Donor Services Communications Officer at Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan – Detroit, Michigan

The Donor Services Communications Officer is responsible for developing a strategic communications plan to engage donors, nonprofit endowment partners, and professional advisors. The Communications Officer will lead the planning of all donor-related events and develop communications content for the core audiences of the Donor Services team. This role will inspire philanthropic support for the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan (CFSEM) and serve as a key liaison between Donor Services and Communications & Marketing to deliver consistent, compelling messaging across all donor-facing platforms.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the planning, creation, and execution of donor-related communications content, including print and digital publications, email campaigns, donor-specific newsletters, etc.
• Manage donor-related events to ensure timely and strategic engagement with current and past donors, prospects, nonprofit endowment partners, and professional advisors.
• Collaborate with internal teams to identify and craft compelling stories that highlight the impact of philanthropic support and align with CFSEM’s strategic goals.
• Research and implement best practices in donor communications and engagement.
• Assist with managing sponsorships, intake requests, processing payments, etc.
• Support site visits and other fundraising activities as needed.
• Monitor and analyze donor-related communications and engagement metrics to evaluate effectiveness and inform future strategies.

Requirements and Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, nonprofit management, public relations, or a related field.
• 7-10 years of professional experience in communications and events management, with a strong preference for experience in donor engagement, nonprofit management, or philanthropy.
• Proven ability to manage events and execute strategic communications across multiple platforms.
• Working early mornings, nights, and weekends is required for donor engagement events.
• Exceptional writing, editing, and verbal communications skills.
• Experience with HubSpot, Salesforce, social media, email marketing platforms, and content management systems.
• Experience with data analysis, market segmentation, and reporting on communication effectiveness.
• Collaborative, proactive, and adaptable with a passion for community impact and equity.
• Strong organizational skills with attention to detail, ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and meet deadlines.

Community foundations are complex organizations with multiple key audiences. Experience with community foundations is a plus but is not required. Candidates should have a passion for learning and willingness to embrace change. For final candidates, we will ask for a portfolio of work samples.

Core Competencies:

• Customer Focus: This role must prioritize understanding and addressing the needs and expectations of our community and stakeholders. This involves active listening, empathy, and a commitment to providing exceptional service.
• Plans and Aligns: Invests time in planning, discovery, and reflection. Engages in active mindfulness to identify and adjust mental shortcuts. Seeks out the perspectives and experiences of others to test assumptions. Proactively anticipates and plans for the reactions of others, multiple outcomes, potential issues, and industry trends.
• Collaborative: Works well with others both on the team and cross-functionally to achieve individual, team, department, or organizational goals. Values diverse input and working with others as a way to achieve the best output possible.
• Decision Making & Problem Solving: Simplifies complex problems by using critical thinking to evaluate problems, gathering information, incorporating multiple perspectives, understanding causes, and identifying best-possible solutions. Invests time in planning, discovery, and reflection to drive better decisions and more efficient implementations. Adopts an audience-centric approach, understanding the needs of the audience and incorporating them, as appropriate, into the decision.

Benefits & Salary:

The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan offers a robust total compensation package. The salary range for those entering this role is $83,000 - $104,000. In addition to a competitive base salary, benefits include but aren’t limited to 20 days of vacation accrued monthly, 5 personal days, 13 holidays, 9 sick days accrued monthly, paid parental leave, and employer paid short/long term disability. This position requires the ability to work in a hybrid environment, with an average of 3 in-office workdays per week, with Wednesday being a required in-office day.

The Community Foundation also offers a pension retirement program after 1 year of service which contributes 10% of salary.

Application Instructions:

This position is being recruited on an expedited timeline. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and early submission is strongly encouraged. The deadline to apply is April 9, 2026. To apply, visit www.cfsem.org/careers and look for "Current Opportunities". Please submit your application, including your cover letter through the online portal.

To provide equal employment opportunities to all individuals, employment decisions will be based on merit, qualifications and abilities without regard to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, height, weight, political or union affiliation, disability or any factor prohibited by law or any factor prohibited by law.