Annual Fund & Special Events Manager

SparkWheel, Inc. is a non-profit organization focused on removing barriers preventing students and their families from being successful in school and in life. We believe there is a spark that lives inside each of us, and we are here to fuel that spark! 

JOB SPECIFICATIONS

JOB SUMMARY 
Reporting to and directed by the Associate Vice President (AVP) for Development, the Annual Fund and Special Events Manager is responsible for growing the donor base, renewing and upgrading donor support, and strengthening relationships with current individual donors. This position develops and implements strategies for direct mail and electronic fundraising, individual donor communications and cultivation efforts, including events and member benefits. This position is responsible for setting standards and providing content for the donor services function, including tiered gift acknowledgments, member benefit mailings, and telephone communications. Responsibilities for Special Events include planning fundraisers and events that inspire and engage participants in SparkWheel’s mission with administrative, systematic, and creative support in all areas for SparkWheel.? The Annual Fund and Special Events Manager coordinates a strategic approach to engaging local and community funding partners and is responsible for community funding investments supporting existing SparkWheel programs and participates in other fund development efforts, as requested.  The Annual Fund and Special Events Manager implements the vision and goals of SparkWheel as articulated by the President & CEO. 

WHAT YOU WILL DO
Donor Engagement & Fund Development (10%) 

• Develops and maintains relationships with funders, community partners, and other key stakeholders. 

• Supports agency-level fund development efforts, as requested. 

• Maintains an active role in the fundraising community, keeping current on the latest funding trends and priorities of funders. 

• Completes other tasks and activities as assigned by the President and CEO or Chief Development Officer.  

 Annual Fund Campaigns (45%) 

• Executes the comprehensive Annual Giving Program, including strategies to develop and cultivate a pipeline of donors, inspire giving from new donors, increase retention rates, re-engage lapsed donors, and increase average gift amounts. 

• Acts as campaign manager for Annual Giving campaigns, including traditional campaigns, web campaigns, social media campaigns, giving days, and stewardship campaigns. 

• Partners with stakeholders across SparkWheel teams to ensure that strategies can be executed as planned and logistical needs are met. 

• Manages campaign and event logistics and develops complex project timelines that reflect roles, tasks, and dates to ensure project scope is understood and work is completed as planned. 

• Plans, coordinates, and executes effective fundraising drives and meets crucial revenue and schedule goals; works with appropriate staff to implement and manage strategies for each fundraising drive including logistical planning, staff scheduling, premium procurement and scheduling, and day-to-day management of the drives. 

• Collaborates with the Marketing and Communications Team to assist in efforts to increase the visibility and brand awareness of programming.  

• Engages donors and prospective donors through circulation of SparkWheel stories, reports, video, and other marketing/fundraising collateral. 

• Works with colleagues to ensure campaign assets (content, graphics) are deployed and integrated across all platforms. 

Special Events & Fundraisers (45%) 

• Executes a portfolio of community-based fundraisers and friend-raisers across the communities in SparkWheel’s service area. 

• Manages and executes fundraising events, activities, and communications, including identifying potential opportunities, soliciting in-kind donations, volunteer and partner recruitment, and more from targeted communities within the network in support of special events. 

• Supports the development of a signature fundraiser for SparkWheel and acts as a co-lead in the execution of fundraiser tasks and activities. 

• Leads or supports, as appropriate, special event committee meetings. 

• Engages with the community to drive increased event participation, including but not limited to event committee, teams, sponsors, and other key stakeholder participation. Stakeholder engagement includes managing local chamber and coalition memberships for the organization and communicating SparkWheel membership opportunities to local staff. 

• Collaborates with appropriate External Relations Division team members on community engagement efforts including but not limited to attending and/or presenting to local civic organizations, local chambers of commerce meetings, and more. 

• Solicits and secures sponsors for events and implements sponsor benefits, including the Future Now: Finance program. Coordinates with Programs Team on Future Now: Finance schedule of events. 

• Coordinates with the Marketing & Communications Department on collateral materials for events such as save-the-date notifications, invitations, website and other online advertisements, solicitations, and more. 

• Directs, with support from the Sr. Director of Development Operations, event-related activity within the CRM donor database to handle setup and management of event invitations, RSVPs, attendee tracking and registration, and other donor relations. 

• Ensures that assigned constituent contact information is up to date in the donor database with respect to all written and verbal communication, solicitations, agreements, and other stewardship-related activities within the position’s assigned portfolio. 

• Works with key members of the Development Team to set annual financial goals for each SparkWheel special event and fundraiser. 

• Prepares and manages budgets and projections for special events with consideration of fundraising goal objectives. 

• Monitors financial expenditures and progress against budgetary plan, taking appropriate measures to meet goals and provide a high return on investment in meeting revenue targets. 

• Takes ownership of the Events email account. Monitors the Development email account as necessary to ensure responses to inquiries are distributed to appropriate team members and provided timely. 

Core Values & Shared Responsibilities (0% of time) 

• Recognizes shared ownership of agency wide Culture of Philanthropy. 

• Develops, promotes and practices teamwork in all activities.  

• Advocates, promotes and practices cultural sensitivity and responsiveness in all day-to-day interactions. 

• Refrains from assuming any duty that is unrelated to and/or interferes with the responsibilities of the position. 

• Highly collaborative approach. 

• No job is too small mindset. 

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR 
Qualifications:  

At a minimum, the Annual Fund and Special Events Manager must have a bachelor's degree.  In addition, the Annual Fund and Special Events Manager shall have: 

• At least 3 years of experience successfully managing non-profit direct mail and donor or membership programs. Special events, project management, development, fundraising, and/or grant writing experience 

• Proven track record of engaging and motivating donors or members 

• Outstanding analytical, creative and strategic thinking skills 

• Demonstrated and superior interpersonal, written and oral communication skills 

• Strong organizational skills, ability to prioritize multiple projects, meeting strict deadlines, while maintaining strong attention to detail 

• Dedication to relationship building and a commitment to working as an integral part of the team, while exercising significant initiative and autonomy 

• Excellent knowledge and experience of computer applications such as Microsoft Office, electronic data tracking, internet, web sites, Facebook, etc. 

Physical Demands: 

• Work Environment: Office, Remote Office, School Sites, and Community 

• Lifting Requirement: 25 pounds 

• Travel Requirements:  

• Occasional travel – both day and overnight, including fundraising events, conferences, meetings, travel between school sites, etc. 

• Valid driver’s license 

• Transportation 

• Auto insurance 

• Pass various background checks 

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 the essential functions. 

OTHER POSITION INFORMATION 
Mandated Reporter: