.
• Manage external fundraising vendors responsible for direct mail and email campaign execution, including setting direction, managing timelines and deliverables, reviewing recommendations and creative, and holding partners accountable for results.
• Guide audience segmentation, cadence, testing, solicitation, and optimization strategies across direct response channels.
• Review campaign performance with vendor partners and use results and testing insights to continuously improve fundraising outcomes.
• Partner with Marketing & Communications on campaign concepts, messaging, storytelling, creative direction, and alignment with United Food Bank's brand and broader communications strategy.
• Ensure fundraising communications are donor-centered, include clear calls to action, and support established philanthropy objectives.
• Coordinate with Philanthropy Operations, Marketing & Communications, and external partners to ensure accurate data, timely execution, and effective campaign delivery.
• Lead the annual giving strategy for signature and seasonal fundraising campaigns.

Analytics, Optimization & Donor Experience (20%)

• Track and analyze annual fund performance, including revenue, response rate, average gift, donor retention, donor acquisition, return on investment, and other key fundraising metrics.
• Use donor and campaign data to identify trends, opportunities, and areas for improvement.
• Develop testing strategies across audiences, messaging, offers, timing, and channels and apply results to future campaigns.
• Provide regular annual fund reporting, forecasts, insights, and recommendations to the Director of Individual Giving.
• Partner with Philanthropy Operations to ensure accurate donor segmentation, campaign coding, data management, and reporting.
• Support a cohesive donor experience across solicitation, acknowledgment, stewardship, renewal, and upgrade communications.
• Monitor annual giving and direct response fundraising trends and identify opportunities to strengthen the program.

Other Duties as Assigned:

• Participate in team meetings and organization-wide initiatives.
• Maintain donor confidentiality in compliance with United Food Bank policies.

Requirements

Qualifications:

• Passion for alleviating hunger and aligned with our mission and values
• Bachelor’s degree in business development or related field (or equivalent combination of education and experience)
• At least 3 to 5 years of experience in annual giving, direct response fundraising, individual giving, philanthropy, or a related field.
• Experience managing direct mail, email fundraising, digital fundraising, or multi-channel donor campaigns.
• Demonstrated understanding of donor acquisition, retention, renewal, segmentation, stewardship, and upgrade strategies.
• Experience managing toward fundraising revenue goals and using data to evaluate and improve results.
• Strong analytical skills and comfort working with donor data, fundraising metrics, budgets, and campaign performance.
• High level of organization, follow-through, and attention to detail; Ability to take responsibility for outcomes, follow-through, and deadlines
• Ability to work independently in a performance-driven environment
• Strong written and verbal communication skills 
• Proficiency with Salesforce or similar CRM required
• Self-motivated, dedicated to accomplishing tasks, able to take initiative and solve problems.
• Availability and willingness to attend evening or weekend events when needed
• Valid driver’s license with reliable transportation and insurability required.

Physical demands and work environment:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; and talk or hear. The employee is required to stand, walk, and reach with hands and arms on a daily basis. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus

• The employee must lift and/or move up to 30 pounds.
• Ability to sit at a computer for extended periods and perform repetitive motions with a mouse and keyboard. 
• Ability to travel (locally) up to 10% a year for off-site meetings and events

In instances of a federal, state, or locally declared emergency, United Food Bank is typically considered an essential service and emergency responder; all of its employees may be called in to perform regular or emergent duties.

The above job description is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of duties and standards of the position. Incumbents will follow any other instructions and perform any other related duties, as assigned by their supervisor.